BT has unveiled a comprehensive list of 132 locations where it will permanently retire its traditional copper landline services. This move is part of a broader strategy to replace aging infrastructure with modern fibre optic technology, offering customers improved speed and reliability.
BT assures customers that despite the change, they will continue to have home phone service without any increase in their current costs. The company explained, “By gradually decommissioning legacy copper-based services in areas with widespread fibre availability, we’re enabling users and service providers to transition to faster, more dependable digital infrastructure.”
This transition not only simplifies maintenance by eliminating the need to support dual networks but also aligns with the nationwide shift away from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). With just over a year remaining before the PSTN is fully phased out, all users will be required to switch to digital phone lines.
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Notable locations on the list include York (Acomb and Dringhouses), Rawmarsh, Kirkby In Ashfield, Seaham, and several Greater London districts such as Hillingdon (Ruislip), Ealing (Greenford), Wandsworth (South Clapham), Enfield (Edmonton), and Lambeth (Streatham). Other towns and cities affected range across the UK, including Blackpool, Birmingham (Selly Oak), Bristol (Avonmouth), and Edinburgh (Liberton).
Last December, the government intervened to prevent telecom companies from mandating digital line upgrades on elderly customers amid reported challenges experienced during previous transitions.
As BT continues this gradual phase-out of copper lines, customers in the affected areas can expect a smoother, faster digital phone experience while relying on the modern fibre network infrastructure.