Brits warned they have 100 days to move off copper phone lines
The UK’s largest network has warned 1 million customers they have just 100 days to move off its old copper telephone network before it is shut down.
Openreach, the biggest broadband network infrastructure provider, has issued an urgent warning for communication providers and businesses, reminding them that it will shut off its Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) on 31 January 2027.
As a wholesale provider, Openreach connections are resold to retail customers by communication providers, who are responsible for migrating their end-users off the legacy copper telephone infrastructure before this deadline.
Many businesses have still not migrated, however, and Openreach has warned that these types of connections are among the most complex to migrate, stating that action must be taken now to avoid disruption.
Despite the looming deadline, around 1 million copper-based lines remain active across the UK, and 300,000 of these are within business premises.
“With fewer than 100 days left before the old analogue network is retired, any services still reliant on copper-based lines risk sudden and permanent disruption,” Openreach warned customers.
It said that legacy circuits connected to specialist infrastructure are often not straightforward to migrate, requiring testing, investigation, and possibly the replacement of equipment.
It is not just landlines that rely on this infrastructure, either. Other systems that often still rely on PSTN connectivity include payment terminals, fire alarm panels, building access controls, and emergency telephones in lifts.
Failure to migrate these systems before the deadline poses severe operational, safety, and compliance risks, Openreach said, adding that sudden disconnection could trigger building closures or supply chain delays.
Other legacy lines have also become more costly, with Openreach regularly increasing prices to incentivise customers to move to digital infrastructure. At the same time, the provider offers free or discounted migrations for certain legacy connection types.
Customers who have failed to migrate from PSTN connections on 31 January 2027 may be automatically transferred to a limited and temporary last-resort phone service designed to maintain access to essential calls. This is a significantly more expensive connection type with limited capacity.
“Businesses and organisations that delay action are making things harder for themselves,” said Openreach All-IP Director James Lilley.
“The straightforward migrations have largely been completed. What’s left are the complex connections that underpin critical operations, requiring careful planning, supplier coordination, and thorough testing.”
“We are urging businesses to act now, audit their remaining analogue services, and work with their communications provider on a migration plan today.”
