Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
The Senior Manager for All IP Migrations and Exchange Exit at Openreach, Juliette Scott, has revealed in a new interview that 1.9 million UK lines are yet to switch to a digital alternative ahead of the closure of the old analogue phone (PSTN / WLR) service in early 2027. But for consumers who fail to switch in time, there “won’t be a big bang on 1st February 2027“.
Just to recap. The legacy phone switch-off was previously delayed to 31st January 2027 in order to give broadband ISPs, phone, telecare providers, councils and consumers more time to adapt (details). The main focus of this was on the UK people who use vital home telecare systems (e.g. elderly, disabled – vulnerable users), which aren’t always compatible with newer IP-based digital phone services (telecare providers were slow to adapt).
In most cases such upgrades merely involve a fairly seamless change of service by your broadband or phone provider, which often results in customers needing to connect their home phone into the back of either a broadband router or Analogue Terminal Adapter (ATA); instead of directly into the socket on your wall or skirting board (NTE5 sockets). Special solutions also exist for telecare users.
However, in total there are around 1.9m UK lines left on the old phone WLR network that still need to be migrated across all providers (down from c.2.5m in April 2026), with a few hundred thousand of those serving business premises. Openreach has also previously stated that prices for these legacy lines are set to double by October 2026 (details), which is a strong incentive for both ISPs and customers not to leave upgrading until the last minute.
The main development today, as well as a progress update on the PSTN/WLR closure programme, is that the CEO of broadband ISP Zen Internet, Richard Tang, has just conducted one of the best and most informative interviews that we’ve seen done on the subject with Openreach’s Juliette Scott. The interview goes into a lot of detail and is well worth watching in full, and we’ve summarised some of the most interesting points below.
Key Points from Zen’s Openreach Interview
➤ The 31st January 2027 date isn’t going to be delayed again. Juliette said the country is “at the tipping point … [where] it’s more concerning to be on [the old network] than to move to something else, in terms of its fragility“.
➤ The PSTN is “falling to bits … and you can’t get spares“, said the former CEO of Openreach, Clive Selley, to Zen Internet in the recent past. In short, the network has to be replaced and, as Juliette points out, the “last bit [of line switching] is the hardest because it tends to be the customers who don’t want to move or who have more niche products on the end of it“.
➤ The switch-off programme started with over 16 million WLR lines needing migration and is now down to 1.9 million left to switch. Zen itself has 18,000 lines left to move (direct and partners), which is down from c.100,000 when they started the process. Juliette said Zen are “absolutely are on track to get to zero by January 2027” (most providers are on a similar track).
➤ Openreach revealed that the old PSTN network, somewhat surprisingly perhaps, still accounts for a staggering 1% of British energy usage.
➤ Openreach “would love it to be at” at zero lines come 31st January, but reality suggests this is “unlikely” and some will be left (probably in the high tens of thousands). Richard expects a “long tail of more difficult or disengaged customers to switch off“.
➤ Richard welcomed Openreach’s move to double the price of its related legacy copper line products because it “made a difference” and encouraged their partners to take it more seriously. Some providers had previously been slow to move, partly because Richard said they were “still making good margins” with the old products.
Openreach have meanwhile been cutting the price of modern alternatives (e.g. full fibre FTTP and copper-based SOGEA solutions) and making it as easy for providers to switch customers as possible.
➤ Juliette makes clear there “won’t be a big bang on 1st February 2027, but in time after that we will start to look at [those who might be left]“. Such lines will be assessed and where “we have capacity they will be moved on to a product called EVAc” (Emergency Voice Access).
We’ve covered EVAc before (here), which is essentially a less feature rich variant of the Pre-Digital Phone Line product from BT (PDPL / SOTAP Analogue) – this existed before, but PDPL is no longer available “so you can’t sign-up for it“. The PDPL service offered a similar service to the old WLR/PSTN one.
EVAc is thus a last-ditch solution to keep consumers connected if they’ve failed to move by the deadline, but it only works as a very basic phone service. Customers who have broadband on top of their WLR will “lose that” as EVAc doesn’t support it. Juliette warned it’s harder to get people off EVAc, so it’s something they’ll try to avoid unless absolutely necessary.
Take note that PDPL was always envisaged as temporary product, which would likely end up being phased out once Openreach started closing around 4,600 of their legacy UK exchanges (here) – mostly after 2030. We assume that this same caveat will apply to EVAc, since it’s based off PDPL.
➤ A key warning exists for business lines, since they won’t benefit from the same protections as consumer services. As we’ve pointed out before, and Juliette reiterates again, customers with old ISDN2 and ISDN30 data lines, for example, “don’t have a path … so from 1st February they will be ceased“.
➤ Fully unbundled (MPF) lines will continue past January 2027 (i.e. ISPs that have installed their kit in exchanges), but its lifespan depends on the providers who still support this (they’ll also want to switch customers away before exchanges start closing on mass from 2030 and because the equipment is very old).
Juliette said such MPF lines are “not part of this programme, so [using them] is still an option [for providers like TalkTalk and Sky Broadband etc.]“. But Openreach added that they won’t sell MPF anymore in areas where 75%+ of premises now have full fibre coverage (FTTP Priority Exchange Programme) – FTTP will be the only option for new lines.
So Openreach aren’t going to switch off MPF for existing customers. But inevitably it will die a slow death as hardware gets old and replacement becomes problematic. In practice, many providers with MPF lines are trying just as hard to get customers off them and on to newer services.
➤ Richard said the free battery back-up unit that Zen provide to vulnerable customers lasts about 8 hours (powers your router and ONT for those on FTTP), before pointing out that most power cuts don’t last that long “that’s about the best we can do” (past a certain point BBU’s would become far too expensive to be offered for free). Battery units are needed because, unlike old PSTN phone services, the line will completely stop working if your house suffers a power cut (older copper lines were powered from the exchange).
Broadly speaking the message is the reverse of the old saying: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it“. Instead, the message is that the PSTN is broken, and you DO need to fix it before the deadline. The full interview goes into lots more detail and also crossed into the exchange closure plans, as well as Zen’s own position. We highly recommend watching it, even though it is about an hour long.