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If someone you love has a corded phone plugged into the wall, a pendant alarm round their neck, or a landline they keep only for the doctor's surgery, this is the job to sort before the new year, and a Christmas visit is as good a moment as any. Openreach's old analogue phone network, the one that has carried British landline calls for decades, closes on 31 January 2027. Calls move onto broadband. For most homes that means moving one plug. For a smaller group, it changes what happens in a power cut, or when an alarm button is pressed.
Plenty of people haven't moved yet. At the end of July, Openreach said about 1.5 million lines were still on the old network, down from 1.9 million in June. By late September that had fallen to about 1.2 million, roughly 350,000 of them business premises. Openreach's director of all-IP, James Lilley, was blunt about the date in July: "there is no extension to the deadline."
What is the landline switch-off?
It's the closing of the old copper telephone network that has carried home phone calls in Britain for decades, known as the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), with calls carried over broadband in its place. BT calls its version Digital Voice; other providers say digital phone, VoIP or fibre phone. Either way, the phone line becomes something your broadband carries rather than a separate service.
Why is it happening now?
Because the old network is wearing out. The government says faults on the old network rose 45% in 2024, citing Ofcom, and replacement parts are no longer made. Plenty of households are working out what it means for them: in the UK, "digital landline" is searched about 2,400 times a month, "bt digital voice" about 1,900 and "pstn switch off" about 1,000 (Google Keyword Planner, October 2026).
Why should you care if the phone still works?
Because for some homes the change is about safety, not convenience. A digital line needs mains power, so without a battery the home phone stops in a power cut. An estimated 2 million people in the UK use telecare alarms, and some older alarms don't work reliably on digital lines. And while the move itself is free, scammers are already cold-calling to demand payment for it.
The short answer: for most homes it's one plug, with the phone going into the broadband router instead of the wall and the number staying the same. The homes to sort before the new year are those with a telecare alarm, someone who depends on the landline in a power cut, or no broadband: one call to the landline provider (and, for an alarm, one to the alarm company) gets the free backup or the engineer's visit providers offer. Nobody genuine will ask for money to switch you.
For most homes, it really is just one plug
The change sounds bigger than it is for most homes, and the reassuring part comes first: the number stays, and usually the handset does too.
The lines rented over the old network are called WLR (Wholesale Line Rental). The government's guidance says the switch may be as simple as plugging your phone into your broadband router instead of the wall, and that "nobody will have to lose their landline service."
What it looks like at home depends on who you're with:
BT:
Age UK's guide
sums it up as connecting your home phone to the router instead of the wall socket. Age UK also says you'll get at least four weeks' notice.
Virgin Media:
it
sends an adapter
that links your phone to the hub, with instructions or an engineer if you need one. With cordless phones, only the base station needs connecting. If nothing is plugged in by the date it gives, "your old landline wall socket and anything connected to it will no longer work."
Virgin Media
runs its own network on its own timetable, separate from Openreach's 31 January date: it aims to move its old copper phone customers "in the next 18 months" and writes to each one with a date.
Everyone else:
Openreach says
a digital line usually works through the router rather than the wall, and that anything else connected to the phone line, from alarms to card machines, should be checked with its supplier first.
Not sure who to call? The Digital Phone Switchover site, run by the big providers with government and Ofcom support, links to each one's help pages.
The quickest check is to follow the phone cable. If it goes into the router or an adapter beside it, you have most likely already moved. If it goes into the white wall socket pictured at the top of this page, you're probably still on the old line. The exception is a BT home with no broadband: BT moves those customers to Home Phone Standard with no new equipment, so the phone stays in the wall socket after the move, and BT's letter is the sign it has happened. The government says you don't need to act until your provider contacts you, but with under four months to go, I'd ring them rather than wait for a letter. Openreach's own advice is to switch now.
When the power goes, the phone can go with it
This is the part that matters most, because it quietly reverses something people have relied on for generations.
An old copper line carries a little power from the telephone exchange, enough to keep a basic corded phone working in a local power cut. A digital line can't. The router needs mains electricity, so without a battery the home phone stops when the lights do. The government spells this out, and Openreach puts it simply: "Digital phone lines need power to work." Virgin Media says the same goes for anything plugged into the line, alarms included.
There is a safety net, and it's worth knowing exactly what it promises:
A mobile is the everyday backup.
You can call 999 on any mobile network, even one you're not a customer of. For most households, a charged mobile is the answer. For a household without one, my
Android phone guide
covers the cheaper models worth having, and our
SIM-only page
compares plans on their own.
