For decades monitored fire alarms in the UK signalled over BT Redcare, a service running on analogue telephone lines. BT withdrew Redcare in 2025, and the wider PSTN switch-off is retiring analogue lines across the country. A fire alarm communicator that depends on either will stop working, sometimes silently.
How to tell if you are affected
Look at the communicator next to the fire alarm panel. If it is labelled Redcare, or connects to a telephone socket, it needs replacing. Your alarm receiving centre can also confirm which signalling path each site uses. On dispersed estates, an audit is often the only way to be sure.
The replacement
Modern communicators use dual-path signalling, typically IP over broadband plus a 4G radio path, graded under BS EN 50136. Both paths are monitored so a failure of either is reported. Installation is a short visit: fit the communicator, connect to the panel outputs, register the site with the ARC and test alarm and fault signals end to end.
Use the opportunity
Replacing the communicator is a good moment to review the response plan with the ARC, add fault signalling if it was never connected, and configure filtering to reduce unwanted fire signals to the Fire and Rescue Service.