- Openreach is forcing businesses to upgrade by making legacy systems more expensive
- All technical barriers have been removed, making upgrading a no-brainer.
- “If your provider hasn’t contacted you, you should ask why”
Openreach has already set out plans to close the UK’s aging telephone network by January 31, 2027, but around half a million business lines still need to be migrated and the deadline is approaching.
For context, the copper-based PSTN (public switched telephone network) is being replaced by a fibre-based network, and Openreach has already resolved all technical barriers, such as telecare protections.
Therefore, to force companies to upgrade before the deadline, prices for legacy business lines will increase dramatically three times this year, starting with a 20% increase starting in April and then two 40% price increases in July and October.
Commercial copper connections will soon cost more
The result is that copper lines will cost around double what they did last year in October, making it an incredibly expensive system to maintain.
“We’ve spent the last year ensuring telecare customers can safely migrate through our ‘Prove Telecare’ service, removing the last barrier to outage,” explained All-IP director James Lilley (via think broadband).
Most major telecom companies have already recruited their customers away from legacy systems. Openreach recommends that those who have not been contacted change providers. “If your provider hasn’t contacted you, you should ask why,” Lilley added.
In September 2025, Openreach warned that while full fiber had been made available to 20 million homes, only 38% of them had made the switch. “Upgrades do not usually happen automatically, so people need to contact their broadband provider to make the switch,” CEO Clive Selley stressed.
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