Free help if you depend on the landline.
Under Ofcom's guidance, providers should offer at least one way to reach the emergency services for a minimum of one hour in a power cut, and offer it free to people at risk because they rely on their landline. That's set out in the
government's guidance
. Providers who signed the
government's PSTN charter
have said they'll work to go beyond that one-hour minimum.
What that looks like in practice.
BT's
Emergency Hybrid Home Phone
switches to a built-in SIM when the power or broadband drops, so its calls go over the mobile network. Kept charged, it lasts up to 8 hours on standby with an hour of talk time, and "you can always call 999, even if your minutes run out." Age UK describes BT's extra support as a free battery backup unit on request, or a hybrid phone.
Virgin Media
gives people who rely on a landline, or don't have a mobile, an emergency backup line for calling the emergency services, friends or family free.
One hour is a minimum, not a promise that you'll get through a long winter outage. Which free option fits depends on the mobile signal. A hybrid phone needs one, so it suits a home with a signal indoors but nobody who uses a mobile. Where there's no signal at all, the government's guidance says the landline provider should offer something such as a battery back-up unit, which keeps the digital line itself powered for a while. Our broadband checker shows each network's 4G and 5G signal indoors and out at a UK address, which is a quick way to find out whether a mobile, or a hybrid phone, is a real backup there.
Protection for the people who need it most, if their provider knows
The protections are real, but most of them depend on your provider knowing about you. Telling them is the single most useful call you can make.
The government's guidance on supported journeys expects providers to identify people who use telecare, social alarms or medical equipment, and people who depend on their landline, such as those in a mobile not-spot. Anyone with a disability, a serious illness or age-related risks, whether permanent or temporary, can tell their provider themselves. The help on offer includes support installing new equipment and battery backup for power cuts.
When the phone line is a lifeline: telecare and alarms
Telecare is the alarm-and-pendant kind of care: press a button and a response centre answers. It's where the switch matters most.
An estimated 2 million people in the UK use telecare, according to the government's Telecare National Action Plan, and some older analogue alarms don't perform reliably on digital lines. The industry charter says no telecare user will be moved until the provider, the customer or the alarm company confirms a compatible, working alarm is in place. The government also says landline companies will send an engineer to carry out the switch and test the alarm in person. Openreach says it has upgraded more than 70,000 telecare customers this way, testing the device on the new line first.
None of that works if nobody knows the alarm is there, which is why two calls matter more than anything else here:
The landline provider
, which needs to know there's a telecare alarm in the home. BT and Virgin Media customers can call 150 from the home phone.
The alarm provider
, whether that's the council, a housing association or a private firm. The question for them is whether the unit is ready for a digital line and, if it connects by SIM instead, which mobile network it uses and whether it works on 4G.
That last question matters because the old mobile networks are closing too. The UK's 2G networks switch off between 2029 and 2033, and the government lists telecare pendants among the devices that can rely on 2G. I'd rather sort the alarm once than fix it again in three years.
No broadband? You won't be left without a phone
If there's no broadband in the house and nobody wants it, you can still keep a phone.
The government's guidance says a "landline only" service will remain, and the Universal Service Obligation means everyone in the UK can still get a landline. Some providers offer an interim, dedicated landline "until a digital solution becomes available or 2030, if that comes sooner". Behind the scenes, Openreach built an exchange-based line that copies the old service, launched in October 2025 for existing customers who can't easily move. It needs no broadband, engineer visit or battery. Openreach says your provider will help you find the most suitable digital option if you have a phone line but no broadband.
BT moves its phone-only customers to a service called Home Phone Standard. It needs no new equipment or phones, and calls work as before except that local numbers need the area code. BT says that line keeps working in a power cut, although cordless handsets won't, which is why BT recommends a corded phone as a backup. One cheap corded phone plugged in somewhere in the house is enough.
The switch is free. Waiting, and scammers, are not
The move itself shouldn't cost you a penny. Leaving it late is what gets expensive, and a cold call asking for money is the clearest warning sign of all.
The switch:
Virgin Media
says your new phone line "will cost the same as your current home phone service" and that you stay on the same contract. Age UK reports BT's pledge that pricing and plans stay unchanged.
Backup for power cuts:
free for people at risk because they depend on their landline, as above.
Other equipment:
an older alarm, fax or card machine may need an adapter or a replacement. The
government's guidance
says to check with the supplier, and it's worth knowing the price before agreeing to anything.
