UK ISP BT to Close Redcare Alarm Security Division in 2025 UPDATE
Customers of BT’s Redcare division, which supplies monitored alarm signalling systems to UK homes and businesses that enable fire, security and more to be monitored over a secure network, have informed ISPreview that the telecoms operator has communicated their plans to close the Redcare service on 1st August 2025.
According to the “Important notice” sent to customers, which was distributed via both first-class post and email, BT says they have “made the difficult to decision to close all BT Redcare operations on 1st August 2025” (or earlier if your services are contractually due to expire earlier).
The operator says they “appreciate that this will not be welcome news” and hence why they’re giving “as much notice as we possibly can“, which is at least some consolation. But for some customers, it will not be either a simple or cheap matter to switch to a different service.
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However, BT says they will “continue to accept orders up to and including 29th February 2024“, albeit obviously only on the express condition that no services will continue to be provided beyond 1st August 2025. The aim of this is to help give some customers, such as those who may shortly be out of contract, the maximum time possible to find an alternative.
BT are also waiving any early termination charges from 1st March 2024 for orders that have already been placed before 1st February 2024, and where Redcare services are already being provided. The announcement comes only a couple of weeks after Redcare’s Product Manager, Andrew Deeming, boasted about their products and said (here): “There’s a lot on our product roadmap. We have a clear view of where we are going as we add to the product range over the next few years.” That clearly hasn’t aged too well.
A BT spokesperson told ISPreview:
“As part of our strategy to simplify our business portfolio and focus on delivering core products and services for our customers, we have decided to close our Redcare business in 2025.
We have informed all our Redcare customers, to give them enough advance notice to find alternative suppliers – and we will be supporting them during this process.”
The operator doesn’t split out the Redcare division in any of their financial results, so we don’t know how well (or not) it’s been performing. But regardless of their branding and simplification changes, the standing assumption in these cases is often that if they were making enough money from the service, then it probably wouldn’t be closing.
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UPDATE 10:11am
We’ve added a comment from BT above.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and Linkedin.
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Wonder if they’re struggling to convert the old copper customers to new offerings, and they’re leaving for alternatives? Only reason that makes sense in my head for them to close it in 2025, when they won’t have the option to renew those customers ??
While it’s good to have over a years notice for existing customers, that’s just one months notice of the end of new orders. That’s pretty shabby if no previous indication was given.
Interesting that only three weeks ago they were celebrating the IP products and talking about future developments. I wonder what has happened to result in this sudden change.
https://www.redcare.bt.com/news-and-insights/news/5-years-of-ngp.html
Looks like they’ve taken the post down, but it can be found here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240201103211/https://www.redcare.bt.com/news-and-insights/news/5-years-of-ngp.html
Our insurance company dropped the need for Redcare years ago instead they now insist on dual path comms back to the monitoring center.
Redcare can’t work once they drop all the copper anyway as it put a monitoring voltage on the lines.
Not correct.
Redcare offer dual path over 4G or 4G+Ethernet. Neither of those require copper
Redcare didn’t monitor voltage of the line. It monitored continuity. It would still work if the PSTN was removed from the frame altogether. Pretty soon there will be no frame and no copper pair.
This is very surprising. There’s a big opportunity for upsell as people move away from copper lines.
I know a few companies who’ve already moved over to 4G Redcare solutions ready for the switch off so timing is not good.
BT Redcare was still the go-to solution for alarm systems and “just works”.
Couldn’t agree more. This product has good a seriously strong brand, some corporate insurance companies require it by contract, enterprises are familiar with it.
At this point they are transforming the company into something with no USP over someone like talktalk, sky, or city fibre. IP only connectivity is a complete commodity now
Timed for the WLR switch off. Wonder if Ofcom will pipe up.
Garlingly obvious this is because it doesn’t work with VOIP. It would be decent of BT to just admit this. I have been reading news articles here over the last two years of all the problems BT have been having getting it to work with VOIP. So they just took the easy route.
The Redcare product line has been cellular and/or ethernet for five years now, this has nothing to do with VoIP.
Say what? Why would it need to work with VoIP? It’s an out of band platform.
I’m in the security industry and this is a huge shock, Redcare has been IP based for some time and heavily promoted migration from POTS to IP and cellular for several years now. It’s a very strong brand although doesn’t necessarily fit with BT’s current strategy, years ago Redcare was a specialist product but these days since there’s a lot wider monitoring availability it’s less so; insurers and installers alike know what we’re doing with Redcare so I’m surprised it isn’t getting spun off as its own entity.
Sounds like Redcare’s Product Manager, Andrew Deeming was one of the last to know – Ouch…
At least BT are giving half decent notice – Google/Microsoft/Amazon take note!
As Steve just said, surprised its not being spun off as a separate entity or sold off. Can only guess the profits are too low to support a spin off but still a bit surprised they haven’t found a buyer for it. Googling for alternatives, i’m sure there’s a competitor out there that will come up with a fairly painless transition path for us.
Redcare has been the go to form of signalling for decades and if like us you have been installing Redcare essential and advanced for last 5 years this is a shocker. CSL will be happy but will there be a shortage of CSL units?
Last communication I had from BT (my quarterly bill) included there had a tie-up with Verisure…
I’ve only seen about-turns like this when either Openreach have decided that an essential feature can no longer be supported, or – and also related, where the service is using a feature that somehow contravenes the ‘undertakings’ – where BT is using a feature of Openreach’s network or systems in a way that can’t be replicated for other operators and is thus unfair.
Also rare but still possible is where the service uses a third party’s intellectual property and that party decides, for whatever reason, to stop letting other people play with their toys.
Lastly is some kind of essential upgrade to a life expired component or system that is so eye-watering expensive it makes more financial sense just to shut it down. Given the space this product plays in it would be beyond unacceptable to rely on a component out of support by crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.
BT Redcare describe themselves as the largest supplier of alarm systems so finding alternatives may be challenging. It seems strange BT have not tried to sell the Business unit
I feel a tad smug that we got rid of our few remaining Redcare’s a couple of years ago and upgraded to CSL DualCom pro2 in Lan/Radio setup across the board. This is going to cause some major headaches and expense for some multi-site operators who went the opposite way!
Adam, you’ll feel a great deal less smug when CSL drop the ball. For they will.