BT Openreach closes the UK's analogue phone network (PSTN) on 31 January 2027, and in September 2026 confirmed the date won't move. Anything still on a copper line then, including phones, ISDN, alarms, lift phones, door entry, card terminals, franking machines and fax, moves to a temporary "emergency voice access" service from £35 a month wholesale. To avoid that, list every line and every device that uses one, check each with its supplier, fix your broadband, then move your phones.
What is the PSTN switch-off, and is the date final?
The PSTN (public switched telephone network) is the copper network that has carried UK landline calls since long before broadband existed. Openreach is replacing it with digital services that carry calls over an internet connection. ISDN, the digital line type many older business phone systems still use, runs on the same legacy platform and closes with it.
The date has moved before. The industry first aimed for December 2025, but migrations were paused twice over concerns for people relying on telecare alarms, and the deadline became the end of January 2027 (House of Commons Library, April 2026). This time Openreach has been blunt. In July 2026 it said there is "no extension to the deadline", and on 24 September 2026 it confirmed 31 January 2027 again and published what happens to lines that haven't moved.
At that point around 1.2 million lines were still on the old network, including about 350,000 business premises, while around 15 million had already moved (Openreach, reported by ISPreview, 24 September 2026). If your business is one of the 350,000, you have four months, and installers get busier every week.
What happens to lines that haven't moved by 31 January 2027?
Lines won't go dead on 1 February 2027. Openreach will move them onto a temporary "emergency voice access" service. The wholesale price starts at £35 a month per line (£38.60 for the premium version), before your provider adds its own margin, so the retail price will be higher. Where it's technically possible, the service will keep any broadband attached to the line working, but migrations of lines with broadband attached won't start until mid-April 2027 at the earliest (Openreach, reported by ISPreview, 24 September 2026).
The price is designed to push people off. Openreach has also been raising wholesale rental on legacy lines through 2026, with rises in April and July and another 40% in October, so a business still on copper pays roughly double what it did a year ago (Openreach, July 2026; The Register, February 2026). A basic cloud phone line with Indigo starts at about £10 per user per month. Staying put is now the expensive option.
Emergency voice access is a last resort, not a plan. It keeps a dial tone. It doesn't guarantee that an alarm panel, lift phone or card terminal built for an analogue line will behave the same way.
Which devices are affected, and what should you do with each?
The phones are the part everyone remembers. The problems usually come from equipment somebody else installed years ago that quietly uses a phone line: the alarm, the lift, the gate. Openreach names payment terminals, lift alarms and security systems as the main risks for businesses. Work through this table site by site.
| Device | Why it's at risk | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Phone system and ISDN lines | Old on-site phone systems connect to analogue or ISDN lines that are closing | Move to a cloud phone system (8x8, 3CX or Microsoft Teams Phone), or connect an IP-capable system to SIP trunks (phone lines over your internet connection). Port your numbers |
| Intruder and fire alarms | Monitored alarms often dial the alarm receiving centre over an analogue line | Ask your alarm company whether the panel supports IP or dual-path signalling (broadband plus 4G). Get the change and a test in writing, and tell your insurer if your policy specifies the signalling type |
| Lift emergency phones | Lift phones must connect trapped passengers to help, and many use a dedicated analogue line | Ask your lift maintenance company to swap to a digital or 4G autodialler and test it after the change. Don't assume emergency voice access will keep it working |
| Card payment terminals | Older countertop terminals dial out over a phone line | Most current terminals connect over broadband, WiFi or 4G. Ask your payment provider to swap any dial-up models before January |
| Franking machines | Older machines dial in to download postage credit and updates | Most modern machines connect over your network. Check the model with your supplier and replace any that need a phone line |
| Fax machines | Fax is unreliable over digital lines | Decide whether anyone still needs fax. If they do, move to fax-to-email. Most businesses find they can simply stop |
| Door entry and gate intercoms | Many call a landline or mobile through an analogue line | Replace with a 4G/GSM or IP intercom. Check the gate at your yard or compound, not just the front door |
| Telecare and lone-worker alarms | Analogue alarm units may not work reliably over digital lines, or in a power cut | Confirm each unit is digital-compatible with the telecare provider. This matters most for care homes, sheltered housing and charities supporting vulnerable people |
| Broadband on a phone line | ADSL and fibre broadband that needs a landline rely on the old network | Move to SoGEA (fibre broadband with no phone line) or full fibre (FTTP) |
| CCTV, building management, EPOS back-up lines | Some systems send alerts or dial out over a spare line | Check every "spare" line on your bill before cancelling it. Find out what it's connected to first |
Two points save the most trouble. First, the supplier of each device, not your phone provider, usually has to make the change, so contact them now: alarm and lift companies are handling the same rush as everyone else. Second, test after every change. A lift phone that "should work" isn't the same as one somebody has pressed the button on.
There are protections for vulnerable people. Phone providers signed a PSTN Charter on 18 December 2023, and network operators including Openreach signed their own charter in March 2024. Both commit not to migrate a telecare user until a working solution is confirmed. The government's Telecare National Action Plan (February 2025) set the same goal. Openreach says more than 70,000 telecare customers have been moved safely using its "Prove Telecare" testing. These protect individual users. They don't do the audit of your business's own equipment for you.
How does the timeline fit together?
- 2017: Openreach announces the analogue network will close.
