Is Your Lift’s Emergency Auto Dialler Ready For The UK’s Digital Switchover?

What You Need to Know to Protect Your Passengers And Your Building

You’ve most likely heard about the UK’s upcoming “digital switchover.” By 2027, the old analogue phone network (called the PSTN) will be switched off for good. You may be wondering what that has to do with your lift system.

In fact, the connection is more important than you might think. That analogue phone line is what powers your lift’s emergency alarm button. When this is pressed, it automatically dials a monitoring centre or service provider, alerting the outside world that there is a problem. When the analogue network goes, any alarm that relies on it could fail.

Is your lift’s emergency auto dialler ready for the UK’s digital switchover? It’s the job of lift providers like Tower Lifts to ensure your lift’s most critical feature—its emergency line—isn’t compromised when this occurs. In this blog, we’ll explain the problem (minus the jargon) and give you a clear plan to keep your passengers safe.

How the Digital Switchover Puts Your Lift at Risk

We foresee two potential issues that need to be addressed. First is to do with compatibility. Many older auto-diallers can’t “talk” to the new digital network. They were built for analogue lines, and the new IP or mobile signals are completely different.

Second, and more important still, is power. Old PSTN lines carried their own small electrical charge, meaning they worked even during a power failure. The new systems (whether IP-based or mobile) do not. They rely on your building’s mains power (for a router) or their own internal battery (for a mobile unit). If your lift alarm isn’t upgraded to have its own dedicated battery backup, it will fail the instant your building loses power.

How the Digital Switchover Puts Your Lift at Risk

How to Stay Safe and Compliant

Lift providers are already upgrading systems. If you still need to take action, here is what you need to do to guarantee your lift is safe, compliant, and ready for the digital switchover’.

    1. Check Your Compatibility – The first thing to do is to find out what system you have. The simplest way to do this is to contact your lift service provider and ask them to audit your lift’s auto-dialler. You need a yes or no answer to the following question: “Is this dialler compatible with IP and mobile networks, and will it work in a power cut?“
    2. Upgrade to a Modern Solution – The industry standard solution is to install a dedicated GSM (mobile) auto-dialler. These systems use a SIM card (like a mobile phone) to connect to the 4G or 5G network, completely bypassing the new IP landlines.
    3. Full Battery Backup – This is essential. Your new GSM unit must have its own integrated, long-life battery backup. So, even if the whole building loses power, the emergency alarm will still have the power it needs to make a call for help.
    4. Test, Test, Test – Once your new system is installed, make sure that it’s tested regularly as part of your lift maintenance schedule. You need to have absolute confidence that the connection is always strong.

Tower Lifts is Here to Help

The digital switchover is a major network change, but the solution for your lift is straightforward. If you have any questions, or you’d just like one of our engineers to check your system and give you clear, honest advice about next steps, please get in touch. Our aim is to help you make this transition smoothly and safely.

This problem won’t solve itself and ignoring it will put passengers at risk. Get in touch with us today, and we’ll provide a clear, no-obligation assessment to make your lift safe and compliant – 01525 601099

Tower Lifts London lift team can design and install a varied range of lifts throughout the UK including:

Domestic Lifts • Food Lifts • Bespoke Platform Lifts • Service Lifts • Platform Lifts • Goods Lifts • Scenic Lifts • Heavy Duty / Car Lifts • Passenger Lifts • Dumbwaiter Lifts • MRL Lifts • Fire lifts • Residential Lifts • low-Headroom Lifts