When the Call Doesn’t Connect: A Q&A with Clare Parker and Richard Thwaites

Featuring Clare Parker, Director of Surveying, and Richard Thwaites, Director of Building Safety & Compliance

The UK’s analogue network withdrawal is accelerating. For residential building managers and owners responsible for lift emergency phones and Emergency Call Systems, the conversation is moving from awareness to practical action.

We asked Clare Parker and Richard Thwaites what the digital switchover really means in practice, and why early action matters.

Q1. Why is this more than just a telecoms upgrade for some residential buildings?

Clare Parker:

Because many safety-critical systems in residential buildings still rely on analogue connectivity. Lift emergency phones and Emergency Call Systems were installed years ago, often with little ongoing visibility about how they connect externally.

As the analogue network is withdrawn, those systems may continue to appear operational, but that doesn’t guarantee resilience.

For those responsible for these buildings, that uncertainty creates operational risk.

And in larger portfolios, that risk is often hidden across multiple sites and suppliers unless it is actively investigated and assessed.

Richard Thwaites:

When you strip it back, this is about whether a call connects when someone needs help.

That’s not telecoms. That’s safety.

Q2. Who is genuinely at risk?

Richard Thwaites:

It’s real people.

The elderly resident who falls during the night and presses her emergency pendant expecting someone to answer.

The vulnerable resident who relies on a pull cord for reassurance.

The person trapped in a lift pressing the alarm button, assuming it connects externally.

If that call doesn’t connect, or drops, that moment becomes distressing very quickly. In some cases, it could escalate into something more serious.

These systems exist for the moment when someone actually needs help.

Clare Parker:

And in many portfolios, there simply isn’t consolidated visibility confirming which systems are analogue-dependent and which have already been upgraded. Some more complex developments may have a hybrid of systems, which can cause confusion.

That gap is where exposure to risk sits.

Q3. Are these extreme scenarios, or realistic risks?

Richard Thwaites:

They’re realistic.

Emergency Call Systems and lift phones are installed because incidents do happen. Falls happen. Entrapments happen. Medical events happen.

The risk here is silent failure — systems that haven’t been formally assessed against the digital switchover and are assumed to be fine.

You don’t get advance warning when that assumption is wrong.

Q4. Why should building managers and owners act now?

Clare Parker:

Because waiting reduces control and increases the risk of not meeting the switchover deadline.

As more portfolios move through 2026, specialist contractor capacity will tighten. Lead times will extend and supplier choice will narrow.

If you assess now, you can phase works sensibly and prioritise higher-risk buildings first.

If you wait, you’re reacting in a compressed timeframe.

Richard Thwaites:

There’s also an oversight element to this.

If something fails, scrutiny will be fairly simple:

• Were you aware the analogue network was being withdrawn?
• Did you check whether your systems relied on it?
• Did you take reasonable steps to address the risk?
• No portfolio-wide audit
• Unclear responsibility boundaries between managing agent, freeholder and contractor
• Assumptions that suppliers have already addressed the issue

Acting early makes it much easier to demonstrate that the risk was identified and managed. Documenting an early assessment provides a clear record that the issue was identified and addressed, rather than simply assumed away.

Q5. Are some buildings more exposed than others?

Clare Parker:

Yes.

Later living and supported housing schemes carry greater consequence because Emergency Call Systems underpin daily safety and reassurance.

The consequences in those environments can escalate quickly.

Richard Thwaites:

But lift emergency phones in general residential buildings are equally critical.

No resident should ever be left isolated in a lift without a way to call for help.

Q6. Where are organisations most vulnerable right now?

Clare Parker:

Organisations are most vulnerable where there is limited visibility or unclear ownership and responsibility.

That includes:

That is where unmanaged exposure exists.

Q7. What does a proportionate response look like?

Richard Thwaites:

It starts with verification, not panic.

Identify analogue dependency, assess resilience and consequence, and then prioritise higher-risk buildings for phased intervention.

This is about structured programme management, not emergency replacement.

Clare Parker:

Portfolio visibility is key. Once you can see the exposure clearly, you can control cost, sequencing and delivery.

Q8. How can Innovus support?

Clare Parker:

We start by creating clarity.

That means independently assessing lift emergency communications and Emergency Call Systems across a portfolio to confirm where analogue dependency still exists and what condition those systems are in.

In many cases, organisations simply don’t have a consolidated view. Our role is to provide that visibility so nothing is missed and higher-risk buildings can be identified early.

Richard Thwaites:

From there, it becomes structured programme management.

This isn’t about replacing everything at once. It’s about prioritising based on risk, coordinating across systems and suppliers, and setting clear ownership and timelines.

We act as an independent partner, overseeing assessment, planning and phased delivery so senior teams retain control without needing to manage day-to-day coordination internally.

The objective is straightforward: when someone relies on a safety-critical system, it works, and there is documented evidence that it has been properly assessed and managed.

From awareness to action

For those responsible for lift and Emergency Call systems, the analogue withdrawal is a practical issue that needs attention now.

Maintaining confidence that safety-critical systems starts with understanding where analogue dependency still exists within a portfolio, and then managing the technical project works needed to transfer those systems to digital.

Where exposure has not yet been verified, now is the time to do so.

Acting early protects residents, allows works to be planned sensibly and avoids pressure later as contractor capacity tightens.