PSTN Switch-Off
UK landline switch-off locations: which areas are affected, and when
If you're searching for a list of switch-off locations, here's the honest answer up front: there isn't a shortlist, because every UK location is affected. The copper landline network switches off nationally by 31 January 2027. What varies by area is only the order in which providers migrate customers — not whether it happens.
Which locations are affected by the landline switch-off?
All of them. The PSTN switch-off covers the entire UK — around 14 million copper lines across every town, city and village. Since September 2023, no new copper lines can be sold anywhere, and every remaining line must be migrated to a digital or mobile-network alternative by 31 January 2027.
Why there's no "affected areas" list
The switch-off is being delivered exchange-by-exchange, and Openreach and the retail providers (BT, Sky, TalkTalk and the rest) manage the migration order themselves. Customers are contacted directly when their line is due to move — usually with a letter about "Digital Voice" or a digital phone service.
That's why pages promising a postcode-by-postcode switch-off calendar tend to be guesswork. We won't publish one, because we'd be making it up. The only two facts you need are: stop sell already applies everywhere, and everything ends by 31 January 2027.
The pilots: Salisbury and Mildenhall
Two exchanges were chosen as digital-first pilots to trial the migration before it went national: Salisbury in Wiltshire and Mildenhall in Suffolk. The lessons from those trials — especially around vulnerable customers, telecare alarms and properties with poor broadband — are a big part of why the original December 2025 deadline was pushed back to January 2027.
If your area hasn't been "done" yet, that's not a reprieve. It just means your migration letter hasn't arrived yet.
The national switch-off timeline
| When | What happened | Where it applied |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | BT/Openreach announce the intention to retire the copper PSTN and move the UK to all-digital voice. | National announcement |
| Pilot phase | Salisbury and Mildenhall run as the original digital-first pilot exchanges to trial migration ahead of the national rollout. | Salisbury (Wiltshire), Mildenhall (Suffolk) |
| September 2023 | National "stop sell": no new copper phone lines can be ordered from any provider. | Everywhere in the UK |
| December 2025 | The original switch-off deadline. Openreach pushed it back — once — to give providers more time to migrate vulnerable customers and telecare users safely. | Deadline moved, nationally |
| 31 January 2027 | Final deadline. The copper PSTN is permanently switched off. Around 14 million lines must be migrated by this date. | Everywhere in the UK |
How to check your own line
Forget the postcode lists — check the line itself. Three quick signals:
- Your phone plugs into a wall socket, not the back of your broadband router → almost certainly a copper PSTN line.
- Your provider has written to you about Digital Voice, digital phone or "upgrading your landline" → your migration is being scheduled.
- You have alarms, telecare, a lift line or an older card terminal on a phone line → these need checking separately, and urgently.
Our free checker asks a handful of questions and tells you whether you're affected and what your options are — no sign-up needed.
What to do next, wherever you are
Because the switch-off is national, the fix is the same in Salisbury as it is in Shetland. Your provider will offer a VoIP-over-broadband replacement (like BT Digital Voice — fine for many, wrong for some). ONSIM offers three alternatives that run over the mobile network instead, need no broadband, and keep your existing number:
Virtual Landline
Your landline number rings on your existing mobile. No hardware, no app. £5/month + VAT.
Landline SIM
Your landline number natively on a SIM — inbound and outbound calls show the landline. From £10/user/month + VAT.
Landline Replacement
Keep your existing analogue handset, alarm or lift line via a 4G box. £10/mo + £79 box, or £18/mo box included.
Switch-off location FAQs
What people ask when they're trying to find out if their area is affected.
Which UK locations are affected by the landline switch-off?
All of them. The PSTN switch-off is a national programme: every copper landline in every UK town, city and village stops working by 31 January 2027. There is no list of "affected areas" to check yourself against — if you have a traditional copper landline anywhere in the UK, you are affected.
Is there a list of switch-off dates by area or postcode?
Not a useful public one. The rollout is managed exchange-by-exchange by Openreach and the individual phone providers, and migration letters go out to customers directly. Rather than hunting for an exchange date, work back from the hard deadline — 31 January 2027 — and use our free 2-minute checker to see whether your line is affected and what to do.
Which locations were switched off first?
Salisbury (Wiltshire) and Mildenhall (Suffolk) were the original digital-first pilot exchanges, used to trial the migration process before it went national. Since September 2023, "stop sell" has applied everywhere: no new copper phone lines can be ordered anywhere in the UK.
What does "stop sell" mean for my area?
Stop sell means providers can no longer sell new copper-based phone or broadband services in your area — and it has applied to the whole of the UK since September 2023. Existing copper lines keep working until they are migrated, but the door to new ones is already closed everywhere.
Has the switch-off date changed?
Once. The original deadline was December 2025, but Openreach pushed it back to give providers more time to migrate customers safely — particularly vulnerable users and telecare devices. The final deadline is now 31 January 2027, and the industry has been clear it will not move again.
How do I check if my own line is affected?
Two quick tests: is your phone plugged into a wall socket rather than your broadband router, and has your provider written to you about "Digital Voice" or "digital phone" migration? If yes to either, you are on the list. Our PSTN switch-off checker walks you through it in about two minutes.
Are rural areas treated differently?
The deadline is the same everywhere. What differs is the practicality of the default replacement: VoIP-over-broadband options like BT Digital Voice assume a decent broadband connection, which some rural properties lack. Mobile-network alternatives such as ONSIM Landline Replacement exist for exactly those cases — see our full guide to BT Digital Voice alternatives.
Will I lose my landline number when my area is migrated?
No — as long as you act rather than let the line lapse. Your 01, 02 or 03 number can be ported to a new service, whether that is your provider's digital voice product or a mobile-network service like an ONSIM Virtual Landline. ONSIM covers the port-in fee.
What happens if I do nothing before 31 January 2027?
Your copper landline stops working, and anything relying on it — the phone itself, PSTN-connected alarms, older card terminals, fax lines — stops with it. If the number then lapses, recovering it can be difficult or impossible. Sorting a replacement takes minutes; porting takes 10–14 working days. Don't leave it until January 2027.
Does the switch-off affect mobile phones?
No. The PSTN switch-off only affects the copper telephone network. Mobile networks are unaffected — which is exactly why ONSIM's landline products (Virtual Landline, Landline SIM, Landline Replacement) carry landline numbers over the mobile network and are untouched by the switch-off.
Your area is on the list. Everyone's is.
The useful question isn't "when is my exchange switching off" — it's "is my replacement sorted". ONSIM has run landline numbers over the mobile network since 2013, and none of it touches copper.