Openreach: UK Landlines Die in 100 Days, No Extension

The deadline is real this time

Openreach's warning is less a reminder than a countdown: the copper Public Switched Telephone Network stops carrying calls on 31 January 2027.

The plan has been public since 2017, when BT first said it would retire PSTN and ISDN by the end of 2025. That slipped to 2027. This time the company is saying plainly that there will be no second extension.

The argument for pulling the plug hasn't changed. Copper is expensive to maintain, breaks more often than fibre, and can't carry what modern households and businesses actually do with a line. Openreach says it has already moved roughly 15 million lines off the old network.

The easy work is done. What's left is the awkward stuff — the connections nobody thinks about until they stop working.

What still depends on a copper line

Plenty of everyday equipment quietly assumes a traditional phone socket, and a lot of it isn't in a home office.

Openreach points to point-of-sale terminals in shops, fire and security alarms, and personal care alarms used by elderly or vulnerable people. Those are the categories where a missed migration isn't an inconvenience but a safety problem.

James Lilley, Openreach's director of All-IP, put it bluntly: businesses that delay are making things harder for themselves, and what remains are the complex connections underpinning critical operations that need planning, supplier coordination and testing.

Anyone who hasn't switched by the deadline could see limited service and may be moved onto the Emergency Voice and Access Continuity service — a temporary, voice-only line that keeps basic calls working for a limited period. It is a safety net, not a substitute for migrating.

The phone-only question Openreach won't answer directly

One of the most common worries is simple: what if I want a phone line and no broadband?

Openreach's own FAQ asks exactly that and answers that your service provider will help you find the most suitable digital option. That's vague, and it's the kind of vagueness that leaves people putting the decision off.

The practical route is to call your provider now rather than in January. Digital voice runs over your broadband connection, so the conversation is really about what package you need — and whether your existing handsets and any extension wiring still work with it.

The upside Openreach is selling is real enough: clearer calls, fewer faults, and better blocking of nuisance calls. The catch is that none of it happens by itself.

• Check every device plugged into a phone socket, not just the phone.
• Ask your provider how alarms and terminals will connect after the switch.
• Confirm your handset and any extension wiring work with digital voice.

What it means for you

This one is UK-only. If you live in the US, Canada or the EU, your copper retirement is on a different timetable run by different operators, and nothing changes for you on 31 January 2027.

If you're in the UK, the date applies whether you're a BT customer or not, because Openreach runs the network underneath most providers. Business rates and line rental vary by supplier, so check with yours for the cost of moving rather than assuming it's free.

The switch off has been coming for nine years and it is now 100 days out. The households and businesses that get caught won't be the ones who didn't know — they'll be the ones who assumed someone else had already sorted it.