BT accused of ‘bullying’ customers by pausing broadband in digital landline push

Companies race to switch households to ‘voice over internet protocol’ services by the end of January

BT has been accused of “bullying” customers by temporarily cutting off their broadband to pressure them to upgrade to a digital landline, as providers race to switch households over before the January deadline.

Telecoms companies have so far migrated 16-17m lines from the old copper network to digital voice over internet protocol (VoiP), which uses a broadband connection instead, in the biggest technological upgrade since the early 00s, when analogue TV was switched off.