UK PSTN switch-off 2027: what every small business must do

The UK Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the copper-wire system that has carried Britain’s voice calls for a century, is being retired by BT Openreach on 31 January 2027. Every analogue line — including WLR 2 wholesale lines, ISDN2, and ISDN30 — will stop working that day.

Who is affected

If your business uses anything other than a SIP / cloud phone service, you are affected. That includes: alarm panels using auto-dial, lift telephones, fax machines, EPOS terminals dialling for card auth, and any office where the desk phones plug into a master socket rather than a router.

What to do

1. Audit every line. List analogue lines, fax DDIs, alarms, and lift phones. Note their numbers.
2. Pick a successor. Hosted VoIP (Silux Call) is the standard answer for SMBs. Larger sites may need full-fibre SoGEA + SIP trunks.
3. Port your numbers. Silux Call ports UK landline numbers free on every plan — you supply a recent bill and a signed letter of authority.
4. Move ancillary devices to an ATA box or replace them with IP-native versions.
5. Run in parallel for at least 7 days before you decommission the old line.

Budget

For a 1-10 user UK SMB, expect £5.95–£39 per user / month plus £0–£30 one-off porting. Lift / alarm / EPOS migration ranges from £50 to £400 per endpoint depending on age.