PSTN switch-off 2027: what UK businesses must move by 31 January

Summary. The Openreach PSTN, the copper network behind most UK analogue phone lines, closes on 31 January 2027, and Openreach says the date will not move. On 30 October 2026 about 1 million lines were still on it, including 300,000 at business premises. From 1 November that leaves 91 days. The risk is the line nobody remembers: alarm diallers, lift phones, card terminals, door entry, telemetry and ISDN-fed PBXs. The WLR basic rental doubled in three steps ending 1 October 2026, with more rises due from February 2027. Unmigrated single lines may move to EVAc, a temporary, limited fallback costing providers £35 a month wholesale for WLR3 Basic, with capacity that cannot be reserved. ISDN and multi-line services are not covered. The fix is an inventory, device-by-device testing and a move to SOGEA or FTTP plus SIP trunks or cloud telephony. Teams Phone with UK calling lists at £13.10 per user per month and RingCentral Standard at £13.99 for 20 to 99 users, both billed annually. Start this week: letters of authority for line transfers are due on 6 November.

About this article. For UK facilities and IT leads, and Indian groups with UK offices. We checked dates, charters and prices on 1 November 2026 against Openreach, GOV.UK (DSIT), Ofcom, the Digital Phone Switchover site and vendor pricing pages. We read the PSTN Charter as updated on 22 January 2026, the CNI Charter as updated on 13 October 2026, and Ofcom's 2018 power-cut guidance with its January 2026 letter to providers. Some dates come from ISPreview and provider notices, because we could not find Openreach's industry briefing published in full. This is not legal or fire-safety advice: confirm safety-critical changes with your alarm, lift and payment providers. Vendors change prices, and no vendor paid for inclusion. Researched with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team.

Where the switch-off stands on 1 November 2026

Openreach's switch-off page says all traditional phone lines go digital on 31 January 2027, and DSIT's connectivity timeline says all users of the Openreach PSTN must be migrated by then. In an update reported by ISPreview in July 2026, Openreach's James Lilley ruled out any extension.

Openreach's count has fallen from 1.5 million lines in July to 1.2 million in September and roughly 1 million on 30 October, about 300,000 of them at business premises. Openreach says the lines left are the hard ones: multi-site estates, undocumented circuits, and lines feeding payment terminals, lift auto-diallers, fire alarm panels, access control and telemetry. It warned that unmigrated building systems could force commercial buildings to close at once.

The date applies to the Openreach network. Ofcom says Virgin Media O2 and KCOM also plan to retire the old lines on their own networks but have set no dates, so a site on either should ask for its position in writing.

Openreach stopped selling new WLR products nationally on 5 September 2023. Pin the rest to your project plan. ISPreview listed these dates when reporting Openreach's September 2026 update, and Gamma and Giacom gave partners matching order, completion and exceptions dates.

Gamma expects remaining eligible lines to move exchange by exchange from April 2027, and says the move is not guaranteed.

Openreach raised the WLR basic rental from £10.65 by 20% on 1 April 2026, then by 40% of that price on 1 July and again on 1 October. It confirms this doubled the 2025 rental: by our arithmetic £10.65 × 2 = £21.30 a month wholesale per basic line, before margin and VAT. More increases are due from February 2027.

EVAc is a safety net, not a migration plan

EVAc is Openreach's temporary, limited last-resort service for lines still on copper after the deadline, and it costs more than digital alternatives. The wholesale price is £35 a month for WLR3 Basic and £38.60 for WLR Premium. ISPreview reports that this excludes VAT and starts on 1 February 2027; retail will be higher. Openreach says the rate applies to every WLR3 single line, whether already moved, moving or still waiting, and that later rises need only 28 days' notice.

• Features and broadband may go. EVAc may not support the calling features you use today, and linked ADSL, FTTC or G.fast broadband stays up only where technically possible.

• Capacity is finite. EVAc cannot be ordered in advance or reserved, and single lines that cannot move will be ceased in tranches. Openreach will prioritise the most critical customers and warns that a business waiting for EVAc may not be moved at all.

