Are analogue to digital converters the answer to the digital switchover?

With the rollout of the digital network in progress, housing providers are acutely aware they need to take action to protect telecare services. But the question is: what action is necessary? Do you need to implement a full digital upgrade or is an analogue to digital converter a suitable alternative?

According to a recent telecare industry survey from the Housing LIN and Appello, over 55% of housing providers are including analogue to digital converters in their digital plans.

This is not so surprising: on the face of it, these offer a straightforward solution to the digital dilemma.

But they are not a silver bullet.

Whether analogue to digital converters are right for your organisation depends on a host of factors. It's important to understand how you can make use of these and what the limitations are, as well as the significant differences between the various models on the market.

What are analogue to digital converters?

Analogue to digital (A2D) converters translate signals sent by analogue telecare devices into a format that can be recognised by the digital network. This helps resolve compatibility issues that cause first time call failures, when a telecare alarm call takes multiple attempts to connect or fails to connect completely.

The converters are straightforward to install on site, meaning they’re often viewed as a cost-effective alternative to an end-to-end digital system. This can make them an attractive option as organisations prepare for the analogue switch off.

Our recent guide on telecare industry capacity issues highlights the scale of work still to be done to move all group housing schemes to digital telecare.

As we get closer to the analogue switch off, this becomes ever more pressing. Even with the recent deadline extension by Openreach (which has not been replicated by other communication providers, such as Virgin), it's a tall order. In the meantime, analogue and digital compatibility issues are already causing serious safety risks.

It’s tempting to view analogue to digital converters as the answer. But these shouldn’t be the cornerstone of your digital strategy. In fact, the TSA cautions against relying on converters as a long-term solution.

Beware of limitations with inbound calling

It's also essential to evaluate your options carefully, as there are crucial distinctions between the various analogue to digital converters on the market.

In particular, you need to make sure the converter can handle both inbound and outbound telecare calls. Many basic converters only deal with outbound calls, when the call is sent from the equipment to the monitoring centre. The telecare call will be connected but the monitoring centre is unable to ring back as needed (known as an ‘inbound call’).

Inbound calls are critical for a range of responses from the monitoring centre, however. These are how the monitoring centre allows emergency services access to the site; contacts the person who raised the alarm call to provide reassurance and updates; and contacts other people within the property to follow up on the telecare call. Without inbound calling, you’re essentially only providing a partial telecare service.

An effective analogue to digital converter must enable both inbound and outbound calls and manage a huge variety of different systems and protocols.

But analogue to digital converters do not provide all the benefits of a fully digital system.

Your digital telecare strategy

So, are analogue to digital converters the answer to the digital phone switchover?

That depends on what your overall aims are.

If you're hoping they will negate the need for a full digital upgrade, then – no, analogue to digital converters are not a suitable long-term solution. They don't offer the safety or functionality of a fully digital service, which improves wellbeing, safety and security for vulnerable individuals. You’ll also find your organisation lagging behind as you strive to maintain old analogue technology, which will soon be obsolete.

But if you want to use analogue to digital converters to bridge the gap while you plan your digital transition, they can be useful as part of a phased approach. Just make sure the analogue to digital converter supports inbound calls, with the functionality to allow you to provide a complete telecare service.

Our goal at Appello is to provide all the facts on the digital phone switchover, so you can make decisions with confidence.

Talk to us about your next steps for a pain-free transition to digital telecare.