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The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today decided to change the threshold at which Openreach (BT) can begin to alter the wholesale prices of copper connections once full fibre (FTTP) broadband lines have become available. In short, the operator will now reach this stage in exchange areas where ultrafast broadband (300Mbps+) is available to 90% of premises, rather than 100%.
The current approach to copper line retirement (i.e. the removal of copper lines/services in favour of fibre optic lines), which has been largely retained by Ofcom for the 2026 to 2031 period as part of their recent Telecoms Access Review 2026 (TAR), is based around two key thresholds. The thresholds reflect the point at which Openreach can stop selling new copper lines and the point at which Ofcom’s price controls are removed from copper-based services.
The Two Copper Retirement Thresholds (Current)