Digital Landline Switch Over

The UK's old copper-based landline network is being switched off in January 2027, and replaced with a new digital system.  Thousands of residents and businesses have already made the switch to a more reliable and safer system.

However, there is still many businesses that haven’t.  If you’re one of them, you need to contact your telephone provider now to see what you need to do.

Did you know?

• Small Business Reliance: BT research shows that over 1 in 5 small firms (22%) still use traditional landlines, fax machines, or paper contracts.

• Remaining Lines: Openreach reports that more than 500,000 individual business lines still operate on the old copper network.

• General Usage: Broader industry surveys estimate that up to 62% of businesses still utilize some form of traditional landline infrastructure for primary or secondary tasks.

Many businesses have forgotten to switch at least one of their systems. Ring your telephone provider now for help to make sure all your front and back-end services will remain operational.

The following items may also run off the old technology: 

• Card payment machines

• CCTV

• Lift alarms

• Fax machines

You’ll need to check with your other providers that these services will still work after the switch to digital.

You should also consider any equipment that you may provide to clients and customers or equipment they purchase to use the services you offer.

Keep checking that you don’t have any old analogue lines that have slipped through the net. It’s likely that this change will affect anything that currently plugs into the existing analogue telephone wall sockets.

You should also consider any equipment that you may provide to clients and customers or equipment they purchase to use the services you offer.

Switching to digital will benefit your business in various ways:

• Up to 10x faster speeds - IP technology transmits more data at faster speeds, eliminating buffering or interruptions when you have multiple devices connected.

• Cost savings - get more for less with the opportunity to consolidate providers.

• Improved reliability - with newer digital technology, you’ll see stable broadband speeds with full fibre connection and five times fewer faults.

• Superior call quality - digital lines offer a clearer, more consistent sound quality compared to the traditional network.

• Future-proofing - set your business up for the future with products that are easy to scale up as your business grows.

• Greater flexibility - once you’re fully digital, you can run your business seamlessly from anywhere.