Openreach nears million mark in copper stop sell scheme

As it continues in its mammoth plan to move all of its customers off the public switched telephone network (PSTN) from the end of 2025 to January 2027, BT broadband division Openreach has announced a record number of 163 new exchange locations, covering more than 960,000 premises across the UK, where the business plans to halt the sale of traditional copper-based phone and broadband services to encourage people to upgrade to new digital services over a full-fibre connection.

The programme was first mooted in 2019 to encourage people to upgrade to new digital services over an ultrafast full-fibre connection. The BT-owned company believes legacy network skills and parts are increasingly difficult to come by, and new digital services such as voice over IP (VoIP), video conferencing and a whole range of apps have become more popular and effective for people communicating with one another.

By eventually retiring analogue phone lines, Openreach said it will create a simplified network that will meet the enhanced needs of an increasingly digital society. As regards the importance of the move, Openreach sees the shift from copper to fibre networks as “every bit as significant as the move from analogue to digital and black and white TV to colour.”

In practical terms, the stop sell process is triggered when a majority (75%) of premises connected to a particular BT comms exchange can get a full-fibre connection. Customers who then want to switch, upgrade or regrade their broadband or phone service will have to take a new digital service over Openreach’s full-fibre network. Customers in these exchanges not yet able to get full fibre at their premises won’t be impacted, and can stay on their existing copper-based service until full-fibre becomes available.

BT is in the process of transitioning more than 14 million traditional lines across the UK onto digital services to realise its plan on a national basis. Following the decision to shut down the PSTN, it was agreed to test processes for migrating customers to fibre services and, ultimately, withdraw legacy copper services and the wholesale line rental products that rely on them.

Openreach has already been implementing a UK-wide stop sell on sales of new analogue wholesale line rental and related broadband products. The business is giving communications providers such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone, which all use its network, a year’s notice that it will no longer be selling legacy analogue products and services in these circumstances.

Despite the general progress in the programme, in May 2024, BT Group revised its timetable for moving all customers off the PSTN from its original date of the end of 2025 to January 2027. The new deadline followed the introduction of a series of improvements to the programme that BT assured would better protect vulnerable customers and those with additional needs, including telecare users. BT said its revised approach will also result in a single switch for the majority of customers – both businesses and consumers, from copper to fibre.

By mid-February 2025, “stop sell” rules will have been activated in 852 exchanges – meaning more than seven million premises will be under active stop sell, around 40% of Openreach’s total 17-million full-fibre footprint.

“We’re moving to a digital world, and Openreach is helping with that transformation by rolling out ultrafast, ultra-reliable and future-proofed digital full-fibre across the UK,” said Openreach’s managed customer migrations manager, James Lilley.

“This game-changing technology will become the backbone of our economy for decades to come, supporting every aspect of our public services, businesses, industries and daily lives,” he added.

“Already, our full-fibre network is available to more than 17 million homes and businesses, with more than 5.5 million premises currently taking a service … As copper’s ability to support modern communications declines, the immediate focus is getting people onto newer, future-proofed technologies.”