Openreach prices its PSTN safety net and adds broadband retention
Providers with lines still on the analog network after January 2027 face a pricier fallback service. Openreach calls it a last resort, and has priced it like one
- Openreach estimates around 1.2 million lines remain on the analog network, including around 350,000 business premises.
- Openreach has moved around 15 million lines since the closure was formally announced in 2017.
- Future EVAc price rises need only 28 days’ notice.
- Lines that can't move to EVAc will be ceased by Openreach in tranches.
Businesses still on analog lines are now the most exposed: fallback costs are likely to reach their bills with little warning, and the timing of any forced move will be set by others. Customers should ask their provider now for a firm migration date to full fiber or cloud voice, check which devices and services rely on the copper line and get in writing how any fallback charges would be billed.
“EVAc is temporary, limited and more expensive than modern alternatives. It gives providers additional protection while they complete the job, but it’s not a reason to delay.”James Lilley, managed customer migrations director, Openreach
Openreach will try to keep copper broadband working on lines it moves to its temporary emergency phone service after the public switched telephone network (PSTN) closes on 31 January 2027, the company said on 24 September. The service, Emergency Voice and Access Continuity (EVAc), will cost communications providers £35 a month a line for WLR3 Basic and £38.60 for WLR Premium, both wholesale line rental products.
The closure date isn't moving, Openreach said, and broadband retention doesn't extend it. Providers remain responsible for moving their customers before the network closes, though Openreach expects a small number of lines could still be left after the deadline.
The broadband change addresses a risk Openreach itself identifies. Some asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), fiber to the cabinet (FTTC) and G.fast connections still depend technically on the PSTN, so a line switched to voice-only EVAc could have lost its internet service with it. Openreach will now keep linked broadband running for residential and business customers – but only “where technically possible”.
The small print in the Openreach release matters more to resellers than the headline. The new rental applies to every WLR3 single line, including those still waiting to be migrated. EVAc can't be ordered in advance, and its capacity can't be reserved.
Timing is also uncertain. ISPreview reported that EVAc migrations which keep broadband won't start before mid-April 2027. Openreach's release gives no start date.
Sources
- Openreach, “Openreach to protect broadband connections as PSTN closure approaches”, press release, 24 September 2026. https://www.openreach.com/news/openreach-to-protect-broadband--connections-as-pstn-closure---approaches/
- Openreach, “Switching off PSTN across the UK” (Big Switch Off), accessed 26 September 2026. https://www.openreach.com/big-switch-off
- ISPreview, “Openreach confirm post-January 2027 measures for UK analogue phone switch-off”, 24 September 2026. https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2026/09/openreach-confirm-post-january-2027-measures-for-uk-analogue-phone-switch-off.html
