COUNCILLOR Iris Andersen has spoken out about her concerns for the elderly as BT announce switching landline phones to digital.

The announcement said that "digital" phones will replace traditional landline handsets, despite campaigners saying it will cause “unnecessary” worry for thousands of the most vulnerable customers.

BT plans to roll the new digital phones out in 2025, forcing homeowners in Hampshire to give up their landline handset.

According to BT, the phone will need to be connected to the internet to make any calls to other devices and will need to be powered by electricity mains.

Councillor Iris Andersen said: "The elderly in particular can't get on with mobile phones. Some of them are brilliant but some of them can't get on with mobile phones because they can't understand how the technical side of things work.

"It's such a shame to take this service away, the explanation is 'why are they taking it away and why are they giving it up?'"

Despite the company making the bold claims at the start of last month, the plans to introduce the digital phone in just under three years have been criticised both regionally and nationally – amid concerns that vulnerable households will be left isolated, as well as issues surrounding older members of the public who don’t want to access online services.

According to watchdog Ofcom, around six per cent of households 1.5 million homes - do not have access to the internet with experts fearing millions more do not have a mobile phone or do not know how to use one properly.

BT has pledged to contact customers well ahead of time to keep them up to date with the change, before being upgraded.

Expressing concerns for customers that live that get less signal in their area, Iris said: "The service has been going on for years. It's certainly not caring about the customers who have been with them for years. What happens to customers in the country, where there is less signal?"

Jan Shortt, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, said: "Those needing to make an emergency call or raise an alarm via a health pendant could be left stranded – and unable to call anyone to ask for life-saving support.

“BT has no idea that many older people do not want a fancy smartphone or cannot afford one – and rely on their landline as a lifeline. It is wrong to discriminate against those – primarily the elderly – who are not wired up to the internet.

"Given that about half of older people over the age of 75 are not online, this could be a particular problem for our oldest citizens."