• ISDN and multi-lines are not covered. ISDN services not migrated to IP by January 2027 will be ceased, and Gamma says multi-line services are outside EVAc too. Giacom, citing Openreach in October, counted 14,000 multi-lines, 26,000 ISDN2 and 5,000 ISDN30 services still to move.

The charters: who is protected, and what they do not cover

GOV.UK says the upgrade is industry-led and not a government programme. DSIT has instead worked with industry on voluntary charters.

The PSTN Charter (telecare and vulnerable customers). Agreed in December 2023 and last updated on 22 January 2026, it commits its 12 signatories, including BT, Virgin Media O2 and Sky, not to carry out non-voluntary migrations until they are confident vulnerable people are protected, and not to migrate any telecare user until a compatible, working solution is confirmed. A separate charter covers network operators such as Openreach and CityFibre.

The CNI Charter. Updated on 13 October 2026, it covers assets where losing PSTN or ISDN could cost lives, in areas such as defence, health, transport, water and power. Provider signatories commit to named contacts, testing support, no cease without notice, and an alert to DSIT before any non-voluntary migration. DSIT warns that withdrawal is not optional, and the charter leaves customers responsible for powering the devices they rely on.

What the charters do not do. They do not audit your building. GOV.UK says providers will not know which devices are connected to their network, and that same page, last updated in February 2024, still says customers need not act until a provider makes contact. Openreach's current advice to businesses is to start now. Care homes and telecare services should tell their provider today which lines carry telecare. Everyone else should assume nobody will find a forgotten alarm line for them.

What businesses must move, device by device

The Digital Phone Switchover site lists alarms, fax and franking machines, lift alarms, card machines, gate entry, CCTV, building management systems, telemetry, vending machines and ATMs among equipment known to use phone lines. Ofcom warns that some of it may need reconfiguring or replacing because PSTN traits such as line power may not carry over to all-IP services. The fixes below are common practice; your maintainer decides.

Alarms, lifts and payments

Signalling vendor AddSecure says a panel left on a withdrawn line will usually fail silently: the panel may show a fault, but monitoring stops. It also says broadband alone is acceptable only if the path meets EN 50136 and the risk profile of the site. A working voice call therefore proves nothing about the alarm path. Ask the alarm receiving centre (ARC) to confirm signals arrive, and your insurer which signalling grade it requires.

ISPreview reports that since 1999 the Lifts Regulations have required new lifts to have two-way voice communication to a rescue service, with BS EN 81-28 as the harmonised standard; neither specifies the link type. In 2024 the Telegraph, via ISPreview, reported that around 180,000 of the UK's roughly 300,000 lifts still used analogue lines; a mobile module with a roaming SIM and battery back-up was a common replacement. Specify 4G rather than 2G: DSIT's timeline has EE retiring 2G from May 2029, Virgin Media O2 from summer 2029 and VodafoneThree in spring 2030.

Openreach lists payment terminals and cash-handling systems among the systems still reliant on PSTN, so ask your acquirer about older countertop and unattended units.

Your options: access line, voice platform, backup

Access: SOGEA or FTTP

SOGEA is the data-only version of FTTC broadband, and SOTAP the equivalent for ADSL; both run over existing copper with voice carried digitally on top. FTTP (full fibre) is the long-term choice, and Openreach says it reaches more than 23 million homes and businesses. Copper removal is a slower process tied to fibre build and exchange closures, the first 108 of which DSIT lists by 2030.

Keep your PBX: SIP trunks

Public SIP pricing is rare. One reference point is Virgin Media Business's G-Cloud 15 pricing document (January 2026): £4.50 per standard channel per month, £6.00 with minutes under a fair use policy, £14.00 for geo and network resilient channels and £1.00 for back-up channels, on a 24-month term based on a minimum of 20 users, plus £20 per batch to port geographic numbers. These public-sector prices exclude the access line and VAT, so commercial quotes will differ.

Cloud telephony: Teams Phone, Zoom Phone, RingCentral

Microsoft lists Teams Phone Standard in the UK at £7.70 per user per month, paid yearly, excluding VAT. It needs a separate Teams licence and a PSTN connection through Calling Plans, Operator Connect or Direct Routing. With UK domestic calling (3,000 outbound minutes) it is £13.10. These come from a copy captured on 19 July 2026, the latest we could read, so confirm them.

