Openreach warns 350,000 business sites to get off copper phone lines
With the analog network due to close in January, Openreach starts formal notices to providers that still have customers to move, while legacy line rental heads toward double its old price
- The PSTN is due to be retired on 31 January 2027
- Basic WLR rental stood at £10.65 before the 2026 increases
- By 20 August, ‘stop sell’ rules cover 1,572 exchanges and about 15.4 million premises
- Openreach’s full fiber network reaches 23.5 million premises, about 66% of the UK
Small and mid-sized firms should list every device that dials out, not just their phones, and check each site, because alarms and card terminals are the services most likely to be forgotten. Ask the provider for a booked migration date in writing now. Staying on copper is now the expensive option, so any contract renewal is a chance to move to a digital line on better terms.
“The PSTN switch-off is now just six months away and there is no extension to the deadline.”James Lilley, director of All-IP, Openreach
Openreach said on 31 July 2026 that around 1.5 million lines still run on the public switched telephone network (PSTN), including about 350,000 business premises, and launched a campaign aimed at the providers and companies yet to move to digital services.
The concern is less the desk phone than what is wired to the line. Openreach says many organizations still depend on PSTN-connected payment terminals, lift alarms, security systems and other operational technology, which may stop working unless they are upgraded or replaced. It also warns that waiting could make it harder to book the engineering support needed before the deadline.
Price is the other lever. Wholesale line rental (WLR) rose by 20% in April and 40% in July, with a further rise due in October. Openreach is offering free or discounted connections to providers that move customers to single order generic Ethernet access (SOGEA), a digital line for premises where full fiber is not yet available, and free connection when migrating voice-only lines. On 27 July it also gave a year’s notice that it will stop selling copper products in 112 more exchanges covering 554,918 premises.
Sources
- Openreach, “Openreach warns businesses: just six months left before the UK’s old phone network is switched off”, press release, 31 July 2026. https://www.openreach.com/news/openreach-warns-businesses-just-six-months-left-before-the-uks-old-phone-network-is-switched-off/
- Openreach, “Openreach puts a stop to copper for another half million premises in bid to push customers to new digital lines”, press release, 27 July 2026. https://www.openreach.com/news/openreach-puts-a-stop-to-copper-for-another-half-million-premises-in-bid-to-push-customers-to-new-digital-lines/
- ISPreview, “Openreach Warn 1.5 million UK Analogue Phone Lines Yet to Make Digital Switch”, 31 July 2026. https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2026/07/openreach-says-1-5-million-uk-analogue-phone-lines-yet-to-make-digital-switch.html
