Openreach are upgrading all of the UK to full fibre to the premises (FTTP) and plans to reach more than 25 million premises by the end of 2026. However, this upgrade means that many existing legacy technologies and services will be retired, which will affect any home or business currently using these services in an affected exchange area.
What’s happening?
Alongside the PSTN Switch-off, Openreach are also withdrawing their legacy Voice infrastructure which supports their Wholesale Line Rental services (WLR). This will affect the availability of Wholesale and Managed Broadband access services at selected exchanges.
They have carried out pilots in two areas, Mildenhall and Salisbury, with a further 117 exchanges due to be upgraded once a minimum of 75% FTTP coverage was reached.
Openreach has begun to notify communication providers, such as EBC Group of its intent to begin retiring legacy access technologies and services on an exchange-by-exchange basis.
Key dates:
See a full list of the stop sells by exchange:
Your Plan:
Although there is no need for panic because a stop-sell doesn’t mean your service will be switched off immediately, the deadline is fast approaching. It would therefore be wise to start planning now rather than leaving it to the last minute, when there may be delays, lack of support and less flexibility on pricing.
Businesses that act now have more time to consider the different options and also experience a smoother transition to their new services and can often save money on their existing services.
Your Benefits:
With the switch-off and move to full fibre there are a range of benefits for your business.
If your business currently uses analogue or ISDN, switching should be considered a priority. You can transfer to main IP bases services with SIP Trunks or Cloud Telephony. These technologies have been in existence for many years and provide increased efficiency, flexibility and cost savings.
How can EBC Group help?
As specialists in communications and connectivity, our team can advise you on the next steps for your business. We can guide you through the options for each of the services that need to be changed and help you find the right solution for your business.
