Openreach makes major change set to impact one million homes and businesses

Openreach has unveiled a further 94 new exchange locations, encompassing nearly one million properties nationwide, where it intends to cease selling traditional copper-based telephone and broadband services.

The move aims to push customers towards upgrading to cutting-edge digital services via ultrafast full fibre connections.

The firm is providing Communication Providers such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone, with 12 months' notice that it will discontinue offering legacy analogue products and services where full fibre becomes accessible to most premises in these fresh exchange areas.

James Lilley, Openreach's managed customer migrations director, commented: "Taking advantage of the progress of our full fibre build and encouraging people to upgrade where a majority can access our new network is the right thing to do as it makes no sense, both operationally and commercially, to keep the old copper network and our new fibre network running side-by-side.

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"As copper's ability to support modern communications declines, the immediate focus is getting people onto newer, future-proofed technologies."

This latest announcement forms part of Openreach's wider strategy to phase out copper infrastructure in favour of ultrafast fibre, as it works toward a fully digital UK network.

Openreach has now extended its full fibre infrastructure to over 18 million homes and businesses across the UK, more than four million of those added in just the past year.

The company is aiming to speed up its rollout even further, targeting a total of 25 million premises by December 2026. To hit that milestone, it plans to increase its build rate by 20%, aiming to pass up to five million additional properties in the year leading up to March 2026.

The UK saw its broadband usage surge to record highs in 2024 as the nation leaned more on the need for speed in internet connectivity, a report reveals.

Openreach is heading towards its target of 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026, already setting their next milestone at 30 million properties by 2030. Despite over a third of households making the switch, Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach believes there's abundant potential for more upgrades.

He said: "While over a third of properties have already switched, there’s plenty of room for more people to get a better connection."