RingCentral's UK page prices by user band, and its first-shown figures are for a single user. On annual billing, Essentials (100 minutes) is £12.99 for one user, £7.99 for 2 to 19 users, and not offered above that. Standard (750 minutes, internet fax) is £14.99 for 2 to 19 users and £13.99 for 20 to 99. The page we read does not state VAT treatment.

Zoom's pricing page, in a copy captured on 22 October 2026, showed US and Canada plans from $16 billed annually and no sterling price, though it names a UK and Ireland regional plan. Zoom also lists ATA support for analogue devices.

Backup: power and 4G failover

Digital lines carry no exchange power, so routers and handsets stop in a power cut without battery or generator back-up. Ofcom's guidance expects providers to offer at least one way to reach emergency services for a minimum of one hour, free to those at risk because they depend on the landline. Ofcom told providers in January 2026 that few businesses rely on a landline as their only route to 999, but that a sole trader or a small office with no mobile signal may, and should then be protected.

That covers 999 calls, not your alarm panel. Put the ONT, router, ATAs and diallers on a UPS sized to your risk, and add a 4G or 5G failover router where losing broadband would stop trading. Check indoor signal site by site.

Decision table: pick X if

Worked example: a 25-person UK office

Take the UK office of an Indian IT services company: 25 staff on an ageing PBX fed by an 8-channel ISDN30, plus five analogue lines for the intruder alarm, fire panel dialler, lift autodialler, card terminal backup and fax. Microsoft, Virgin Media Business and EVAc prices exclude VAT; confirm RingCentral's.

• Teams Phone with UK calling: 25 × £13.10 = £327.50 a month, or £3,930 a year, if staff already hold Teams licences. Handsets extra.

• SIP on the existing PBX: 8 channels × £6.00 = £48 a month, or £576 a year at the framework rate, plus £20 per batch to port the range, a SIP-capable access line and any PBX upgrade.

• RingCentral Standard: 25 users fall in the 20 to 99 band, so 25 × £13.99 = £349.75 a month, or £4,197 a year. Internet fax is included, so the fax line can go.

Four of the five device lines will probably need hardware work whatever happens to the desk phones: alarm communicator, lift autodialler, card terminal and fire panel signalling. These are quote-based and are the critical path, because each needs a site visit and a test.

Doing nothing is not cheaper. Five WLR lines at today's doubled rental cost about 5 × £21.30 = £106.50 a month wholesale. From 1 February, at the rate that applies to all WLR3 single lines, they would cost 5 × £35 = £175 a month (£2,100 a year) before margin, and the ISDN30 would be ceased with the PBX's external calls.

Note for Indian companies with UK offices

Indian groups often run UK offices or warehouses on contracts signed by the UK subsidiary and managed from India. That split is where lines get lost.

1. Find the paperwork in the UK entity. Lines and alarm circuits sit on the UK company's provider accounts. Lines moving between legal entities face the 6 November letter-of-authority deadline.

1. Ask the landlord in writing. Lifts, fire panels and door entry in multi-let buildings often belong to the landlord. Get written confirmation they are migrated and tested.

1. Keep UK and India voice routing separate. Microsoft says Location-Based Routing (LBR) for Direct Routing exists because toll bypass is illegal in some countries. In India, LBR also needs media bypass, and Direct VoIP must not be deployed with telephony equipment there. LBR does not apply to Calling Plan or Operator Connect, including Operator Connect in India.

1. Split remote and on-site work. Inventory and porting paperwork can run from India; line tracing and alarm and lift tests need a UK engineer.

1. Budget and data. The deadline falls in the last quarter of India's FY2026-27, alongside Windows Server 2016 end of support and, for EU cloud contracts, the EU Data Act ban on switching charges. If UK call recordings or logs are stored in India, check UK GDPR transfer rules and your DPDP obligations.

The 91-day migration checklist

Run this from the week of 2 November 2026, with an owner and date per step.

1. Inventory (by 6 November). Export every number and circuit from every bill, including ISDN, alarm and spare lines. Send any letters of authority for lines mid-transfer.

