Are You Ready For The great British Landline Switch off

Are you ready for what has been dubbed the Great British Landline Switch Off? The good old days of BT landlines phones is coming to an end.

For many years PSTN ( Public Switched Telephone Network ) was the way telephone calls were delivered to our homes and businesses.

BT OpenReach announced a few years ago that PSTN was going to finish be the end of 2025. This change will affects every household and business which still has a traditional landline telephone or ISDN telephone line.

The PSTN  network is the analogue copper cable telephone network that has been in use for many decades, owned and managed by BT Openreach.

But it’s not just telephone lines that will disappear. As well as landline services, the PSTN also delivers traditional ADSL and fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband services via fibre optic cables.  So even if you’re not using a landline telephone, you may still be affected if you have one of these internet services.

You may be confused as to why your SuperFast Broadband may be affected by this, as you were probably told it is provided to you by fibre. The truth is that it is only partly delivered by fibre hence why it is called “Fibre To The Cabinet” the last section of your internet cabling is delivered over copper cabling from the cabinet to your house or business and requires an analogue telephone number to work. Hence when your Telephone number is switched off your internet will stop also. so don’t delay and get in touch with us. we will convert your internet to a new SoGea line and save you money in the process.

As confirmed by the .gov.uk website “Analogue networks have been in operation for decades and have reached the end of their serviceable life. The telecoms industry is finding it difficult to source the parts required to maintain or repair connections as suppliers are no longer manufacturing them.

New digital phone lines will allow communications providers to offer consumers and businesses clearer and better quality phone calls, as well as new features such as anonymous caller rejection or three-way calling.”

See ref: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-transition-from-analogue-to-digital-landlines

the PSTN is expected to be completely switched off by end of December 2025. The exact dates of the switchover depend on where you are based.

Here is the information from the BT Openreach Website: 

• Autumn/ Winter 2023 – London and the North West
• Spring 2024 – the South East, West Midlands, East Anglia and Wales
• Summer 2024 – the North East, South West and Scotland
• From 1st January 2026 onwards, all home calls will be hosted via the internet.