Openreach Reveals Latest Locations Facing The Copper Chop

BT infrastructure arm Openreach has disclosed the latest exchange locations where it plans to stop selling phone and broadband services that use copper cabling as part of its ambition to get everyone on fiber.

The business says it is giving telcos which use its network – such as Sky, TalkTalk, and Vodafone – a year's notice that legacy services will no longer be offered if full fiber is available to more than 75 percent of premises in the newly listed locations.

Any customers using these exchanges who do not yet have fiber available at their premises can remain on their current service, the company says.

This latest set – listed as Tranche 18 by Openreach – comprises 79 locations around the country, said to cover more than 900,000 premises.

This brings the total number of exchanges where the "stop sell" rules have been activated to 748, and a further 41 exchanges covering another 292,000 premises are scheduled to be added next month.

Openreach claims "Full Fiber" is now available to more than 15 million homes and businesses across the UK, compared to the 12.5 million it reached at the end of last year when the BT Group subsidiary hit the halfway point in its goal of rolling out fiber broadband to 25 million UK premises by the end of 2026.

If anyone is wondering if full fiber is available in their area, Openreach has a postcode checker that will tell you.

In fact, the ultimate goal for BT is to get everyone onto an entirely IP-based network, and doing away with the legacy Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) service is a key part of that.

However, Openreach has encountered a few stumbling blocks in its plans to switch all customers from analog phone lines to a digital voice service. It had bet on completing the process by the end of 2025, but announced last month that this was pushed back to the end of January 2027.

• Telcos scolded for unwanted erection of utility poles in race to wire up Britain
• Openreach pitches its tent as Ofcom preps review of broadband market rules
• BT chief blames regulations for UK lagging in next-gen network rollout
• Virgin Media to stand up rival network operator to BT Openreach

The decision followed the introduction of a UK government charter to protect vulnerable customers, such as elderly citizens or those with a healthcare pendant that can be used to call for help in an emergency. There were concerns a power cut would mean the phone service is unavailable.

In a statement, James Lilley, Openreach's Managed Customer Migrations Manager, defended the company's decision.

"Taking advantage of the progress of our Full Fiber 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, operationally or commercially, to keep the old copper network and our new fiber network running side-by-side," he said. "As copper's ability to support modern communications declines, the immediate focus is getting people onto newer, future-proofed technologies."

In a separate development, Openreach also claimed that the village of Llanbrynmair in Powys, Wales, has become the first telephone exchange area in the UK to have 100 percent fiber broadband coverage. This means that every property in the place now has access to high-speed broadband if they want it. ®