Cader NetworksPSTN switch-off January 2027 — what Welsh homes and businesses need to do
By January 2027 every traditional copper phone line in the UK will stop carrying calls. Here is what changes, what stops working, and how to plan the move with no drama.
The copper phone network is being retired
The Public Switched Telephone Network has carried UK voice calls for over a century. The network is being switched off in January 2027. Every traditional analogue phone line, plus ISDN business lines, will stop carrying calls on that date.
The replacement is digital. Phone calls travel over your broadband instead of dedicated phone wires. The technology is called VoIP. For most homes and small businesses the move is straightforward. For larger sites, alarm panels, lift autodiallers, care alarms and card terminals there is more to plan.
Your broadband itself does not stop. Fibre, FTTC and 4G all keep working. What goes is the voice service that historically shared the same copper line.
We have been migrating customers all year. Moving in 2026 is calmer than moving in late January 2027 as port queues fill up.
We handle PSTN migrations across north Wales, Ceredigion, Powys and Gwynedd — single-line homes through to multi-site businesses.
- Number ported to a digital VoIP service
- Alarm panel reviewed for digital-ready dial-out
- Lift and lone-worker lines checked and migrated
- EPOS and card terminals tested on the new service
- No service gap at switchover
January 2027 deadline
Set in stone industry-wide. Every UK copper phone line is being retired. The longer you leave it, the busier the porting queues get.
Talk to us about your line.
Get a migration planWhat people ask about the 2027 switch-off
What is being switched off?
The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The copper-cable phone network that has carried UK voice calls for over a century. the network is being retired in January 2027. Anything that uses a traditional analogue phone line, including ISDN business lines, will stop carrying calls.
What stops working?
Any phone plugged into a wall socket. Also any analogue device on the same line: burglar and fire alarm panels that dial out, lift autodiallers, care-line alarms, fax machines, card-payment terminals that dial out, EPOS systems on a phone line.
What replaces it?
VoIP. Voice over Internet Protocol. Calls travel over your broadband instead of dedicated phone wires. For most homes and small businesses the move is straightforward. For larger sites, alarm systems, lifts and care lines there is more to plan, but it is all doable.
How much time do I really have?
On paper, until January 2027. In practice, port queues fill up as the deadline approaches and engineer availability tightens. Moving in 2026 is calmer than moving in late January 2027. We are migrating customers now without drama.
Does this affect my broadband?
No. Fibre, FTTC and 4G broadband all continue to work as normal. What goes is the voice service that historically shared the same copper line.
Can you handle the migration for us?
Yes. Audit the line, identify what is dependent on it (phones, alarms, payment terminals, lift lines), port the number, install the VoIP service, test failover. The whole job, end to end.
Get your line ready before the deadline.
Tell us what you have got: home phone, business lines, alarms, lifts, payment terminals. We will come back with a migration plan.