On 31 January 2027, BT’s analogue telephone network is being switched off permanently. This network, also known as PSTN was the backbone of BT’s network for over a century, but was costly to maintain and unable to meet modern telecoms demands. Fibre-based solutions have largely taken over and BT Openreach stopped selling new analogue lines back in September 2023, so if you’re still reliant on one, you’re already on borrowed time.
For most businesses, the migration path is straightforward: broadband moves to a full-fibre or SoGEA connection, and phones move to VoIP or a hosted phone system. If you haven’t done this yet you haven’t got a huge amount of time left and waiting will cost you. That’s not us scare marketing as Openreach has confirmed staged wholesale price rises on legacy copper line rentals throughout 2026: around 20% from last month, a further 40% from July, and another 40% from October. So sit on your hands long enough and you’ll pay roughly double what you’re paying now, for something that’s about to be decommissioned anyway.
The lines you might have forgotten about
Phone lines and broadband are obvious - you use them every day. But the PSTN supports a much wider range of devices — and some of them are surprisingly easy to overlook.
The nature of all of the following is that they are often lines that are set up and then forgotten, running in the background for years without anyone interacting with them. If the install happened pre-2020 there’s a reasonable chance it’s an analogue line.
Lift emergency lines. Most lifts in commercial buildings are required by law to have a phone line for emergency use. In older installations, that’s almost always a standard analogue line wired into the lift motor room. When the PSTN switches off, that line goes with it and a broken emergency phone is a big legal problem - compliance requirements aren’t being paused because of the infrastructure changeover.
Intruder alarms and fire alarm systems. Many alarm panels communicate via a PSTN line, either to the monitoring centre or to dial out when triggered. Again this will stop working when the PSTN network is switched off. A system that can’t communicate is effectively useless for monitoring purposes, and in some cases may affect your insurance position.
Other devices worth checking. CCTV diallers, access control systems, door entry systems with remote access, DECT base stations wired to a line, and older franking machines can all use analogue lines. So can EPOS terminals and card payment machines in some legacy setups.
What to do
The first step is a proper audit — not just of your broadband and phone system, but of every socket in the building that connects to a phone line. If you’re not sure what’s plugged in where, now is the time to find out.
From there, the path forward depends on what you have. For broadband and voice, moving to full-fibre with a hosted VoIP system is usually the cleanest outcome - better resilience, lower long-term cost, and often better flexibility than the legacy system you’re replacing.
For specialist lines like lifts and alarms, the right solution depends on the equipment and the building, but GSM diallers and SIM-based units are a mature and cost-effective option.
Hayes IT can help with the full picture - from auditing your current connectivity estate to provisioning replacement fixed or mobile lines and advising on your options. If you want to get ahead of the deadline rather than scramble after Christmas, get in touch and we’ll take it from there.