In December 2025, Openreach will ‘Switch Off’ the PSTN telephone network. This will affect every single Openreach service utilising copper lines.

• Analogue lines (WLR) – services such as PDQ machines, lift lines, fax, and alarm systems may all use an analogue telephone line.
• ISDN2e and ISDN30e lines – mainly used with traditional telephone systems
• Broadband – Broadband services that run over analogue telephone lines such as ADSL, SDSLM, SMPF and some FTTC Broadband.

• 5th September 2023, a nationwide stop/sell of analogue and digital services. From this point onwards you cannot order new analogue or digital telephony services.

  31st December 2025, the analogue and digital network is switched off.

Telephony

Where using an analogue line for telephony, Spitfire has created a replacement option called IP Voice. Simply plug an IP phone (or a digital phone and adaptor) into your Spitfire router and away you go. £5pm with bundled calls included.  

Where an IP phone system is required, Spitfire have a range of cloud phone system options including our leading telephony system, FireSwitch. Highly reliable, secure and feature rich system and meeting the needs of most UK businesses.

Broadband

Legacy broadband such as ADSL, SDSLM and even some FTTC Broadband require an analogue line service to be provisioned. Modern broadband connectivity such as FTTP, SoGEA FTTC and MPF do not require an analogue line service.

From 5th September 2023, new broadband service must be ordered as either FTTP, SoGEA FTTC or MPF.

If an exchange is designated as an active FTTP Priority Exchange, then you can only order FTTP (assuming availability). This is defined when an exchange can cover approx 75% of the connected premises in the area.

Where your local exchange is not designated as an active FTTP Priority exchange then you must order either an FTTP, SoGEA FTTC or an MPF broadband service.

Other Analogue Services

Analogue lines used for alarms, fax, lift lines, PDQs etc will also need to be replaced with an IP supported service. Speak to your systems provider and discuss how best to migrate the signalling service from analogue/digital to VoIP.

First, review and audit your existing telecoms services and identify any service using analogue or ISDN lines. This may include telephony, broadband or services such as lift lines, PDQ, fax, alarms etc.

Second, identify what IP based service can replace the existing service and finally speak to a provider that can support you through the changeover.

Whether you’re a Spitfire customer or not, give us a call today and we can help you with a migration plan to ensure you are not left unprepared for the switch off.

Useful Tip: Look for a termination box on the wall where the lines enter the building. If they do not connect via your router then they may well use the analogue/digital network.

After 2025, there will be no access to the analogue/digital PSTN network. All signalling will utilise VoIP.

It’s not Openreach’s objective to remove all the copper cabling by 2025, the objective is to shut down the use of the telephone network utilising the copper. In fact, modern IP based services may still utilise the physical copper after 2025, however you will no longer have access to the PSTN network.

Openreach have a secondary objective to remove reliance on the physical copper infrastructure all together and replace it with fibre, however this work is not expected to complete before 2030.