When are BT switching off landlines?

I use a landline phone at home, but am concerned that it will be switched off in the next couple of years. I want to keep my number as all my family and friends have it. What can I do to keep it?

December 2025, according to Ofcom and a few other sources. Openreach are aiming to have all traditional phone users off PSTN (public switched telephone network), and onto an IP-based solution such as VoIP.

A lot of telecoms providers nowadays are offering to “port” people’s landline numbers to virtual phone systems, which allow for advanced configurations and the use of a wide range of modern telephones.

The “ADSL turn off” will take longer due to the time it will take to rollout fibre to the whole of the country - FTTC, GFast, SoGEA and FTTP services will take over from ADSL, and later FTTP will remain once full fibre is rolled out fully. This is however not a “turn off”, but more of Openreach stopping new orders for the product - so it’s not compulsary to change product, as some are still in fibre-less areas.

My advice would be to consider whether you want to keep your number, and research the various VoIP providers out there.

Andrew

Thank you for this, really helpful.

Are there any VoIP providers you might recommend? Vonage seem to be mentioned a lot, but I don’t know much about them.

Hi again,

Vonage has a nifty about us page which even goes into detail about how they’re staffed and the size of their customer base to show they’re a reputable and reliable provider - About Us | Vonage

TalkTalk Business have a VoIP solution too, known as “HUC” or “Hosted Unified Communications”. Their flagship phones are Mitel and Yealink. The base rates appear cheaper at a glance than Vonage. Personal experience with TTB’s HUC has been good! Hosted Voice

BT obviously have a few VoIP offerings too - VoIP phone systems | IP phone systems | BT Business