Most businesses have worked out what the PSTN switch-off means for their phone calls. Far fewer have worked out what it means for the equipment nobody thinks about: the alarm panel in the cupboard, the emergency phone in the lift, the intercom on the gate. These sit on analogue lines that stop working on 31 January 2027, and for most of them the simplest replacement is a SIM. Here is why, and what to check before the deadline.
The 30-second version
- The analogue phone network closes on 31 January 2027. Anything relying on a traditional phone line stops working.
- Alarms, lift emergency phones, door entry and telecare are the most commonly missed devices.
- A SIM is often the better replacement because it does not depend on your broadband or your office network.
- Lift emergency phones are a legal safety requirement, so they need planning, not improvising.
- Start now: equipment surveys and engineer visits get harder the closer the deadline comes.
On this page
Why these devices are the ones that get forgotten
Phones are obvious. If the phone system stops working, everybody knows within a minute. The devices in this article are the opposite: they sit silently for years, and the day they stop working is usually the day you needed them.
They were installed at different times, often by different companies, and frequently by a contractor who has not been back since. The alarm company fitted the panel, the lift company fitted the emergency phone, the door entry came with the building. Nobody holds a single list, which is exactly why they get missed.
The quiet failure problem
A monitored alarm that can no longer dial out often looks completely normal on the keypad. The failure is at the other end, where the alarm receiving centre simply stops hearing from it. Some setups will flag it, many will not.
The equipment most often affected
| Device | Why it matters | Usual replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Intruder and fire alarm signalling | Alerts the monitoring centre. Insurers often require a working signalling path | Digital signalling over broadband, a SIM, or both together |
| Lift emergency phones | A legal safety requirement so a trapped passenger can reach help | A GSM module with its own SIM |
| Door entry and gate intercoms | Lets visitors call through and lets staff release doors remotely | SIM-based intercom or an IP intercom |
| Telecare and warden call | Pendant alarms and call systems in care settings | Digital or SIM-based units |
| Card terminals and franking machines | Older units dial out over a phone line | Broadband, Wi-Fi or a data SIM |
| Site huts, gatehouses and remote units | Often a single analogue line for one phone | Mobile or hosted voice |
Why a SIM is usually the better answer
There are two obvious ways to replace an analogue line: put the device on your broadband, or give it a mobile connection of its own. For alarms, lifts and door entry, the SIM usually wins, for reasons that have nothing to do with selling SIMs.
- It does not depend on your broadband. If your internet goes down, or somebody replaces the router, the lift phone still works.
- It does not depend on your network. No firewall rules, no IT change requests, no port forwarding.
- It survives building changes. Offices get re-cabled and providers get switched. A SIM does not care.
- It can be multi-network. A multi-network SIM uses whichever network is strongest, which matters in a lift shaft or a plant room.
- It is monitored. We can see when a SIM stops reporting rather than waiting for the annual service visit.
The exception is where your alarm company or insurer specifies a particular signalling product or grade. In that case the requirement comes first, and the connection is chosen to suit it.
Lifts deserve their own paragraph
A lift emergency phone is not a convenience. It is how somebody trapped in a lift reaches help, and it is required to work. When the analogue line goes, that phone goes with it unless something replaces it.
Most lift companies fit a GSM module with a SIM, because it is self-contained and keeps working when the building loses power to other systems, provided the module has its own backup. Talk to whoever maintains your lift, ask what the emergency phone uses today, and get the change booked. Lift engineers get very busy as deadlines approach.
How to check what you have, in an hour
- Walk the building with a list. Look for anything plugged into a phone socket: alarm panel, lift motor room, riser cupboards, reception, gatehouse, kitchen, plant room.
- Photograph each one, including the make and model on the label.
- Ask your maintenance companies what each device uses to communicate today, and what they recommend after the switch-off. Get it in writing.
- Check your phone bill for lines you cannot account for. Unexplained lines are often exactly these devices.
- Decide and book early. The work is usually quick; getting an engineer at short notice in late 2026 will not be.
Not sure what is on a line?
Our guide to alarms, lifts and the devices that fail quietly lists the usual suspects, and we will go through it with you.
What it usually costs, and how long it takes
For most of these devices the connection itself is inexpensive, because they send tiny amounts of data. The cost that matters is the hardware and the engineer, and that comes from the company that maintains the equipment.
What we supply is the connectivity: a SIM sized for the job, pooled with your other SIMs on one bill, and monitored so somebody notices if a device goes quiet. Where a site has awkward signal, we check coverage before anything is ordered rather than after.
Not sure what is still on an analogue line?
Send us a list or a few photos of what is plugged into your phone sockets. We will tell you what needs to change, what it needs to change to, and what we would do first.