Staying put is a different story. Openreach's wholesale price for old lines rose in steps through 2026, in April and July with the last due on 1 October, taking it from £10.65 a month to roughly double. From 1 February 2027, the wholesale rental for a basic old-style line becomes £35 a month before VAT. That's what providers pay, not your bill, but nobody gains by waiting to see how much of it reaches them.
Scammers know all this too. Which? has reported fake BT callers demanding payment for the digital switch and threatening instant disconnection. The switchover doesn't involve any fees, and your provider won't ring to take payment or check your card details. A provider that genuinely wants paying never cold-calls for it, so the number on the bill is the safe one to ring. Calls like these can be reported to Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025, online or on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland they go to Police Scotland on 101.
Free at last from a phone line you never use
The switch-off also removes a cost many homes have paid for years without thinking: a phone line kept only because the broadband needed one.
Because digital calls travel over the broadband, the phone service is now optional. Full fibre and the newer data-only copper lines (called SOGEA) carry broadband with no phone service underneath. If your landline only rings with cold calls, broadband on its own may be the simpler choice. If you still want a home number, providers can add a digital phone on top.
Before you drop it, BT lists the catches plainly. You lose the number, and "you won't be able to get your home phone number back." There's no dial tone, so no calls from the line, 999 included. Personal alarms and anything else connected to the phone line stop working. So any alarm needs sorting first, and if the number matters, the provider you're moving to is the one to ask about bringing it across before the old service ends.
To see what's possible at your address, our broadband checker shows the speeds Ofcom expects at each UK home on copper, fibre to the cabinet and full fibre or cable, plus 4G and 5G coverage from EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone. Where a network has a good signal indoors, a 4G or 5G router can replace a fixed line altogether.
Miss the deadline and the line won't go dead overnight, but it won't stay the same
Nobody should expect the phones to fall silent at midnight. Openreach's Juliette Scott told Zen Internet's chief executive in June that there won't be a "big bang" on 1 February. What follows is a slow tidy-up, ending years later with the old exchanges themselves.
31 January 2027:
every user of Openreach's old network should have moved, according to the
government's timeline
. Household lines won't be cut off outright that day.
From 1 February 2027:
lines that haven't moved start going onto Openreach's temporary Emergency Voice and Access Continuity service (EVAc), which has fewer calling features.
Phone-only lines go first
, and single business lines get the same fallback as homes. Older business ISDN2 and ISDN30 lines
stop from that date
.
From mid-April 2027:
lines with broadband attached start to move, with Openreach keeping the broadband running where it's technically possible. It says that may not work on every line.
How long EVAc lasts:
Openreach hasn't said. It calls EVAc a
temporary service that keeps basic calls working "for a limited time"
, and
James Lilley describes it
as "temporary, limited and more expensive than modern alternatives." Openreach's April briefing said EVAc
won't carry critical alarm or lift signals
, and lines flagged as vulnerable are meant to be handled separately. That's exactly why an alarm user shouldn't be left to drift onto it.
Until 2030:
interim dedicated landlines run until a digital option arrives or 2030, whichever comes first.
2029 to 2033:
the 2G mobile networks switch off, starting with EE from May 2029, then Virgin Media O2 from summer 2029 and VodafoneThree in spring 2030.
Through to 2030 and beyond:
telephone exchanges start closing
, 108 of them by 2030, with more over the following decade.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most, with the detail above.
When is the landline switch-off?
Openreach's old analogue network closes on 31 January 2027. Lines that haven't moved start going onto a temporary emergency service from 1 February. Virgin MediaVirgin MediaVirgin Media sells broadband, TV and home phone packages across the UK, mostly in areas served by its own cable and fibre network. Before comparing bundles, check availability withBuying guide · View store → runs its own network and writes to its customers with their own date.
Will I lose my phone number?
No. Moving to a digital landline keeps your number and usually your handset. You only lose the number if you cancel the phone service altogether without moving it to another provider first.
Do I need broadband to keep a landline?
No. Landline-only services remain, and some providers offer a dedicated line that needs no broadband until a digital option is available, or 2030 at the latest.
Will my phone work in a power cut?
Not on its own. A digital line needs the router to have power, so a charged mobile is the everyday backup. People who depend on the landline can get a free option from their provider: a hybrid phone, which calls over the mobile network where there's a signal, or a battery back-up unit where there isn't.
Does the switch cost anything?
The move itself is free, and your provider won't ask for payment to switch you. An older alarm or other device may need replacing, and its supplier can say what that costs. If you're replacing a phone or router anyway, my Black Friday 2026 guide explains how to keep a price record so a "deal" can be checked against it.
