The 2027 PSTN switch-off is almost here. Are you prepared?

The 2027
PSTN switch-off
is almost here.

Are you prepared?

The UK PSTN switch-off completes in January 2027. Learn how to migrate to IP-based connectivity, avoid disruption, and futureproof your business.Contents

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The 2027 PSTN switch-off is almost here.

Are you prepared?

Legacy connectivity technologies, particularly the PSTN and ISDN, have been the foundation of many organisations' communications for some years now, but have increasingly shown their limitations, with aging copper networking increasingly prone to faults and unable to maintaining the resilience and availability that modern voice, email, and video platforms demand. Indeed, PSTN incidents rose by 45% in 2024 alone, with 192 million hours of service lost between 2024 and 2025 - all of which had a serious financial, operational, and reputational impact on the organisations affected¹.

In light of this shift, a full switch-off of the PSTN network has been in progress for several years now, and will be concluded by January 2027, after which any organisations that have not migrated to alternative systems will be without voice and broadband services.

Fortunately, Internet Protocol (IP) based connections offer considerable advantages over these legacy technologies, and so this change represents an ideal opportunity to optimise and futureproof the performance and availability of your voice and broadband services.

What is the PSTN switch-off?

In 2018, BT Openreach announced the long-term plan to transition the whole of the UK from PSTN to IP for all voice calls. To this end, as of September 2023, no new PSTN or ISDN lines will be deployed, in preparation for 2027, when the remaining ones would be permanently switched off. At the time of writing, a stop-sell has been placed on multiple voice products built on these services, meaning existing ones will initially remain in place, but new ones will be withdrawn from sale.

For organisations planning to transfer to new solutions before stop-sells are implemented in their active regions, it is important to be aware that not all services will necessarily be available. For example, in regions where the FTTP priority exchange is in place and FTTP is available at premise level, this is the only service that they will be able to utilise. Outside of these regions, other transitional solutions, such as SoGEA and SoADSL - may be available. All this must be factored into organisations' migration plans.

Why are numerous organisations already embracing IP-based connectivity?

IP services allow both voice and broadband services to delivered over a single data network, eliminating the need for legacy connectivity, as callers simply connect via existing broadband services (such as FTTP, SoADSL, and SoGEA) or ethernet.

This will open up a whole new era of quality and resilience in the way voice and broadband services are delivered across the country, provided organisations are aware of the impending change and plan accordingly. This will involve working closely with a trusted connectivity partner to not only migrate to a new service, but ensure the solution chosen will provide the required performance, resilience, and scalability, while retaining cost control.

IP technology allows broadband connectivity and compatible digital voice services to operate over the same data network, removing the need for legacy PSTN connectivity. These services can be delivered over a broadband connection, such as FTTP, SoADSL or SoGEA, or over an Ethernet service. However, the underlying connection does not provide a traditional dial tone as standard.

How Exponential-e can help

Exponential-e is already working closely with organisations across multiple sectors to prepare for the switch-off, providing them with a range of migration options that will not only ensure disruption is minimised, but open up new opportunities to reduce costs, while optimising resilience and service quality.

There are a range of ways these benefits can be unlocked, depending on where you, your teams, and your customers are active, the services you utilise each day, and whether you currently utilise copper wiring for other services. It is important to bear in mind that not every available solution will necessarily be the right fit for every organisation, but our teams are here to guide you.

Exponential-e's portfolio of services - including, FTTP, SoGEA, SoADSL, and VoIP services - was designed to be truly vendor-agnostic for precisely this reason. We work with multiple carriers to ensure our customers and their end users enjoy the best possible coverage across the entire UK. As with every aspect of our services, our approach is a consultative one, with our own experts working closely with customers' teams to develop a robust migration plan to mitigate the impact of the switch-off and ensure a smooth transition to your ideal IP-based service.