The coppergoes dark.
January 2027. National PSTN switch-off. What it means for you.
BT and Openreach are turning off the analogue phone network UK-wide. By January 2027, no more copper-line dial tone — every phone has to be digital. Most households won't notice because the switch is built into a broadband move; some specific setups (alarms, lifts, ISDN PBXs, single corded phones in homes without internet) need active migration. This page is the plain-English version. The relevant replacement products are digital home phone for households and VoiceCloud VoIP for businesses on ISDN.
The copper phone network goes dark.
Originally 2025, revised after Ofcom flagged migration risks for vulnerable customers. National hard date is now January 2027. After that, no analogue voice on copper.
Four dates on the calendar.
The order of events nationally — your provider may move you sooner depending on your exchange and your specific service.
- Now
Sales stop
BT / Openreach stopped selling new copper-phone (WLR) lines in 2023. New phone lines are digital by default everywhere in the UK.
- Through 2026
Migration window
Existing copper customers get rolling migration notices from their provider. Vulnerable customers (Ofcom GC C5) can request an optional battery back-up unit under our lifeline protections.
- January 2027
Copper switched off
PSTN voice services end nationally. Any phone still on a copper line stops working. Internet on FTTC keeps running because the data side uses a different carrier signal, but the analogue voice channel is gone.
- Now to 2030
Mobile 2G/3G switch-off in parallel
Separately, the 2G + 3G mobile networks are being switched off through 2030 (operator by operator). Standalone alarm panels and older SIM-card devices need migrating to 4G / LTE-M / NB-IoT.
Most people won't notice.
If you've got broadband at home and your phone runs through the router (or you don't have a corded phone at all), you're already fine. The list below is who actually has to do something.
Householders on a corded landline
If you have a corded phone plugged into a copper socket and you don't have broadband at the same property, you have to act — the line will stop working. Most households are already on FTTC or FTTP and the phone follows the broadband.
Vulnerable customers
If your phone is your lifeline (medical alarm pendant, telecare, hospital appointments, or the single phone in the house), Ofcom rules require your provider to supply a battery back-up unit under General Condition C5 so calls keep working in a power cut.
Businesses on ISDN / legacy PBX
ISDN30 / ISDN2e went off-sale in 2025; the lines are running on borrowed time. Move to a hosted VoIP platform (VoiceCloud or similar) before the cutover — same numbers, more features, no on-premises PBX to maintain.
Care homes, alarm panels, lift autodiallers
Anything that dials out automatically on a copper line needs migration. Test 4G or LTE-M-based replacements early — they're cheaper to run and OFCOM-aligned.
We migrate you on order day.
You don't have to think about PSTN if you join Giant — the order flow swaps copper for digital automatically and ports your number across. Vulnerable customers can request an optional Battery Back-Up Unit under Ofcom GC C5.
- We sell digital phone (VoIP) by default — same UK landline number, just runs over your broadband instead of copper.
- When you switch to Giant we handle the BT cease automatically via One Touch Switch — no separate cutover.
- An optional vulnerable-customer BBU is available on request under Ofcom GC C5, alongside priority repair and alternative-format documents.
- Business migrations go to our cloud VoiceCloud platform with full number-port — ISDN / SIP trunks / PBX swap-out.
The 999 question
Every UK digital phone provider has to support 999 access. If broadband and power are out together, mobile (4G/5G) is your fallback. For d/Deaf customers, the 999 BSL video relay app works the same way regardless of which network you're on.
Days of phone-line outage during a Giant migration.
One Touch Switch + digital handover happens on the same day as the broadband install. No copper, no downtime, no '14 days without a phone' window.
Plain-English answers.
Worried about a specific setup? Ring us.
Alarm panel, lift autodialler, ISDN PBX, telecare pendant — we've migrated all of them. Five-minute call sorts most of it.