Old landline network switches off on 31 January: what Birmingham homes and firms need to know

Britain's old copper telephone network is to be switched off on 31 January 2027, and Openreach says the date will not move. With less than three months to go, here is what the final stage of the move to an all-digital phone network means for homes and businesses in Birmingham.

What is happening?

Openreach, the infrastructure arm of BT Group, has written to the phone companies that use its network to remind them that the legacy public switched telephone network, known as the PSTN, will be retired at the end of January. According to The Register, it says the deadline will not be postponed.

The switch-off is part of a wider plan to move the UK onto all-digital, high-speed networks running on fibre-optic cables. The old phone service, which depends on copper wiring, was standing in the way.

Do I need to do anything?

Many households have already given up their landline handset and rely on mobiles. For those who still want a landline, the change usually means plugging the phone into the back of a broadband router to use a digital voice service, rather than into the wall socket.

Customers who do not have a fibre connection are likely to be moved onto a transitional service, where equipment is installed in the local telephone exchange so they can keep using their old phone line as before.

Openreach advises anyone unsure to contact their phone or broadband provider as soon as possible, so their service is not interrupted.

Check your alarms and card machines

It is not only phones. Some point-of-sale terminals, fire and security alarms, and personal care alarms for older and vulnerable people rely on the old network. Anyone using one of these, or caring for someone who does, should check with the provider that it will keep working after the switch.

The switchover date has already been pushed back once, after the government asked telecoms companies not to force vulnerable customers who use systems such as telecare alarms to switch until fixes were in place.

Businesses urged to act now

Openreach says the straightforward moves have largely been completed, and what is left are the more complex connections behind critical operations.

"We are urging businesses to act now, audit their remaining analog services, and work with their communications provider on a migration plan today," said James Lilley, Openreach's director of All-IP. Leaving it until the last minute could make it harder to book engineers before the deadline.

"Customers need to understand what is changing"

Telecoms analyst Paolo Pescatore, of PP Foresight, said awareness still seemed low and called for a coordinated campaign, including letters, calls and door-to-door help for older and vulnerable people. "Customers need to understand what is changing, what action to take, and who will help them," he said.

The move to digital promises faster, more reliable connections for the future. The key, for the next three months, is making sure nobody in Birmingham who relies on a landline or care alarm is left without a working line.