Old UK landlines being axed in 28 locations next year under huge shake-up

18 October 2023 , 11:47

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BT Openreach is pushing ahead with its Digital Voice switchover (Image: Getty Images)

BT-owned Openreach has announced it will switch off its old copper phone network in 28 locations next year.

It means anyone affected will have to move over to internet voice calls and Full Fibre broadband. Openreach said it is helping to prepare households as BT restarts its big switchover to its new Digital Voice phone service, which is run through a broadband connection rather than its existing old analogue network. Households that aren't online will now need internet access if they want to make voice calls on their landline phone.

Campaigners have raised fears that vulnerable customers, including the elderly, could be left in the lurch should they face problems with broadband connection or power cuts. But BT has said the copper wire system, which has existed since Victorian times, needs to be replaced as it is no longer fit for our modern era. The firm hopes to have its copper network fully replaced with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology by the end of 2025.

Openreach explained in an email sent to Express.co.uk: “BT is switching off the existing analogue phoneline platform – the PSTN, by the end of December 2025 and everyone in the UK will need to have a digital phone line before then. To help prepare, Openreach is stopping the sale of copper-based analogue services in exchange areas where a majority of premises have access to our Full Fibre network."

Here are all the locations which will no longer offer copper connections from next year.

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• Abbotts Ann
• Allerton
• Berwick
• Bickleigh
• Biggleswade
• Bolney
• Burravoe
• Caldy
• Cleish Hills
• Crosswell
• Dartmouth
• Drumclog
• Dysart
• Eltham
• Four Oaks
• Knutsford
• Landrake
• Malton
• Newcastle West
• Prestonpans - Port Seton
• Staines
• Stamford
• Stichill
• Sutton
• Tenterden
• Tonbridge
• Upper Largo
• West Drayton

BT restarted its Digital Voice switchover this summer, following a pause which lasted around a year. This kicked off with the East Midlands in July, then Yorkshire and the Humber region in August and Northern Ireland in September.

According to BT, it is contacting customers at least four weeks ahead of the switch, to make sure they are ready to move to Digital Voice. Openreach has a dedicated postcode checker to see if Full Fibre is in your street.

Levi Winchester