31 January 2027
The copper switch-off: what it means for schools
Traditional phone lines go digital on 31 January 2027. DfE asks schools to audit every copper line — alarms, lift phones, door entry, card machines, backup broadband and more — and plan replacements, with battery backup in mind.
On this page
At a glance
- Openreach: “On 31 January 2027, all traditional phone lines will be going digital.”
- It isn’t only phones: alarms, lift lines, door entry, CCTV, card machines and backup broadband can all use copper.
- DfE provides an audit template and asks schools to list every copper-connected service.
- ATA ports on fibre routers are for voice only and “aren’t suitable for alarms or other machine-to-machine services”.
- Fibre carries no power: plan battery backup or a UPS.
Openreach says: “On 31 January 2027, all traditional phone lines will be going digital.” The date was originally December 2025 and was moved to January 2027 in May 2024. DfE’s guidance for schools and colleges, Prepare your education estate for the PSTN and ISDN switch-off (published 13 January 2026), says PSTN, ISDN and copper broadband will be “switched off by January 2027”.
Lines that haven’t been moved in time may be put onto Openreach’s Emergency Voice and Access Continuity (EVAc) service, which may not support all calling features.
What could be affected in a school
DfE lists systems that may rely on copper lines:
- phone lines and backup broadband;
- fire and intruder alarms, lift emergency lines, CCTV and door entry;
- tills, card machines, fax, vending and franking machines, and printers;
- specialist fridges and medical equipment;
- SEND assistive technology, such as landline accessibility tools and amplifiers;
- electric vehicle chargers and car park barriers;
- air conditioning, air handling, gas and electricity meters and building management systems.
Audit every line
DfE asks schools to:
- identify every copper-connected service in every building and outbuilding;
- record each one’s location, purpose, connection type, supplier and whether it’s still needed;
- check bills against what is actually used;
- review maintenance contracts and correspondence;
- survey sockets for a dial tone.
DfE provides a PSTN and ISDN audit template (a spreadsheet) on its guidance page.
Then decide what to do with each one
- Cancel services you no longer need.
- Plan the move with your provider. DfE’s options are your main fibre line if it has capacity, a separate FTTP line, or satellite broadband as a backup.
- DfE notes that VoIP is “typically cheaper and more flexible”.
Power cuts
Fibre doesn’t carry power. During a power cut, all voice and internet services are lost unless there is battery backup or a UPS. Think about which lines must keep working — alarms and lift phones especially.
Stop-sell has already started in many areas
Openreach stops selling old copper products in an exchange once full fibre is available to most premises there. According to the trade body Comms Council UK, the May 2026 round brought stop-sell to 1,432 exchanges by 5 June 2026. Full copper retirement is a separate, later step. Check Openreach’s stop-sell list for your own exchange.
If your backup broadband is a copper line today, it’s worth reading backup broadband too — the DfE standard already asks for a backup of a different type.
Sources
Checked 25 October 2026. We wrote this guide from these sources, in our own words:
- Openreach: Upgrading the UK to digital phone lines (openreach.com)
- DfE: Prepare your education estate for the PSTN and ISDN switch-off (gov.uk)
- ISPreview: switch-off date moved to 2027 (May 2024) (ispreview.co.uk)
- Comms Council UK: Openreach stop-sell, May 2026 (commscouncil.uk)
- DfE: Broadband internet core standard (gov.uk)
Broadband for Schools is an independent guide. We are not a broker, a reseller or a supplier, and we are not connected to the Department for Education, any local authority or any provider. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.