BT Group Newsroom

The PSTN switch-over: how BT is supporting businesses in the final phase

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 14:53:00 +0000

The UK is now in the final phase of one of the most significant infrastructure upgrades in a generation. The country’s copper-based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is set to be retired in less than 12 months, at the end of January 2027.

This is an essential step. The PSTN was designed for a different era and has become increasingly difficult to maintain. It can no longer support the connectivity, resilience or functionality that modern organisations – and critical national infrastructure (CNI) providers in particular – rely on today.

Delivering the network investment needed for the All-IP transition

Over many years, BT has invested billions of pounds in UK digital infrastructure, including nationwide full-fibre networks, to enable the move away from analogue technology and support next-generation connectivity and services.

These full-fibre, fully digital networks are built for speed, resilience and flexibility. They enable capabilities that legacy analogue systems simply cannot support and provide the robustness required by CNI sectors and essential public services. Crucially, this investment means the UK now has the digital foundations in place to complete the transition away from the PSTN safely and securely. It is also what allows BT to take a more proactive role as the switch-over approaches.

Stepping up our proactive support through protective migrations

As we move into the final stretch, our focus is on completing the transition for business customers who are still using PSTN-based services.

BT Business has already migrated the majority of business customers away from legacy platforms. As of January 2026, around 80% of our voice customers have moved to All-IP services. This represents significant progress, but thousands of organisations still rely on Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) and other PSTN-based services.

Where it is possible to do so, we are now carrying out protective migrations. This means proactively upgrading many remaining organisations and automatically moving their analogue services onto a digital solution. This helps ensure continuity of key services as the switch-over date approaches. In many cases, these upgrades can be completed with minimal disruption, and customers who can go through this process are now being notified.

Why customer engagement is important

However, protective migration is not suitable for every service or every organisation. That is why customer engagement remains essential.

Some services cannot be upgraded automatically and in other cases customers need to be involved to agree timings, test new solutions or confirm how services are used within their organisation.

Engagement remains vital for ensuring continuity of services and will make the process smoother and safer. It gives our business customers greater visibility of what is changing, more control over how the transition is completed, and time to address any complexities specific to their business.

Protecting critical national infrastructure

As a CNI provider ourselves, we understand how vital resilient connectivity is to the delivery of essential services across the UK.

We fully recognise the importance of upgrading critical services, and strong progress has already been made across sectors such as local and central government, emergency services and utilities. Overall volumes of CNI WLR services have reduced significantly, with the water sector and government bodies seeing reductions of around 50% over the past year.

Our priority is to ensure that CNI services are protected during the PSTN switch-over. That’s why as well as offering protective migrations and dedicated support teams, we also plan to provide a limited voice service for lines still in place for CNI customers after January 2027.

However, this will have very basic functionality that enables voice calls only, and isn’t a long-term solution, which underlines the importance of continued engagement across CNI organisations.

Completing the transition

To remain secure, resilient and future-ready, we’re urging all organisations to make the move to digital, IP-based networks by January 2027. We’re in the final stretch of a transition that is essential to maintaining continuity of service and to supporting the UK’s long-term connectivity.

We’re stepping in with protective migrations where we can, but we need customers to engage with us to ensure continuity of their services. Acting early reduces risk, avoids last-minute disruption and ensures the transition can be completed safely and on time. In all cases, we’ll explain what will change, outline available options and support customers in moving to replacement technologies ahead of the deadline.

If you have not upgraded yet, or you are unsure which services your organisation relies on, now is the time to check. You can contact BT on 0800 023 2698 for dedicated support, or visit https://business.bt.com/insights/what-is-ip-technology for more information.

Repair Shop star backs BT’s digital drive as 2 in 3 small businesses say tech preserves their traditions

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 09:26:09 +0000

Two-thirds (67%) of UK small businesses say digital technology has helped them keep their traditions alive, rising to four fifths (81%) among those started before 1900
New BT research reveals four in five small businesses (78%) have adopted new tech in the last year, with cybersecurity and social media amongst top investment areas
However, a fifth (22%) still see themselves as “analogue-first” – relying on tech like traditional landlines, paper contracts, physical filing and fax machines
As the UK moves away from analogue networks, BT is supporting businesses to switch on to the benefits of digital connectivity – and is urging them to move off the historic copper phone network by the end of 2025
Will Kirk, star of BBC’s The Repair Shop, joins call to help Britain’s traditional businesses discover how new tech can help them safeguard their heritage for the future.

London, 28 November 2024: Will Kirk, star of hit BBC show The Repair Shop, has joined forces with BT to encourage the UK’s much-loved heritage businesses to go digital – as new research shows two in three small firms (67%) say technology is keeping their traditions alive.

The woodwork expert and Heritage Crafts ambassador, famous for bringing heirlooms back to life, wants to show how moving from analogue to digital can preserve traditional businesses’ historic ways of working, enable them to reach new audiences, and make it easier to manage their operations. The call comes as four fifths (81%) of businesses started before 1900 say tech has helped to preserve their traditions.