1. Trace (weeks 1 to 2). Walk each site, label sockets and ring unknown numbers. A council in Openreach's video reached a lift alarm on a line listed as unused, and found snow-control lines idle in summer.

1. Classify (week 2). Mark each line as voice, data device, life-safety or CNI, and tell your provider about CNI use.

1. Call equipment vendors (weeks 2 to 3). Ask whether each device is approved for IP or 4G, the lead time and who tests it.

1. Order access (week 3). Check FTTP and SOGEA availability, landlord permission and where 4G failover is needed.

1. Choose voice and start porting (weeks 3 to 4). Use the decision table.

1. Fix power (weeks 3 to 6). UPS for the ONT, router, ATAs and diallers, with runtime recorded.

1. Test (weeks 4 to 8). Alarm signals to the ARC, a lift call to the rescue centre, card transactions, fax and door entry, then repeat with broadband unplugged.

1. Cut over (weeks 8 to 10). Cease old lines only after tests pass, with written confirmation from each provider.

1. Keep a buffer (by mid-January 2027). Orders must be in by 31 January and complete by 31 March. Keep the line register and test evidence for insurers and auditors.

How eCorpIT can help

eCorpIT is a Gurugram-based technology organisation, founded in 2021, assessed at CMMI Level 5 and MSME certified, with senior-led engineering teams working across AWS, Microsoft and Google platforms. Our network solutions practice can prepare the data network your phone lines will depend on, from FTTP or SOGEA site access and 4G backup to VLANs that separate voice, alarms and payment devices. Talk to us at /contact-us/.

Last updated: 1 November 2026.

References

1. Openreach to protect broadband connections as PSTN closure approaches, 24 September 2026 — Openreach

1. Openreach warns businesses: fewer than 100 days left to move off the old analogue phone network, 30 October 2026 — Openreach

1. Gamma statement on Openreach's latest PSTN switch-off announcement — Gamma

1. Microsoft Teams Phone UK plans and pricing, archived copy of 19 July 2026 — Microsoft

1. RingEX business phone plans and pricing (UK) — RingCentral

1. Openreach confirm post-January 2027 measures for UK analogue phone switch-off, 24 September 2026, updated 28 September — ISPreview

1. Switching off the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) across the UK — Openreach

1. Telecommunications Modernisation: Connectivity Timeline, updated 29 July 2026 — GOV.UK (DSIT)

1. Openreach warn 1.5 million UK analogue phone lines yet to make digital switch, 31 July 2026 — ISPreview

1. Your landline is going digital: what you need to know, updated 26 August 2026 — Ofcom

1. It's the end of the line: the WLR stop sell has begun — BT Wholesale

1. PSTN Switch Off: why EVAc isn't a failsafe and what you need to do now, October 2026 — Giacom

1. Switch your business phone line to digital — Openreach

1. UK transition from analogue to digital landlines, updated 28 February 2024 — GOV.UK

1. Telecommunications Modernisation collection — GOV.UK (DSIT)

1. Public Switched Telephone Network charter, updated 22 January 2026 — GOV.UK (DSIT)

1. Telecoms Modernisation: Critical National Infrastructure Charter, updated 13 October 2026 — GOV.UK (DSIT)

1. For Businesses — Digital Phone Switchover

1. PSTN switch off and migration to Voice over IP, letter to providers of legacy PSTN services, 29 January 2026 — Ofcom

1. Alarm signalling after the PSTN switch-off — AddSecure

1. BT warn UK lift operators not to leave users trapped by analogue phone switch off, 19 August 2024 — ISPreview

1. IP Voice (SIP Trunking) G-Cloud 15 pricing document, January 2026 — Virgin Media Business

1. PSTN connectivity options — Microsoft Learn

1. Zoom Phone pricing, archived copy of 22 October 2026 — Zoom

1. Zoom Phone product page, archived copy of 22 October 2026 — Zoom

1. Protecting access to emergency organisations when there is a power cut at the customer's premises, 10 October 2018 — Ofcom

1. Plan Location-Based Routing for Direct Routing, 10 September 2026 — Microsoft Learn