The UK’s analogue telephone network is being switched off for good. By January 2027, every home and business in the country will have moved from traditional copper landline services to digital technology. For most people, that means plugging their phone into a router instead of a wall socket to maintain connectivity. For building owners with a passenger lift, it means something far more consequential.

If your lift’s emergency alarm still runs on an analogue phone line, it will stop working when the switchover happens. And when it stops working, your lift emergency alarm stops being legally compliant.

PSTN stands for Public Switched Telephone Network. It is the copper wire telephone infrastructure that has been the backbone of UK communications since the nineteenth century. BT Openreach has confirmed it will be retired permanently by January 2027, with all services migrating to digital alternatives such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or mobile networks.

The deadline for the PSTN switch has already been delayed once, moved from December 2025 to January 2027 to allow more time to protect vulnerable telecare users. No further extension is expected. The rollout is also happening in phases, meaning some areas have already had their PSTN lines decommissioned ahead of the national deadline. If your building is in one of those areas, your lift emergency alarm may already be at risk due to the PSTN switch.

Most passenger lifts in the UK rely on an analogue phone line to power their emergency communication system. When a passenger presses the alarm button inside the lift car, it automatically dials a monitoring centre or rescue service. That connection runs over the PSTN.

When the PSTN is switched off, that connection is severed. The lift itself may still run perfectly. The alarm button will still light up. But the call will not go through. There will be no alert, no response, and no way for a trapped passenger to make contact with the outside world.

This is what the industry calls a silent failure. The system appears active, but it is incapable of alerting emergency services. It is one of the most serious risks associated with the switchover because building owners may not realise there is a problem until a real emergency occurs.

Lift emergency communication is not optional. Under BS EN 81-28, the British standard governing remote alarm systems for passenger and goods passenger lifts, every lift must have a two-way communication system capable of connecting a trapped person to a rescue service within 30 seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The standard also requires automated test calls every 72 hours and dedicated battery backup so the emergency phones continue to function during a power cut.

Alongside EN 81-28, lift owners are bound by the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, both of which require lifts to be maintained in a safe condition. For residential buildings, the Landlord and Tenant Act places further obligations on freeholders and managing agents to keep communal lifts in safe working order.

Responsibility for compliance sits with the building owner or the management company acting on their behalf. A lift contractor has a duty to install and maintain a compliant system, but the building owner cannot delegate away the underlying liability. After the PSTN switch-off, any lift telephone that depends on a copper landline will be in direct breach of EN 81-28. There is no grace period.

The consequences of non-compliance extend beyond regulatory risk. Failing to upgrade can also invalidate building insurance. Many policies require functioning alarm systems as a condition of cover, and a non-compliant emergency telephone could leave a claim rejected at exactly the wrong moment.

The good news is that upgrading does not always mean replacing the entire lift. There are several routes available depending on the age and condition of your existing equipment, from a simple connectivity fix through to a full lift modernisation.

For many lifts, the most straightforward solution is replacing the analogue auto-dialler with a GSM or 4G cellular module. This removes the dependency on a fixed phone line entirely, routing emergency calls over the mobile network instead. A roaming SIM card that connects to whichever UK network has the strongest signal at that location provides the best coverage, particularly in basements, underground car parks, or rural areas where a single network may have weak signal. The module should include its own battery backup to maintain operation during a power outage, since digital systems do not carry the low-voltage current that kept analogue lines active during power cuts.

Where a building already has a reliable internet connection, a VoIP adapter can sit between the existing lift alarm autodialler and the digital network, translating the analogue signal without the need to replace the lift controller itself. This is often the most cost-effective route for estates with multiple lifts and existing broadband infrastructure.

Where the alarm system is outdated, a retrofit may be the right approach but it is also worth assessing the wider lift. If the control system, cabin finishes, or mechanical components are ageing, combining the alarm upgrade with a broader modernisation programme avoids the disruption and cost of two separate interventions. It is also an opportunity to bring the lift fully up to current standards under BS EN 81-80, which covers the upgrading of existing lifts for safety, and EN 81-70, which addresses accessibility requirements.

The switch-off deadline has a way of feeling distant until it is not. Demand for retrofit equipment and qualified lift engineers is rising as the January 2027 date approaches. Building portfolios with multiple lifts, mixed-age equipment, and complex signalling arrangements need time to assess and plan properly.

There is also the phase-out issue. Some exchanges have already been migrated. If your building is in one of those areas, your lift alarm may be unreliable right now, not in January 2027. The only way to confirm compliance is to have the emergency alarms in lifts audited.

Planning ahead also means avoiding the scramble. Those who leave it until late 2026 risk longer lead times, higher costs, and gaps in cover while work is being carried out.

We carry out lift alarm upgrades and full modernisation programmes across London, Essex, and the Home Counties, working across every lift type and every sector.
If your current alarm system is using analogue then PSTN switch-off means your alarm upgrade is not optional. If your lift’s wider components are also ageing, it makes sense to address both under a single programme rather than face two separate rounds of disruption and cost.
Not sure whether your lift is PSTN-dependent? Contact us to arrange a site visit