Phone Switchover from Analogue to Digital: How will I be affected….. and when ?

 

A lot of concern has been expressed about this topic recently, particularly by vulnerable older customers who don’t have a mobile phone or a broadband connection, and still depend on traditional landlines exclusively for their contacts with the outside world.

Not surprisingly, much of this has been driven by announcements in the press and online to the effect that ‘BT will be shutting down the copper cable analog phone network in your area by the end of 2025’.

Is this true, and what does this actually mean ?

Before we look at this question, first of all a bit of background knowledge about how our phone system, and more recently our broadband internet communications, work. The old traditional phone network originally installed in the early 20^th century was (and still is in a few areas) based on copper cabling connecting different telephone exchanges, and also connecting the consumer’s premises to the nearest exchange. You can still see the familiar telephone poles, and wires strung out between them, in some areas.

As technology advanced in the latter part of the last century, geostationary satellite links replaced some of the existing international cable links, and a microwave repeater network within UK introduced to allow enhanced bandwidth data transmission between centres of population. This was needed to satisfy the increasing demand for data and voice traffic.

As home broadband caught hold in earnest after the millennium dawned, optical fibres also began to be needed to take the strain, enabling the vast increases in data traffic flow required to provide usable megabit broadband services country-wide. Initially, optical cables were only used to link the green street distribution cabinets to the exchanges, but latterly ‘full fibre’ broadband offerings to consumers became possible by linking these cabinets directly to consumers’ premises via fibre optics. This increased maximum data transfer rates available into to the Gigabit range, and removed the problem of performance drop-off with distance from the exchange encountered with conventional copper wires. It is the migration of the remaining consumers who are not yet ‘full-fibre enabled’ which is the object of the current programme of infrastructure development.

What about the timing of all this ?

BT, as a service provider, does appear to be shutting down analogue phone lines in some areas this year, and has stopped offering analog phone packages to its customers. However, this only applies to its own subscribers. Anyone not with BT for their phone and broadband may either not be affected at all this year, or may only be contacted about upgrading when they renew their existing contracts. This is because BT is no longer responsible for maintaining the network infrastructure and can only 'close down' analog phone services for its own customers.

What is happening is that Open Reach, who do supply and maintain the communications infrastructure for all commercial ISP and business customers, are planning to switch all customers over to optical digital lines. This is in line with government policy, but their current deadline for this to be completed is not until Jan 31^st 2027. 

Given the number of premises still using analog technology, the switch-over will have to be progressive and realistic, and the deadline may thus be delayed (e.g. if problems are encountered in completing the extensive modifications the infrastructure necessary, or providers are unable to guarantee continued provision for vulnerable customers).

In any event, it will be the responsibility of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) themselves to notify their customers when they will need to switch, negotiate with them how this is to be done, and agree any additional cost to the consumer.

My guess is that consultation with individual consumers will only start to happen when their existing broadband contracts come up for renewal; at this point,  ISPs will take the opportunity to offer their subscribers upgrades to full fibre at little or no extra cost. It will be in their interest to wean customers off traditional landlines and onto all digital services wherever possible in order to comply with national policy and honour their commitments to OFCOM as providers. There is also something of a price war in progress at present, and ISPs will not want to lose loyal customers to the opposition by over-charging for new full-fibre packages.

In any event, it will be the responsibility of the ISP to inform the consumer when they will need to be upgraded in order for them to continue receiving (and paying for !) their broadband and phone services.

As an example of one provider's policy, TalkTalk customers have been assured that they will still be able to access traditional landlines after BT’s deadline of end 2025, since, I quote “..we use different systems to BT..”. In practice this means that TalkTalk will be migrating consumers over progressively between now and early 2027 (or by a later date if the OpenReach deadline gets moved back). Check with your own ISP when their own deadline is likely to be and what arrangements they will be making for their domestic customers.

What does the upgrading process involve ?

This depends on where you live, and how the existing fibre infrastructure is laid out in your area. The main difference is whether the existing cabling is underground or supplied via telephone poles. Most areas with predominantly newer housing have underground cabling, much of which has already been switched to optical fibre. OpenReach have also been busy of late adding optical cables to the overground network – you may already have noticed additional routing boxes and thicker black cabling appearing on telephone poles in your area recently.

However your local infrastructure is provided, you’ll need an additional cable from the street outlet to your house wall (usually the one nearest the street) and this may involve some limited excavation to install and bury the cabling. It will also require some drilling through the wall to provide cable access into the house from a small box; this will normally be  mounted on the outside wall. You’ll also need a Fibre Connection Box (FCB) inside the house, and may also need a new broadband router compatible with the new optical input and higher bit-rates (both of these new units will both need separate power sockets). Depending on where your router is sited (usually close to the FCB box on your ground floor) you may also need to start using wifi access rather than using ethernet connections if you don't plan to work close to where the cabling comes into the house. If you don't want to use wifi, or your wifi reception is poor, one alternative is to install an additional ethernet extension cable to connect the router to your work location.

If your existing broadband package includes phone service, and you wish to continue with your landline phone, you'll also need two further connections within the house - a digital call adaptor (DCA) box and the landline phone itself. You should still be able to continue using your existing landline handset, since the DCA box will convert the analog signals generated and used by your phone into digital signals compatible with your new system. The DCA box will require an additional power socket.

The work and any additional equipment required should all be provided free of charge as part of the upgrading package. (see this link for a description of TalkTalk’s installation procedure; other providers’ procedures are likely to be similar, but may use slightly different equipment.)

Is there any way of avoiding all this upheaval ?

For anyone not wanting the hassle of all the extensive cabling work and the additional equipment required, there is always the option of switching your package to providers offering internet access via the mobile phone networks. There are now many packages available at quite reasonable cost, and these achieve respectable, if not strictly comparable, speeds, using 5G technology.

Another decision you may want to make at this stage is whether you actually want to continue with a landline at all - most households have access to at least 1 mobile phone, and 'all you can eat' data & unlimited phone call packages are becoming competitive now. You may want to consider whether it's worth the extra boxes and power drain of an 'always on'  digital phone connection, particularly if, like me, you rarely use the landline nowadays, and don't like worrying about the cost of individual calls.

Final Thoughts

I hope this short article has reassured anyone who may be concerned about suddenly losing their phone service before Christmas – this shouldn’t happen, and if it does, you should  contact your phone provider straight away. 

ISPs are required under their T&Cs to provide a usable service and keep their customers informed about any planned changes which may affect their service in advance. If you are not satisfied with their performance, switch…it’s a buyer’s market out there just now, and  you may even be able to get a free upgrade to full fibre at a reduced price if you switch whenever your contract expires. There are even some offers out there willing to pay any exit penalties for you if you leave within your existing contract period.

I’ll endeavour to update this blog with any developments as we move towards the OpenReach 2027 deadline….

First published 5.4.25; Revised 7.4.25