Average first time call failures rising despite fluctuations

(First Time Call Failures Review, Autumn 2025)

It's been a year since we launched our industry analogue telecare First Time Call Failures Report. We've collated the figures over the last 12 months, which reveal a persistent problem – with a peak average failure rate of 26% during 2025.

First time call failures (FTCF) are a serious safety concern as the rollout of the digital network progresses. These put people at risk, delaying the emergency response when telecare calls do not connect on the first attempt.

Our First Time Call Failures report has been tracking the issue over the last 12 months. We've pulled together the figures to see what they can tell us about FTCF and which equipment is most affected.

Key takeaways include:

• A continued fluctuation in FTCF rates, with the overall risk level remaining HIGH during 2025.
• The highest average monthly FTCF rate peaked at 26.35% in February 2025, while the lowest figure was 17.9% in November 2024.
• A rise in the average monthly FTCF rate during 2025, currently at 22.53%, compared to 18.83% in the final quarter of 2024.
• Certain analogue telecare devices are consistently showing a much higher monthly failure rate, as high as 62% in some cases.

Beyond the stats, we need to remember these figures represent thousands of vulnerable people across the country, who are experiencing potentially life-threatening risks to their telecare alarm call connectivity every month.

Call failures persistent risk despite fluctuating failure rates

Following the launch of our First Time Call Failures report, the initial quarterly figures spanned from 17.9% to 20%.

This trend for fluctuations has continued during 2025:

• The FTCF rate peaked in February 2025 at 26.35%.
• July 2025 saw a dip in the FTCF rate at 19.93%.
• However, this increased again to 22.35% in August 2025, falling slightly in September 2025 to 20.11%. 

Why do the monthly failure rates vary?

This can be for a number of reasons. Different regions are being upgraded to the digital network at different times, meaning some areas experience more disruptions than others. There’s also still a wide range of analogue devices in the field. Some models are more susceptible to FTCF, so failure rates will fluctuate depending on the mix of devices making calls each month.

Alongside this, we're working with our monitoring centre customers to target their highest failing devices as a priority. As these are upgraded, this brings the average FTCF rates down.

These various factors all contribute to the fluctuations, with the different elements having a greater or lesser impact from month to month.

What do the figures tell us

Despite the variations, FTCF have stayed within the high risk bracket so far during 2025 and look to be increasing.

• The average monthly FTCF rate for the last quarter in 2024 was 18.83%. 
• The average monthly FTCF rate for 2025 currently stands at 22.53%. 

This means, even during the lowest month in 2025, nearly 1 in 5 telecare calls failed – rising to more than 1 in 4 at the peak of failure in February 2025.

What should be done to mitigate first time call failures?

The figures show FTCF rates can be changeable. One thing we can be certain of, however, is the problem will not resolve itself. It requires proactive mitigation to address analogue to digital compatibility issues.

With the digital phone switchover only 15 months away, now is the time to act.

Analogue to digital converters may offer a short-term solution, although end-to-end digital warden call systems are ultimately the best way to ensure your telecare services are fully compatible with the digital network.

Find out if your equipment is at risk

While the average monthly FTCF rates reveal the scale of the problem, our monthly First Time Call Failures Reports show which specific equipment is most vulnerable.

Over the last 12 months, we've tracked:

• Failure rates as high as 62% for some devices (Haven Tunstall).
• An average failure rate of 36.11% for the top 5 most impacted devices during the last quarter.
• The highest impacted analogue protocol reaching 34.47% (TT Old).
   

These variations underline the unreliability of analogue equipment as the digital switchover progresses, which is why it's vital to monitor your specific devices.

Want to know if your analogue services are failing?

Find out which equipment is most vulnerable with our monthly First Time Call Failure Report. This provides valuable insights on the most impacted manufacturers, models and protocols, so you can prioritise upgrades where they're needed to safeguard your residents.

Get the monthly First Time Call Failure Report.

You can find more details on how best to future-proof your telecare in our latest guide. 

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