UK landline switch-off: Openreach says 31 January 2027 date is final

The landline switch-off in the United Kingdom will go ahead on 31 January 2027, Openreach has told phone companies, with no further extension. Openreach, the BT Group business that runs most of Britain's local phone lines, said around one million lines still run on the old copper telephone network, about 300,000 of them in business premises. As the countdown passed the 100-day mark at the start of November 2026, it urged homes and firms that have not moved to a digital phone line to do so now.

A landline today usually sounds the same as it did decades ago, but the network behind it is being replaced. The PSTN carries voice as an electrical signal over copper wires through old telephone exchanges. Its replacement, often sold as "Digital Voice", carries calls as data over a broadband connection. This method is called Voice over IP (VoIP): the voice is turned into small packets of data and sent the same way as email or video. For most households, the change means plugging the phone handset into the back of the broadband router instead of the wall socket, and people can usually keep their existing number.

The harder cases are not phones at all. Many devices quietly use a phone line to send signals: shop card readers, burglar and fire alarms that call a monitoring centre, lift emergency buttons, and the pendant alarms many older people wear to call for help after a fall. Some of these older devices do not work reliably over a digital line, and some need power from the line itself, which a router does not give during a power cut. This is why the switch-off has been slowed before, after the government asked phone companies to protect customers who rely on telecare (remote care alarms) until safer arrangements were in place.

Openreach's message to businesses has been blunt. It has warned that firms which leave the move late risk disruption and unnecessary cost, and that engineers may be hard to book as the deadline nears. Its advice is to list every service that still uses an analogue line and agree a migration plan with the phone provider.

The EVAc fallback is meant as a safety net, not a second deadline. Reports on Openreach's plans say it covers basic calling only, will keep linked broadband running only where technically possible, and is priced to push companies to finish the move rather than rely on it.

Old copper network vs digital line Feature | Old PSTN line | Digital Voice line How calls travel | Electrical signal over copper | Data packets over broadband Works in a power cut | Usually yes, powered by the line | Needs a battery back-up Keeps the same number | Yes | Yes, in most cases Status after 31 January 2027 | Closed | Standard service

Short-term: Homes and firms still on copper lines will be contacted by their providers to book a move in the next three months. Anyone using a care alarm, a security alarm or a card terminal on a phone line should check with the supplier that it works on a digital line.

Long-term: Once the copper network is closed, phone service across the UK will depend on broadband, which makes back-up power and network reliability more important. It also lets operators retire costly old exchanges.

Who is affected: About one million UK lines still on copper, especially small businesses, people who rely on telecare alarms, and households without broadband. Indian companies and families with offices or relatives in Britain who still use a traditional landline should also check their setup.

Questions and Answers