UK campaign organisation for over-60s, Silver Voices, has voiced concerns around the PSTN switch-off, claiming that the switchover will disproportionately affect older people who rely on landline phones for calling for assistance.
The group has set up an online petition, entitled ‘Save our Landlines’, which calls on the government to extend the deadline of the PSTN switch-off to 2030 in order for better safety products for older residents to be developed. As of May 2026, the petition has gathered more than 100k+ signatures.
In addition, a recent article in The Guardian highlighted concerns from over 100 readers who wrote in with concerns around the PSTN switch-off. For those in rural communities, where the reliability of power lines is worse, there is a fear that VoIP-enabled phones may unintentionally ‘disconnect’ them from the outside world.