Openreach has announced its decision to halt the sale of copper-based phone and broadband services in 163 additional exchange locations across the UK, impacting over 960,000 premises. This move is part of its wider strategy to encourage customers to transition to modern digital services delivered over its new full fibre network.
The “stop sell” initiative is triggered when 75% of premises connected to a specific exchange can access full fibre. Once implemented, customers looking to switch, upgrade, or renew their broadband or phone services will be required to adopt a full fibre-based digital service. This policy aims to streamline operations by phasing out the ageing copper infrastructure, which struggles to meet the demands of modern communication.
James Lilley, Openreach’s Managed Customer Migrations Manager, emphasised the significance of the initiative, saying “We’re moving to a digital world and Openreach is helping with that transformation by rolling out ultrafast, ultra-reliable, and future-proofed digital Full Fibre across the UK.
This game changing technology will become the backbone of our economy for decades to come, supporting every aspect of our public services, businesses, industries and daily lives. Already, our Full Fibre network is available to more than 17 million homes and businesses, with more than 5.5 million premises currently taking a service. “The stop sell programme is a critical part of ensuring that the UK’s communication infrastructure is ready to meet the demands of the future.
Taking advantage of the progress of our Full Fibre build and encouraging people to upgrade where a majority can access our new network is the right thing to do as it makes no sense, both operationally and commercially, to keep the old copper network and our new fibre network running side-by-side. As copper’s ability to support modern communications declines, the immediate focus is getting people onto newer, future proofed technologies.”
For customers not yet covered by full fibre, existing copper-based services will remain available until the new infrastructure reaches their premises.
Openreach’s ultrafast full fibre network currently spans more than 17 million homes and businesses, with over 5.5 million premises already subscribed. This transformation underpins Openreach’s vision for a future-ready communication infrastructure, ensuring that the UK is equipped to handle the demands of the digital age.
