Openreach list UK cities with most analogue phone lines yet to make digital switch
Six months now remain until the old analogue phone network (PSTN/WLR) is switched off in favour of modern IP-based digital alternatives. In order to help highlight the urgency of this, Openreach have published a league table showing how many lines have yet to make the switch across the UK’s ten largest cities. London naturally has the largest pool of laggards at 235,934 lines.
The good news is that across all ten cities and their surrounding areas, around 90 per cent of legacy lines – more than 6 million, have already migrated to digital services, over the last five years, but that leaves around 600,000 lines still to be migrated ahead of the PSTN switch-off. So far Liverpool appears to be making the best progress, with just 42,351 lines left to switch (6.35% of the total)
Other cities that made good progress in the race to make the digital switch are Manchester with just over 7% yet to migrate, followed by Cardiff with just over 8% and Leeds with around 8.6%. Trailing in the bottom with the largest percentage of legacy lines still left to migrate is London on nearly 13%.
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| City | WLR Lines left to convert today | WLR Lines left to convert in 2020 | % left to convert |
| Liverpool | 42,351 | 667,215 | 6.35% |
| Manchester | 55,961 | 761,491 | 7.35% |
| Sheffield | 51,870 | 687,208 | 7.55% |
| Cardiff | 37,959 | 454,527 | 8.35% |
| Leeds | 62,411 | 723,694 | 8.62% |
| Edinburgh | 39,132 | 443,783 | 8.82% |
| Bristol | 43,775 | 486,612 | 8.99% |
| Birmingham | 37,825 | 416,780 | 9.08% |
| Glasgow | 30,653 | 289,111 | 10.60% |
| London | 235,934 | 1,826,151 | 12.92% |
Just to recap. The old Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is currently due to be switched-off on 31st January 2027. As a result broadband ISPs, phone, telecare providers, councils and consumers have been working to migrate everybody across (details). But the main focus of this remains on the people who use vital home telecare systems (e.g. elderly, disabled – vulnerable users), which aren’t always compatible with newer IP-based digital phone services (telecare providers were slow to adapt).
In most cases this upgrade usually involves a fairly seamless change of service, managed by your broadband or phone provider, which often results in customers needing to connect their home phone into the back of either a broadband router or Analogue Terminal Adapter (ATA); instead of directly into the socket on your wall or skirting board (NTE5 sockets). Special solutions also exist for telecare users.
James Lilley, Director of All-IP at Openreach, said:
“When it comes to preparing for the switch-off, our Northern cities appear to have a head start. But the bigger story is the progress being made right across the UK, with more than 90 per cent of legacy lines across ten major cities and their surrounding areas already upgraded to digital alternatives.
That means around seven million copper-based services have made the switch. But with more than 600,000 lines still to migrate, there’s no room for complacency.
Many organisations may have already upgraded their phone line but may not realise how many other services still rely on the old network, from payment terminals and lift alarms to security systems, door entry systems and building management technology. Once the PSTN is withdrawn, those services could stop working unless they’ve been upgraded or replaced.”
Nationwide, Openreach today said they estimate that around 1.5 million lines are still operating on the old copper-based phone network, including around 350k business premises. This is the same figure they gave at the end of July 2026, which makes us think it might be out of date as we’d expect it to have fallen a fair bit since then.
Consumers who fail to switch in time won’t face a hard disconnection on 31st January 2027 and will instead be moved to a temporary Emergency Voice Access (eVAC) solution, which has its caveats. Business lines, however, won’t benefit from the same protection and will need to go digital ASAP to avoid a sudden loss of service – potentially impacting critical systems like payment terminals, alarms, and emergency lift phones etc.
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As the industry enters the final phase of migration, Openreach recently warned that waiting too long could make it harder to secure the engineering support needed for the switch before the deadline. In addition, Openreach has previously stated that prices for these legacy copper line services are set to double by October 2026 (details), which is another good reason NOT to leave upgrading until the last minute.
The PSTN/WLR switch-off is, however, not to be confused with the removal of the physical copper lines themselves. Modern digital alternatives are available via both existing copper (e.g. both ADSL and VDSL/FTTC broadband lines also data-only equivalents via copper) and full fibre (FTTP) lines. The removal of copper lines is a much slower process that will take years to fully complete after FTTP becomes available.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Once again, my mother is still waiting on BT Retail to migrate her WLR3 landline to All IP.
Perhaps, at some point, the BT Group could get around to sorting out its own house instead of spending time releasing these announcements.
Is she voice only? In that case it might already have happened with a move to PDPL.
This feels like the same “but I don’t have it yet!” whinging when Openreach break their rollout records again.
It’s being done in phases with the most vulnerable being the last to switch.
Possible she has fallen into this category.
Ah, the voice a BT shareholder. How are BT shares doing?
Why would the most vulnerable be migrated last?
Not sure who you are accusing of a BT shareholder, or why anyone who makes a valid point is instantly branded as one.
Again – is she voice only or not? Is she registered vulnerable?
The point is that it it is intended to be a seamless migration for a majority of users who are not registered vulnerable or have other special requirements. Especially in the case of PDPL where its all done in the exchange with no changes in the home.
You’d do those first, get any residual issues with the new exchange equipment rectified, then go for the “difficult” cases where BT has agreed to provide additional monitoring, pre/post migration checks and rollbacks if needed.
You’d always plan to migrate the most vulnerable last. It gives you the best chance to iron out any issues earlier and you’ll have the most experience of migration for the most vulnerable customers.
Also for the record, the majority of uk pension funds hold some exposure to FTSE 100 companies, so the majority of uk workers are BT shareholders to some extent.
Exactly this. The industry is marking its own homework here. It’s easy for industry messaging to put the blame on the customer for not having made the switch, but in many cases the fault is with the industry for still not being ready to switch the customer. Exactly the same frustrating communications mess as happened with the RTS switch off.
In my case, exchange-only line (with ADSL2+ that I don’t actually use). I’m guessing they decided to wait for FTTP to come to my block rather than migrating me to SOTAP – but the bottom line is that I’m still on a PSTN line because the industry has chosen not to offer me an upgrade yet.
Has she been notified? Does she have an internet provision as well? If it’s just a LandLine the notification is usually occurs around 3 months before the transfer takes place. In the week preceding the transfer a second letter will be sent advising of the day and the likely time of conversion.
If she has an internet connection from BT then she will be advised that a new router will be sent and should be plugged in before day of transfer on day of transfer the phone should be plugged into the router or use the DECT phone paired to the router.
If she has a BT LL and an internet connection another supplier she needs to contact both parties for (written) advice.
In the former case she will know when the conversion has taken place as only dialling the local number know longer works. Even calling the next door neighbour she will have to dial the full 11 digit national number.
The numbers would seem to suggest that the target will be missed by a small margin.
I have a new line l can’t make a call or receive one. Don’t know what to do I am 80.neighbour phoned waited an hour to be cut off from her mobile….my. Number is ———-.my account number ———–.brought from BT/EE.please send somebody out.As I don’t know what I am doing wrong
No-one here can send anyone out as this is just a discussion forum.
One thing I would say is do take a look at any instructions you were sent. I’ve seen this before where people just assume you plug the phone into the wall socket (as we have for 40 years) but that’s not how it works with modern Digital Voice lines.
Usually when you order a new line you will be sent a router which plugs into the wall, and your phone then plugs into the router. If that’s the case, then if you try to plug the phone directly into the wall (or into the wall via the small adaptor called a microfilter that used to be commonplace) then your phone simply won’t work.
You should have been sent instructions – if necessary with clear diagrams showing exactly what plugs into what – so do check what they sent you.