Old phone network switch-off on 31 January 2027: what to check
The UK's old copper phone network switches off on 31 January 2027, and Openreach has said there is no extension. Your phone line is only part of the story.
What's happening
The old analogue phone network, sometimes called the PSTN, is being retired and replaced by digital lines that run over broadband. Openreach has set the deadline as 31 January 2027. Its Director of All-IP has said plainly: "There is no extension to the deadline."
When Openreach issued its six-month warning, around 1.5 million lines were still on the old network, including about 350,000 business premises. It has also been making the old lines more expensive: wholesale rental for them rose by 40% in July 2026, with another 40% rise scheduled for October. At the same time it has offered discounted or free connections for moving to digital services, so ask your provider what's available.
It's not just the phone
Many people have already moved their phone line. What gets missed is the kit that quietly uses a phone line to call out. Openreach names payment terminals, lift alarms and security systems. In a hall, shop or office, look for:
- fire and intruder alarms that dial a monitoring centre
- lift emergency phones
- older card machines
- door entry panels
- telecare and pendant alarms
- franking machines
Some of these will work fine on a digital line. Some need a new part or a different connection. The only way to know is to ask the people who maintain them.
A one-afternoon audit
- Walk round the building and note anything plugged into a phone socket or connected to a phone line.
- For each item, write down who installed it and who maintains it now.
- Ask each of them one question: "Will this still work on a digital line after 31 January 2027?"
- Get the answer in writing, by email is fine, with any cost and a date for the work.
- Book any upgrades now. Openreach warns that engineer support will get harder to find as the deadline gets closer.
- After your line moves to digital, test each item. Ask the alarm company to confirm they received a test signal.
Worked example (made up)
A community hall has a phone line, a monitored intruder alarm and a card machine on the bar.
- Phone line: the provider confirms it will move to a digital line, with a date.
- Alarm: the alarm company says the current dialler won't work, and quotes for a replacement. The committee approves it at the next meeting, not in January.
- Card machine: it already uses mobile data, so no change is needed. The treasurer files that email with the others.
Total time: a few emails and one committee decision.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the phone company will sort out the alarm. They look after the line, not the kit plugged into it.
- Taking "it should be fine" on the phone as an answer. Get it in writing.
- Leaving it until January, when everyone else is booking engineers too.
If the switch-off has you reviewing other old systems, like paper booking diaries or phone-only bookings, our guide to taking village hall bookings online may help.