- 5 September 2023: Openreach stops selling new analogue lines nationally.
- December 2023 and March 2024: providers and network operators sign charters to protect telecare users. The deadline moves from December 2025 to January 2027.
- February 2025: the government publishes the Telecare National Action Plan.
- April, July and October 2026: wholesale prices for legacy lines rise, roughly doubling in a year.
- 24 September 2026: Openreach confirms the 31 January 2027 date and emergency voice access.
- 31 January 2027: the analogue network closes. Remaining lines move to emergency voice access.
- Mid-April 2027 onwards: migrations of emergency voice access lines with broadband attached begin.
What does a switch-off plan look like in practice?
Example: a 40-person contractor with a head office in Livingston and a yard outside Glasgow. The phone bill shows 14 lines. Six are ISDN channels for the phone system. Two are "spare" lines that turn out to serve the intruder alarm and the yard gate intercom. One is a fax line nobody has used since 2019. One carries ADSL broadband at the yard. The rest are lines nobody can account for.
A sensible order would be: the alarm company moves the panel to dual-path signalling; the gate intercom is replaced with a 4G unit; the yard moves from ADSL to SoGEA; the fax line is cancelled; and the unknown lines are traced and ceased. Only then does the phone system move to the cloud, with new handsets running alongside the old ones until Openreach ports the numbers. The phones are one step of six, which is typical.
How Indigo does this. Our free PSTN switch-off check lists every line at every site, what's connected to it and who supplies it, then recommends 8x8, 3CX or Microsoft Teams Phone and the broadband to run it on. New phones are installed during working hours and run alongside the old ones, and Openreach ports the numbers between 9am and 5pm, so there's no gap in calls. For Erskine, Scotland's leading veterans care charity, we reviewed legacy phone lines, alarms and faxes ahead of the switch-off as part of a wider cost review. Take the free switch-off check →
What to do next
- Pull your last phone bill for every site and list each line number. Anything you can't explain is worth tracing, not cancelling blind.
- Walk the building and note every device with a phone cable: alarm panel, lift, gate, card terminal, franking machine, fax.
- Contact each device supplier this month and ask, in writing, whether it works on a digital line and what the change costs.
- Check your broadband. If it's ADSL or needs a landline, order SoGEA or full fibre now. See Leased line vs business broadband.
- Choose and install your new phone system before January, then port numbers. Take the 2-minute switch-off check →
Frequently asked questions
When is the PSTN switch-off?
BT Openreach closes the UK's analogue phone network on 31 January 2027. It confirmed the date again on 24 September 2026 and has said there will be no extension. New analogue lines haven't been sold since September 2023. ISDN lines, used by many older business phone systems, close at the same time, so both need to move to digital services before the deadline.
What happens if we miss the deadline?
Remaining lines move onto Openreach's temporary emergency voice access service, from £35 a month per line wholesale, with higher retail prices. Linked broadband is kept where technically possible, but migrations with broadband attached won't start until mid-April 2027. It's a stopgap that costs more than a cloud phone line and doesn't guarantee that alarms, lift phones or card terminals keep working.
Will our alarms and lift phones stop working?
They might, if they rely on an analogue line. Openreach has named payment terminals, lift alarms and security systems as the biggest risks for businesses. The alarm or lift maintenance company normally has to make the change, usually to IP or 4G signalling. Ask each supplier now, get the change confirmed in writing, and test the device afterwards.
Will our phone numbers change?
No. In almost all cases your existing numbers can be ported to a digital or cloud phone system. With Indigo, the new phones are installed alongside your old ones first. Openreach then ports the numbers during the working day, between 9am and 5pm, and calls start arriving on the new system without a gap.
Does the switch-off affect our broadband?
It can. ADSL, and fibre broadband that still needs a landline, rely on the old network and need to move to SoGEA (fibre broadband without a phone line) or full fibre. With Indigo, SoGEA costs about £32 a month and full fibre £32 to £50, depending on speed. Check this early, because broadband installs need their own Openreach appointment.
Sources: ISPreview, Openreach confirm post-January 2027 measures for UK analogue phone switch-off, 24 September 2026 (https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2026/09/openreach-confirm-post-january-2027-measures-for-uk-analogue-phone-switch-off.html) · Openreach, Openreach warns businesses: just six months left before the UK's old phone network is switched off, 31 July 2026 (https://www.openreach.com/news/openreach-warns-businesses-just-six-months-left-before-the-uks-old-phone-network-is-switched-off/) · The Register, Openreach turns up the heat to force laggards off legacy copper lines, 7 February 2026 (https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/07/openreach_ptsn_hikes/) · House of Commons Library, The switch to digital landlines (CBP-9471), 1 April 2026 (https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9471/CBP-9471.pdf) · DSIT, Further agreement with telecoms firms to protect vulnerable customers, 11 March 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-agreement-with-telecoms-firms-to-protect-vulnerable-customers) · thinkbroadband, DSIT and DHSC publish new Telecare National Action Plan, 11 February 2025 (https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/10535-dsit-and-dhsc-publish-new-telecare-national-action-plan) · Openreach, Openreach puts the stopper on copper, 2023 (https://www.openreach.com/news-and-opinion/2023/openreach-change-telephone-network)
Related: Free PSTN switch-off check · VoIP vs traditional phone systems · How much does a business phone system cost? · Phones and helplines for charities · Business connectivity
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