BT Group reports more than three million households moved to digital landlines ahead of 2027 switchover

BT said more than three million UK households have moved to digital landlines ahead of the January 2027 closure of the analogue network. The company framed the shift as a move away from ageing infrastructure that it described as unreliable.

BT described the UK’s 40-year-old analogue landline network as running on analogue copper infrastructure and becoming increasingly unreliable, and it said this network no longer met expected connectivity standards. BT said the nationwide move to digital landlines followed guidance from Government and Ofcom.

BT said its rollout retired the ageing copper landline network and moved customers onto modern digital landlines. For households, it said most BT handsets were compatible, customers would generally keep their existing number and pricing, and some customers may need to confirm their preferred option, plug their phone into a broadband hub, or book an engineer visit.

BT said it continued a nationwide customer engagement campaign and highlighted enhanced protection for vulnerable customers, including free engineer visits and backup power where needed. The company said it had established a Digital Voice Advisory Group in 2022, reported that 99% of Local Authorities signed data-sharing agreements, and described business migrations including protective migrations where possible, with around 80% of private and public sector customers migrated from analogue to digital voice services.

“Upgrading the UK’s digital backbone is essential to make sure everyone has the modern, secure and resilient connectivity they can trust to help them prosper in a connected world. Failing, decades-old infrastructure holds back homes, businesses and digital inclusion ambitions.” Allison Kirkby, BT Group Chief Executive, said.