Openreach — the infrastructure arm of BT, which manages the nationwide network of copper landlines and full-fibre broadband used by brands like EE, TalkTalk, Sky Broadband, Plusnet, and of course, BT — has confirmed the next 79 locations across the UK where it will block sales of traditional copper-based landline phones.
Halting new sales is the first step in the process to transition every address to broadband-powered landlines.
The latest move will impact over 900,000 premises across the UK. In total, Openreach has now halted the sale of traditional landlines in 748 locations nationwide. The BT-owned company hopes to transition the majority of UK households over to broadband-powered phones, known as Digital Voice, by January 31, 2027.
Plans for a UK-wide landline switch-off were first announced back in November 2017. It’s worth emphasizing that this is not a Government scheme or deadline, the proposal came from the industry itself. At the time, industry heavyweights said they were struggling to find parts to maintain and repair analogue phone lines as few companies are still making the components used by this Century-old system.
But it’s not just about the nuts and bolts to keep landlines working.
As you already know if you’ve used WhatsApp to chat to someone on the other side of the planet, all-digital calls can offer much clearer calls, especially over longer distances.
Not only that, but features you’d usually associate with your mobile phone, like blocking calls from withheld numbers or putting incoming calls in a queue when you’re already talking on the phone, are all possible with these broadband-powered landlines.
Earlier this month, BT released the first statistics demonstrating the effectiveness of its AI-powered spam protection. Enabled by default on all Digital Voice landlines, the clever system has thwarted 2.4 million scam calls and alerted users to 17.7 million nuisance calls on UK home phones, the telecom firm has revealed.
The 79 new locations affected by the latest decision from Openreach are:
- Collingham
- Sheffield
- Mexborough
- Chesterfield
- Burnham-on-Sea
- Bridgnorth
- Bury St Edmunds
- Caersws
- Taverham
- Hartlepool
- Machynlleth
- Pocklington
- Riccall
- Rowhedge
- Shepton Mallet
- Antrim
- Gatehouse of Fleet
- Bladnoch
- Powfoot
- Bobbington
- Buchlyvie
- Brig o’Turk
- Pierowall
- Medbourne
- Newport Pagnell
- Carlton (Gedling)
- Ellon
- Swindon (Wiltshire)
- Londonderry
- Tyrone
- Richmond upon Thames
- Royal Tunbridge Wells
- Redcar
- Scarborough
- Tewkesbury
- Norwich
- Wrexham
- Ibstock
- Aldridge
- Pontefract
- Great Bridgeford
- Bolton
- Brigg
- Lowestoft
- Dorchester (West Dorset)
- Cowes
- Haywards Heath
- Penzance
- Eastleigh
- Abermule
- Whitstable
- Airdrie
- Liverpool
- Jarrow
- Bootle
- Great Wyrley
- Codsall
- Dewsbury
- Kempston
- Kings Norton
- Birmingham
- Market Harborough
- St Helens
- Runcorn
- Stafford
- Wantage
- West Bromwich
- South Hampshire
- Barrow-in-Furness
- Llay
- Swansea
- Rawtenstall
- Yarrowford
- Cunningsburgh
- Weston-Super-Mare
- Shotts
Openreach’s “Stop Sell” policy, which sees sales of copper-based landlines halted in a specific area, kicks-in when 75% of premises in a specific area can access full-fibre broadband. If you already have a speedier fibre broadband package with BT, TalkTalk, Plusnet, and other brands — nothing will change as the company has offered Digital Voice to fibre customers as standard for a number of years.
If you’re unsure whether your local areas has been upgraded to fibre-optic broadband yet, Openreach offers a free tool to check your postcode. You can enter your address here.
Three Digital Voice handsets from BT, the proprietary system created by the brand to offer VoIP calls to customers after copper landlines are retired in early 2027
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BT says it aims to contact people at least four weeks before the deadline for the switch. For most people, the switch will be seamless with 99% of existing landline phones set to work with the new standard. However, there are some customers who might have more trouble moving away from traditional landline technology.
While Digital Voice offers a number of perks, including higher quality calls, there is one area where this broadband-powered, or Voice Over IP (VoIP) technology falls down compared to its copper-powered predecessor. Traditional landlines can continue to work even if there’s a power outage as the telephone line draws its power from the nearest exchange, which has a backup to keep people connected.
If you’ve ever tried to stream a show, send a message on WhatsApp, or search on Google during a power outage — you’ll be aware that the same is not true of broadband infrastructure. BT is offering to send a battery pack to some of its most vulnerable customers, which will enable them to continue to make and receive calls during a power cut. If you have previously disclosed additional needs to BT, make sure that you’re sent an external battery pack during the switchover process.
The village of Llanbrynmair in Powys, Wales has become the first telephone exchange area in the UK to achieve 100% fibre broadband coverage. The Government recently confirmed that it was on-track to reach its goal of 85% gigabit coverage by 2025 and full coverage across the UK by 2030. The UK has some of the worst average broadband speeds in Europe, triggering a multi-billion pound upgrade project.
Gigabit-capable broadband was available to just 6% of premises in January 2019.
As copper’s ability to support modern communications declines, Openreach is focusing on transitioning customers to newer, future-proofed technologies. The firm emphasises that this shift is necessary both operationally and commercially, since maintaining parallel copper and fibre networks is inefficient.
The deadline for the nationwide switchover to Digital Voice services has been revised to January 31, 2027 — a 13-month extension from the original target.
Ahead of the decision to delay the deadline, the UK Government introduced a charter to protect vulnerable customers, including those with healthcare pendants that rely on copper-based landlines for emergencies. As part of the changes, BT has stated that customers aged 70 or over will not be proactively switched to Digital Voice. Since July 2023, the telecom firm has started to trial switching customers aged 70-74 who live in urban areas, already have the latest broadband hub and don’t regularly rely on their landline.
The company advises customers who rely on critical healthcare equipment, lack broadband or mobile signal, or have previously disclosed additional needs to contact them for support during the transition.
BT is in the process of switching off analogue landlines for millions of customers nationwide, transitioning them over to its broadband-powered “Digital Voice” system that relies on VoIP. According to the company, the AI-powered spam protection built into this system has shielded Britons from over 20 million scam calls
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Speaking about the latest tranche of landline upgrades, James Lilley, Openreach’s Managed Customer Migrations Manager, told us: “We’re moving to a digital world and Openreach is helping with that transformation by rolling out ultrafast, ultra-reliable, and future-proofed digital Full Fibre across the UK.
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“This game changing technology will become the backbone of our economy for decades to come, supporting every aspect of our public services, businesses, industries and daily lives. Already, our Full Fibre network is available to more than 15 million homes and businesses, with more than five million premises currently taking a service.”
“Taking advantage of the progress of our Full Fibre build and encouraging people to upgrade where a majority can access our new network is the right thing to do as it makes no sense, both operationally and commercially, to keep the old copper network and our new fibre network running side-by-side,” Mr Lilley added. “As copper’s ability to support modern communications declines, the immediate focus is getting people onto newer, future proofed technologies.”