BT’s research reveals that three-quarters of small business leaders (77%) believe new technology has ensured their company’s survival. The majority – nine in ten (89%) – say digital tech has opened new revenue streams, 80% feel it has given them a competitive edge, while 79% say it has helped them connect with new customers.

BT’s study shows that the UK’s small business community has been investing in technology this year, with most seizing the opportunity to boost their networks and digital tools in 2024. Four in five small firms (78%) say they have introduced new technology in the last 12 months. The top investment was a new website (50%), followed by increased cybersecurity (48%) and social media (45%). Two in five (40%) describe their small business as being a tech company, or one driven by advanced technology such as AI, robotics, or data analytics.

However, a fifth of the UK’s small and medium firms (22%) – equivalent to more than a million¹ – still think of themselves as an “analogue” company, using technologies like traditional landlines, paper-based contracts and physical filing systems to do business. For example, one in six (16%) still use fax machines.

BT’s research comes as the UK is undergoing a once-in-a-generation tech upgrade, moving to digital networks as the ageing copper-based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), approaches retirement after more than four decades in operation. The switchover from the PSTN to digital connectivity is a move to futureproof the UK’s infrastructure, with the old network more prone to faults and outages, putting businesses at risk of losing connection to critical services.

BT is working with businesses of all sizes to support them in the move from analogue to digital, and is urging business customers to migrate over to more modern networks by the end of 2025. The PSTN is scheduled for retirement by the end of January 2027. As well as legacy copper landlines and broadband, other business equipment still connected to the PSTN will stop working as the network retires – including certain door entry systems, alarms and CCTV.

Kerry Small, Chief Operating Officer – Business at BT, comments: "These figures show that the majority of the UK’s small businesses have been in upgrade mode this year – embracing the tech to help them thrive in a digital world. Today, businesses of all shapes and sizes can’t run without stable, secure connectivity. The UK’s analogue copper telephone network has a proud history, with its origins in the 1800s, but it’s no longer up to the task for businesses. It’s simply too risky to build the economy on a shaky foundation.

“Analogue companies making the move now can rely on rock-solid digital connectivity to help keep them in business for years to come. We’re supporting customers small and large through the move, so no business is left behind. Whether you’re a tech start-up or a family firm passed down through generations, when it comes to going digital – BT’s got your back.”

Will Kirk, star of BBC’s The Repair Shop, comments: “Restoring the crafts and artistry of the past is my job, so I know how important it is to preserve tradition for the next generations. Embracing digital tech can help small businesses with decades of history reach new customers, streamline services, and stay competitive. It doesn’t mean replacing the heart of what makes heritage businesses unique – it’s about giving them the tools they need to hold onto this heritage in an increasingly-digital world.”

BT is urging all businesses to switch on to the benefits of digital networks, including better stability, security and efficiency. For example, digital landlines enable businesses to make and receive calls from one number via multiple devices, even on the go. They also offer improved scam protection. Full-fibre broadband connectivity can deliver speeds that are up to ten times faster than copper-based connections to handle a wider range of multimedia services, such as video conferencing and streaming.

For more information on the switch from analogue to digital connectivity, businesses can visit: business.bt.com/insights/uk-pstn-switch-off.

Small business case study: Switching to digital

In Birmingham, going digital has helped York Supplies hardware store to continue to deliver on its promise to be an extension of locals’ sheds – as it has since 1947 – even through tough times in retail.

When the previous owner retired in 2022, residents and neighboring businesses rallied round to fundraise to ensure its survival, forming a co-operative that now owns the store. The buyout also led to a full technology makeover, enabling York Supplies to face the future with confidence. The business is now fully digital, equipped with fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband, tablets and modern point-of-sale systems to help its staff streamline orders, expand product offerings, and liaise with customers online. Once a “hidden gem”, York Supplies now has about 2,000 social media followers and is planning to expand its product range.

Richard Bickle, Director of York Supplies Community Society, comments: “Our business has been around since before fax machines, during which time it’s become a huge part of the local community, with generations of customers coming through our door.

“When we purchased the shop we inherited a long-standing relationship with BT, but the infrastructure needed an upgrade so we could adopt new technologies to grow and market the business. Making the switch to digital has been so easy, with BT engineers explaining and installing everything for us. Our new system quietly supports the business as we venture into social media, and online ordering systems, all to help our heritage business to continue thriving in the 21^st century.”

Notes to editors

BT worked with polling house, and BPC member, Censuswide, to survey 1,500 senior decision-makers working for UK-based small and medium-sized businesses between 28th October and 1st November 2024.

¹UK parliament: Business Statistics show there were 5.5 million UK SMEs as of 1^st January 2024. 22% of business leaders surveyed describe the business they work for as ‘analogue’; 0.22 x 5.5 = 1.21 million businesses.