The UK landline switch-off: what it means for your business

The UK’s old copper phone network is closing. Openreach, which runs the network behind most UK landlines, says every traditional phone line needs to move to a digital service by 31 January 2027. In July 2026 it confirmed there is no extension to the deadline.

For most businesses, moving the calls themselves is the easy part. They switch to digital lines that run over broadband, and you can usually keep your numbers. The real work is everything else plugged into a phone line, such as alarms, lift phones, card machines and franking machines. Those need checking now, while there’s still time to put things right.

What is being switched off

The network closing is the public switched telephone network (PSTN), the analogue system that has carried UK landline calls for decades. ISDN, the older digital lines many office phone systems still use, closes with it.

BT Group is retiring the PSTN, and Openreach is withdrawing the wholesale line rental products that run over it. Openreach stopped selling new traditional lines across the UK on 5 September 2023.

In their place, calls travel over an internet connection. You’ll hear this called a digital landline or VoIP (voice over internet protocol). BT calls its home version Digital Voice, and other providers have their own names for the same idea. The government’s guide to moving landlines to digital explains why it’s happening: the old network is failing, and spare parts are no longer made.

The timetable, and what happens if you miss it

The date has moved once already. Openreach first planned to close the network at the end of 2025, and in May 2024 BT Group revised its timetable to the end of January 2027. Openreach, Ofcom and the government’s connectivity timeline now all give 31 January 2027.

That date covers the Openreach network. Virgin Media O2 and KCOM also plan to retire their own old landline networks, but Ofcom says their dates haven’t been set yet.

If an Openreach line hasn’t moved by 31 January 2027, Openreach says it may be put on a temporary, emergency voice-only service called EVAc, which may not support the calling features you use today, or it may lose service altogether. Openreach has also warned businesses not to wait for EVAc, because it can only take so many customers. And BT Business says services it can’t move automatically, including ISDN, will stop working from 31 January 2027.

Waiting costs money too. In February 2026, Openreach warned that businesses still on the old copper service would start to pay a premium for a service that is about to be switched off.

What stops working, or needs checking

Anything that uses a traditional phone line has to move to a digital line or be replaced. Openreach, BT and the Digital Phone Switchover site that Ofcom and the government point to list kit like this between them:

• Phone lines and phone systems: analogue lines, ISDN lines and the older office phone systems that depend on them.
• Broadband: if yours relies on a traditional phone line, BT says it may need upgrading too.
• Alarms: intruder alarms and fire alarm monitoring that dial out over a phone line.
• Lift emergency phones.
• Card machines and tills that connect over a phone line.
• Franking and fax machines.
• Door entry systems and CCTV.
• Telecare and personal alarms, if you provide care or housing.

Watch for lines that look unused. An alarm or a lift phone only dials out when something goes wrong, so a line with no calls on the bill may still be doing an important job.

What to do now

Businesses often have more connected to their lines than households, so switching can take longer. Openreach’s advice is to start now. A practical order:

1. List every line and what’s on it. Go through your phone bills, then walk the building: the comms cupboard, reception, lifts, alarm panels and tills.
2. Ask each equipment supplier whether their kit works on a digital line, what needs changing and how long it will take. Your alarm company, card machine provider and lift maintenance firm are the usual ones.
3. Talk to your phone and broadband provider. Ask when your lines will move and what they’ll move to. Openreach says you can usually keep your existing business number, so confirm yours. If your provider has already written to you about the change, reply: Ofcom warns that ignoring it could put your service at risk.
4. Plan each site. With several offices, agree a plan for each one with your provider. If you rent in a shared building, Openreach suggests talking to your landlord early too.
5. Check your internet connection. Once calls run over broadband, its speed and stability matter more. A free IT audit from VoIPTech includes a look at your network.
6. Decide what to move to, then book the changes well before January.

Should you move to a cloud phone system?

You can replace each line like for like, so the desk phone keeps working where it is. But if your phone system runs on ISDN lines, its connection has to change anyway, and that’s a good moment to rethink how your business takes calls.

A cloud phone system runs your calls over the internet, with no phone system equipment in the office. Your business number works on desk phones, mobiles and computers, so calls reach people in the office, at home or on the move. Features such as call menus, call queues and voicemail to email are usually built in. Our guide to VoIP vs landline compares the two in more detail.

Power cuts and 999

Digital lines need mains electricity, and Ofcom says they won’t work in a power cut unless there’s a battery back-up. That matters if your landline is how you’d call 999.

Ofcom’s guidance to providers says customers who depend on their landline should be offered a way to reach the emergency services for at least an hour in a power cut, free of charge. It covers business customers too, and gives the example of a sole trader working from home or a small office with no mobile signal. If that’s you, tell your provider before your line moves. Ofcom notes that many larger businesses arrange their own back-up.

For most people, a charged mobile is the simplest fallback. Ofcom says a 999 call from a mobile will connect through another network if yours has no signal and another is available. Our guide to keeping your phones working in a power cut covers the practical steps.

Telecare and care alarms

If your business provides care, supported housing or home care, check telecare alarms first. Ofcom says a care alarm might not work properly on a digital line. Tell the landline provider and the device supplier before the change. They can check the device and, if needed, pause the move until it’s safe.

The short version

The old phone network closes on 31 January 2027, and lines that haven’t moved risk a limited emergency service or none at all. List what’s on your lines, talk to your equipment suppliers and your provider, and book the move now. If you’d like to switch to a cloud phone system at the same time, our business phone systems start with Wave, from £9.99 per user per month, and we can take over your existing lines and keep your numbers.