BT's digital switchover is going 'too fast and too fast', campaigners representing elderly people have said - as fury grows over the telecom giant's plans to scrap landline phones by 2025. BT yesterday confirmed the next phase of its rollout of Digital Voice, its new home phone service to replace existing analogue landlines, with the scheme coming to the North West and London.   The move is part of an industry-wide shift away from analogue to digital landlines, meaning calls are made over the internet via a broadband line. Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, today told BBC Radio Oxford that many people are 'concerned about the reliability of a system based only on the internet' - and slammed the 2025 timetable as 'ludicrously short'. From 2025, all households and businesses will need the internet to make calls under a major digital shake-up - meaning millions of customers will be pushed online for the first time or forced to rely on a mobile phone instead. But the controversial shift has struck fear in the hearts of the elderly and those in rural areas who worry they might not be able to make 999 emergency calls, with charities warning landlines remain 'a lifeline' for many older users who do not have mobile phones and may live in remote areas. This is when the change to traditional copper landlines will be rolling out across the UK Dennis Reed (pictured), director of Silver Voices, today told BBC Radio Oxford that many people are 'concerned about the reliability of a system based only on the internet' - and slammed the 2025 timetable as 'ludicrously short' BT has announced the next phase of its Digital Voice switchover - which will see the old copper network scrapped in favour of broadband phone calls BT memorably used Maureen Lipman as 'Beattie' (pictured) to promote landline services in the 1980s Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, told BBC Radio Oxford today: 'A lot of people don't know about it yet but those that do are contacting us in large numbers expressing their concerns because they rely on the landline for a whole number of reasons, obviously emergency calls. 'They're very concerned about the reliability of having a system based only on the internet. They may not have a good mobile signal in their area. A lot of them have got emergency telecare or pendant alarm systems and not all of those are compatible with the Digital Voice system. 'So there's a whole range of concerns and we think it's going far too fast and far too far at this stage. I mean, 2025 is a ludicrously short timetable. It's a timetable which has been agreed for commercial considerations rather than the security of older and vulnerable people. 'If it's a question of choice, and a lot of people might be quite happy and rely on mobiles, have good mobile signal in their area, they might be quite happy to have an internet-based system as a backup to that. But they're forcing people to do this, or the intention is that they will force people to transfer over to Digital Voice by 2025. 'And there's no reason for this. BT say that the copper wire system has reached the end of its days. Well that may well be the case, but it's not suddenly overnight in 2025 going to reach the end of its days. And there's no reason why there shouldn't be a reasonable transition period so that all these concerns about reliability and safety are ironed out before they force everybody to transfer over.' 'What we're suggesting, and some Government officials have actually asked us recently for our advice on what to do about this, and our advice is very simple - that the timetable needs to be reappraised, there's no reason why the two systems can't work in parallel, say for up to five years, and then the move would be largely voluntary and it wouldn't have all this concern over people are very concerned about their safety with this new system. 'BT have come up with all these assurances about how they're going to be very careful and cautious with older people, but they've already started moving some people between the age of 70 and 75 in the East Midlands over to Digital Voice without advising them that it's voluntary at the moment. 'So they are really pushing, for commercial reasons, to get this done as quickly as possible. We think the Government should step in and say: 'Hey, wait a minute, folks. This timetable is too rushed and we are concerned about the impact on vulnerable people.' Asked if he had a landline, Mr Reed said: 'Unfortunately we've moved into a new property and there's no landlines installed, and we can't get a landline installed. And that's part of the problem... that BT aren't putting in new landlines. So I haven't.' A digital revolution of BT's home phone network has yesterday triggered fears millions of elderly and vulnerable people in Britain could be cut off from the world and left at risk.  Author Polly James led the backlash yesterday, writing on social media: 'What happens to vulnerable people who rely on landlines to call for help in an emergency? Broadband does crash occasionally and not all elderly people are confident with mobile phones.' Industry insiders had previously compared the move to the switch to digital TV in 2012, when broadcasters stopped transmitting traditional analogue signals to household rooftop or indoor aerials. Pensioner groups previously warned the move would leave millions of vulnerable people at risk and isolated if the system goes into temporary meltdown.  Jan Shortt, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, previously told The Mail on Sunday: 'What on earth was BT thinking when it decided to bring in such a huge change without properly consulting those who rely on traditional home phone lines the most?' BT's digital changeover sees the traditional handset replaced by a new 'digital' phone (powered by electricity) that relies upon the internet for calls to be made.