Openreach has warned that thousands of businesses and households could face disruption to their phone services if they fail to move away from traditional landlines before the January 2027 deadline.
In an urgent letter to communications providers, the company has made it clear that there will be no extension to the deadline for switching off the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
The letter states: “This letter serves as confirmation that the January 2027 deadline will not be moved.”
As a result, Openreach is urging providers to contact customers who are still using older phone services and get them switched over before time runs out. Those who miss the deadline could have their phone services cut off or be automatically moved onto Emergency Voice Access (EVAc), a temporary service that provides basic voice calls.
However, Openreach warned that the temporary service would not meet the needs of many businesses.
“While EVAc will provide a temporary safeguarding service for basic voice connections, it is not built to support the connectivity needs of a modern business,” the letter added.
Moving customers from the temporary service onto a permanent digital connection could also mean extra costs and avoidable downtime.
There are concerns that leaving the switch until the last minute could make matters worse, with engineering appointments becoming harder to secure as the deadline approaches.
“Businesses that delay the move risk significant disruption, operational challenges and significant unnecessary costs. And with the industry entering the final phase of migration, waiting too long could also make it harder to secure the engineering support needed before the deadline,” the letter continued.
Customers remaining on older services are also facing higher costs, Openreach said, with wholesale price increases introduced on 1 October 2026 having roughly doubled the rental cost of traditional lines compared with 2025. A further increase is due on 1 February.
The letter concluded: “The January 2027 deadline is approaching. Every delayed migration increases risk, complexity, and avoidable cost. However, every customer migrated today means one less organisation left exposed to this.
“Time is running out – the PSTN migration is now a critical priority. The window for a managed and orderly transition is closing, and providers who haven’t already taken action need to immediately do so to mitigate risk and protect their customers.”
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