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Efforts to move all 29 million UK homes off copper landlines onto a digital system have been paused over concerns that the change could impact vulnerable customers.
Personal alarms, known as telecare, can offer remote support to elderly, disabled, and vulnerable people – especially those located in rural and isolated areas.
But the move away from the traditional copper network towards a digital system using fibre-optic cables could impact their ability to function correctly.
A "small number" of serious incidents where telecare users have been unable to use their devices have also been incurred during the upgrade process.
After becoming aware of various incidents following the digitisation of some lines, technology secretary Michelle Donelan convened a meeting with telecoms providers including Sky, BT, VMO2 and TalkTalk, to discuss urgent mitigations to reduce the likelihood of further incidents, protecting those including the elderly.
She asked all providers not to force people to switch over until enhanced protections are in place and ensure that vulnerable households have better access to emergency services during power outages
The agreement means that no telecare users will be migrated to digital landline services without the provider, customer, or telecare company confirming they have a compatible and functioning solution in place.
"It is absolutely right that the most vulnerable people in our society should feel safe, secure and have complete confidence in the services provided to them," Donelan said.
"That's why I have brought our biggest network providers and industry regulator to the table, agreeing a cast iron set of principles to reassure people and put their minds at ease.
"The recent issues families have had to endure are unacceptable and today's agreements will help to protect consumers in future."
Providers will be required to work to provide back-up solutions that go beyond regulator Ofcom's minimum of one hour of continued, uninterrupted access to emergency services in the event of a power outage.
BT announced in 2017 its intention to retire the analogue telephone networks by the end of 2025. The industry will upgrade landline services to new digital technology using an internet connection, such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Digital Voice or All-IP telephony.
According to regulator Ofcom, the switch needs to happen because the age of the network is making it harder and more expensive to maintain.
