There are just six months to go until one of the biggest upgrades to the UK’s communications network in decades, and millions more homes have been put on notice ahead of the changes. From January 2027, the UK’s ageing copper phone network will be switched off for good, with traditional landlines replaced by a platform called Digital Voice. This all-new service uses broadband connections to make calls instead of those copper wires that have served the country for more than a century.
It’s a major change that households sadly can’t afford to ignore. Anyone who hasn’t made the move and switched to Digital Voice risks losing their existing landline service.
Although the nationwide deadline is still six months away, the transition is gathering pace. BT’s Openreach, which operates the UK’s largest broadband network, has confirmed that it has issued “stop sell” notices at another 112 telephone exchanges.
Anyone unsure whether their home is affected can check what services are available using the Openreach postcode checker.
Guessed this was coming, it will, considerably, cause problems for rural communities where broadband is often flaky at best. On an aside, I wonder what will happen to pay phones.
We have been changed from copper to full fibre broadband. Have we got to change again? I am expecting to have to use a mobile phone. My nieces have given up their landlines altogether.
No Jenny - if you’re off the copper then you are already OK. This is for anyone still on copper.
It’s a bit like when we switched to digital TV from analogue TV.
You don’t have to use mobile phones - you can still have a landline but instead of copper wires transmitting the messages it will be the fibre network.
From what you say, it seems you are still using your landline as you were which is totally fine. You can carry on and nothing changes. You do not have to use a mobile phone because of this change, though you can if you wish to and many people do.
I switched my landline over to digital earlier this year. The only difference is it is now plugged into my WiFi now rather than the socket on the wall. I did have to have a new WiFi box but mine was a zillion years old. The biggest issue is if you have a power xut you can’t use your landline phone but if you have a mobile it’s not a major issue.
There will still be a surprisingly large amount amount of copper in the network, serving homes like mine which don’t have the option of full fibre now or any time in the foreseeable future. Same phone wire but only carrying broadband and you connect to the digital voice service over that. I’ve already been transferred but don’t use the digital voice service as the only calls I got on my landline were pushy sales people and scammers. I didn’t get the choice to go without, either, so somehow I’m paying the same for less.
