UK guide
The UK PSTN switch-off: what businesses need to do before 31 January 2027
Openreach is closing the UK's analogue phone network, the PSTN, on 31 January 2027. After that date, anything still running over an old copper phone line stops working unless it has been moved to a digital service.
Facts checkedSources: Openreach
What's happening and when
Openreach confirmed on 24 September 2026 that the 31 January 2027 date is unchanged. At that point it said about 1.2 million lines were still on the old network, including around 350,000 business premises (Openreach, 24 September 2026).
In its later warning that fewer than 100 days were left, Openreach put the figure at roughly a million lines, around 300,000 of them at business premises (Openreach). Its Big Switch Off page has the background.
What might break
Openreach lists the kinds of equipment that often still rely on analogue lines. Check each one with whoever supplied it:
- Card payment terminals (EPOS) that dial out over a phone line
- Lift emergency phones
- Fire and security alarms with a phone line connection
- Door entry systems
- Telemetry and monitoring devices
What it costs to leave it late
Openreach says lines still on the old network after the deadline face an emergency charge to its wholesale customers: £35 a month for WLR3 Basic lines and £38.60 for WLR3 Premium (Openreach). Those are wholesale figures charged to phone companies; what your own provider passes on is up to them.
What to do
Find out what's on your lines. Your current bill lists your numbers. Walk round the building and note anything plugged into a phone socket.
Ask your alarm, lift and card terminal suppliers whether their kit works on a digital line, and what they need from you.
Choose where your numbers go. Most cloud phone systems will port your existing numbers. You can compare UK providers here. On published prices, the lowest estimated monthly costs for a 5-person team right now are bOnline (£69.75), RingCentral RingEX (£74.95), CircleLoop (£75).
Keep your broadband. Openreach says it will protect broadband connections that share a line being closed (Openreach). Confirm the details with your broadband provider.
This guide reports what Openreach has published. It isn't advice about your specific setup.