PSTN switch-off 2027: what Welsh homes and businesses need to do

What's being switched off

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is the copper-cable phone network that's carried UK voice calls for over a century. It is being retired in January 2027. Anything that uses a traditional analogue phone line, including ISDN business lines, will stop carrying calls.

The replacement is digital, phone calls travel over the internet instead of dedicated phone wires. The technology behind this is called VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), and for most homes and small businesses the change is straightforward. For larger sites, alarm systems, lift lines and care alarms there's more to plan.

What you'll notice

The phone you've got plugged into the wall socket today will stop working. So will any analogue line connected to:

• Burglar and fire alarm panels that dial out for monitoring
• Lift autodiallers used for the emergency button
• Care-line or fall-detection alarms
• Card-payment terminals that dial out for authorisation
• EPOS systems that send transaction data over a phone line
• Fax machines (yes, still in use in some sectors)

Your broadband won't stop, fibre and FTTC continue to work as normal. What goes is the voice service that historically shared the same copper line.

What you need to do, in three steps

1. Audit what's on your line

Walk around and look at every device plugged into a phone wall socket. Make a list. This is the most important step, it's the one most homes and businesses skip until something stops working at the deadline.

2. Plan the replacement

For phones, the standard replacement is hosted VoIP, see our home VoIP or business VoIP pages. For alarms and lifts, options are: reconfigure for IP, fit a 4G dialler module, or replace the device. We audit each one as part of a switch-off review.

3. Port your number

Don't lose your phone number. Geographic numbers (01… / 02…) and non-geographic numbers port across to VoIP services routinely, we handle the paperwork.

The realistic timeline

The closer to January 2027 you leave it, the busier porting queues and engineer schedules get. Most of our customers are migrating now to avoid the rush. We'd suggest being off by late 2026, not the deadline itself.

What we do at Cader Networks

We move your numbers, supply or sell the replacement equipment, test it with you, and review any non-voice services that share the line. For homes we typically complete a switch in 1–2 weeks. For businesses with multiple lines and an existing phone system it's 2–4 weeks. See the full PSTN switch-off service page.

We handle PSTN migrations for business broadband in north Wales and across Ceredigion, Powys and Gwynedd — from single-line shops in Conwy and Pwllheli through to multi-site operations across north Wales.