Virgin Media, one of the UK’s largest telecoms providers, has been handed a £23.8 million fine by communications regulator Ofcom after thousands of vulnerable customers were left without access to lifesaving telecare alarms during a recent transition from analogue to digital landline services. The penalty, announced on December 1, 2025, marks one of the most significant enforcement actions in the sector in recent years and has thrown a spotlight on the risks posed to elderly and disabled users during major technology upgrades.
The issue surfaced in late 2023, when Virgin Media began migrating its landline customers from the ageing copper-based analogue network to a digital alternative. According to Ofcom, this industry-wide switchover was necessary because the traditional system was “beyond its intended lifespan and increasingly unreliable.” However, the transition proved anything but smooth for a particularly vulnerable group: telecare users whose emergency alarm systems depend on a stable landline connection to alert carers or emergency services at the press of a button.
Ofcom’s investigation, triggered after Virgin Media self-reported a series of serious incidents in November and December 2023, found that the company failed to properly identify and record the status of telecare customers. This oversight resulted in significant gaps in the screening process and meant that thousands of affected individuals did not receive the tailored support they needed during the migration. As a result, many were left with disconnected devices, unable to reach alarm monitoring centres in case of emergency—a situation Ofcom described as putting customers “at direct risk of harm.”
Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom’s director of enforcement, minced no words in his assessment. “It’s unacceptable that vulnerable customers were put at direct risk of harm and left without appropriate support by Virgin Media, during what should have been a safe and straightforward upgrade to their landline services,” he said, as reported by Sky News and BBC. “Today’s fine makes clear to companies that, if they fail to protect their vulnerable customers, they can expect to face similar enforcement action.”
Telecare systems are a lifeline for many elderly and disabled people, offering round-the-clock monitoring and the ability to summon help with the touch of a button. Any disruption to these services, even temporary, can have grave consequences. Ofcom highlighted that the risk was not theoretical: the disconnection of telecare devices “prevented their devices from connecting to alarm monitoring centres while the disconnection was in place.” The regulator did not specify precisely how many customers were affected or for how long, but emphasized the seriousness of the potential harm.
The £23.8 million penalty is the third largest ever imposed by Ofcom, following fines against Royal Mail and BT in previous years. The size of the fine, which will be paid to the Treasury, reflects several aggravating factors: the vulnerability of the customers affected, the significant length of time they were left at risk, the seriousness of the regulatory breaches, and the potential for substantial harm to user safety.
Virgin Media, for its part, acknowledged its failings and has taken steps to address the issues. In a statement quoted by City A.M. and Daily Mail, a company spokesperson said, “While historically the majority of migrations were completed without issue, we recognise that we didn’t get everything right and have since addressed the migration issues identified by Ofcom. Our customers’ safety is always our top priority and, following an end-to-end review which began in 2023, we have already introduced a comprehensive package of improvements and enhanced support for vulnerable customers.”
The improvements, as detailed by Virgin Media, include better communications with customers, additional in-home support, extensive post-migration checks, and collaboration with industry and government on a joint national awareness campaign. The company also paused further migrations in December 2023 to review and update its policies and procedures, introducing further safeguards to prevent a repeat of the failings.
Ofcom noted that Virgin Media’s full cooperation and self-reporting of the incidents were taken into account when determining the penalty. The company entered into a settlement process and admitted its shortcomings, which helped mitigate the potential size of the fine. Nevertheless, the regulator was clear that the breaches were serious and that the primary concern must always be the protection of vulnerable consumers.
For many, the episode serves as a cautionary tale about the challenges of large-scale technology transitions—especially when the stakes are as high as they are for those dependent on emergency services. As BBC pointed out, the switchover from analogue to digital is an industry-wide process, and the risks highlighted by the Virgin Media case could be relevant to other providers as well. Ofcom has warned all telecoms companies that “any disruption to [telecare] device’s connection could have material impacts on their safety.”
Beyond the immediate regulatory and operational consequences, the case has wider implications for how companies approach customer care during periods of technological change. The expectation, as outlined by Ofcom and echoed by consumer advocacy groups, is that vulnerable users must be proactively identified and given tailored support—something that was clearly lacking in this instance. The regulator’s enforcement action sends a strong message that lapses in this area will not be tolerated.
While Virgin Media insists that the majority of its migrations were completed without incident, the company’s admission that it “didn’t get everything right” has prompted calls for continued vigilance as the digital transition continues. The lessons learned from this episode are likely to inform not just Virgin Media’s future operations but also those of the wider telecoms industry as the UK’s communications infrastructure undergoes further modernization.
The money from the fine will go to the Treasury, but for the customers affected, the impact of the disconnections cannot be measured in pounds and pence. The hope now is that the changes made by Virgin Media—and the warning sent to the industry as a whole—will ensure that vulnerable people are never again left without the support they so desperately need during critical moments.
As the digital switchover progresses, all eyes will be on telecoms providers to see whether they have truly learned the lessons from Virgin Media’s costly mistake—or whether further enforcement action will be needed to protect those most at risk.
