The Great British Switch Off: Rising Costs And What They Mean for Your Business
Openreach has announced a series of significant copper line rental price increases throughout 2026, as the UK enters the final stage of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) shutdown. If your organisation still relies on copper for phone lines, alarms, lifts, payment terminals or monitoring systems, these changes will directly affect both cost and continuity.
With the Great British Switch Off set for January 2027, now is the time for businesses to take action. This guide explains what’s changing, the impact on your operations, and why moving to Full Fibre (FTTP) or digital alternatives is the most reliable and cost‑effective step you can take.
What's Changing?
Across industry sources, Openreach has confirmed three staged price rises in 2026:
- 1st April 2026: +20% uplift on copper line rental
- 1st July 2026: +40% increase on the April price
- 1st October 2026: +40% increase, doubling the cost compared with early 2026
By October, any business still on copper will be paying around twice as much as today for a service that will be fully withdrawn three months later.
Openreach has said the copper network is now obsolete, more expensive to maintain and more difficult to support — and these rising operational costs are being passed on to providers and, ultimately, to businesses.
Why Are Prices Increasing?
The UK’s PSTN will be switched off by 31 January 2027. Every service that runs on copper — from phone lines to alarms and payment terminals — must migrate to digital alternatives.
Openreach reports that:
- More than three million lines still need upgrading
- Over half a million business lines remain unmigrated
In short: copper is ending, and the price rises are designed to encourage digital adoption.
The Business Impact: Cost, Continuity & Risk
Rising Costs Throughout 2026
Businesses holding onto copper lines will face cumulative increases of up to 100% across the year.
For organisations with multiple sites, legacy alarms, monitoring systems or analogue lines, this becomes an avoidable and unnecessary financial burden.
Continuity Risks as the Switch Off Approaches
If copper services remain active as we approach January 2027, Openreach will migrate remaining lines to Emergency Voice Access (EVAC) — a basic voice only fallback.
EVAC does not support:
- Broadband
- Alarms or monitoring
- Payment devices
- Lifts and telecare systems
Any telecare, security, fire, lift or payment equipment still relying on copper will simply stop working, creating serious operational risks.
Disruption From Last Minute Migrations
Industry guidance is clear: delaying migration creates more disruption.
Last minute moves often result in:
- Reduced engineer availability
- Compressed planning windows
- Higher risk of downtime
- Difficult coordination with alarm and monitoring providers
Planning your move now gives you full control, avoids rushed installations and ensures continuity.
Why Switching to Full Fibre Makes Better Business Sense
More Stable, Predictable Pricing
While copper costs will double in 2026, Full Fibre pricing follows far smaller, CPI linked adjustments — making it a more stable long term investment.
Improved Reliability and Capacity
Full Fibre gives you:
- Greater reliability and faster speeds
- Stronger support for cloud, collaboration and VoIP
- Better performance for security, monitoring and connected systems
- Reduced maintenance overheads
As the copper network is retired, Full Fibre is the only fully futureproof option
Full Fibre Availability: Don’t Delay If You Already Have It
Although Full Fibre is available to tens of millions of premises across the UK, uptake has remained surprisingly low.
For businesses with FTTP already in place, delaying adoption only increases the cost and operational risk.
Moving now ensures a smooth transition while incentives remain available.
No FTTP In Your Area? Digital Alternatives Are Available
If FTTP isn’t yet available at your site, you don’t need to wait.
Digital alternatives such as SOGEA can provide an interim solution that removes the need for analogue networks.
These options support voice services, cloud applications and connected systems, ensuring your organisation can meet the 2027 switch‑off deadline without relying on the old PSTN infrastructure.
What Your Business Should Do Now
- Audit your copper based services — phones, alarms, lifts, payment terminals and monitoring systems.
- Check Full Fibre availability at each site.
- Confirm digital compatibility with alarm, lift or telecare providers.
- Plan migration early to avoid disruption and protect continuity.
- Move to Full Fibre or alternatives like SOGEA before the April 2026 price rise.
Final Thoughts
The copper network is in its final year. Prices will continue to rise sharply throughout 2026, and the longer businesses stay on legacy services, the higher the cost and the greater the risk.
Switching to Full Fibre now delivers stability, reliability and long term value — and with incentives available, it’s the financially smarter move.
If your organisation has Full Fibre availability today, the right time to act is now.
Ready to protect your business from rising costs and ensure a smooth transition?
Speak to our specialists to make the switch today.
About the author
Chess
Chess is one of the UK’s leading independent and trusted technology service providers, employing more than 240 skilled people across the UK, supporting over 18,000 organisations.
We believe IT should work for you, reduce costs, deliver efficiency, keep you secure, enhance your work-life balance, improving performance. At Chess, we’re passionate about our unique culture and our continuous investment in our people to be industry experts.
We’re extremely proud that our people voted us No.1 in ‘The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work for’ list 2018, and we continue to celebrate more than 17 years in the top 100.