The transition in the UK from old-fashioned copper phone and broadband infrastructure to advanced full fibre technology is gaining momentum. Millions have already made the switch to this upgraded connectivity in the past year, and more households will soon be required to move away from copper cables.
BT’s Openreach has confirmed that 1.2 million properties will be impacted by the “Stop Sell” alerts, with 132 new locations now included in the end-of-life list. When Stop Sell is activated at a phone exchange, internet service providers like BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and Vodafone are prohibited from offering traditional copper-based services in areas where full fibre is accessible.
This shift mandates that new or renewed contracts must opt for fibre broadband instead of traditional copper-based services. The move also involves transitioning from conventional landlines to Digital Voice, which routes calls over the internet rather than through outdated wires.
Despite concerns from some elderly and vulnerable customers, Digital Voice provides enhanced call quality and features like spam call blocking and call forwarding to mobile phones. Openreach assures that customers without access to full fibre will not be affected and can continue using their existing copper-based services until fibre becomes available in their vicinity.
James Lilley, Openreach’s Managed Customer Migrations Director, emphasized the importance of the stop sell initiative in propelling the UK towards a modern full fibre era. By phasing out legacy copper services where full fibre is prevalent, the transition to faster and more dependable digital infrastructure is facilitated, reducing operational costs and complexity.
To verify service availability in your area, you can utilize the Openreach postcode checker. The list of newly affected locations by Stop Sell alerts is detailed below.