The deadline is fast approaching:

With the UK’s 40-year-old analogue landline set to close at the end of January 2027, the nation is now firmly in the final phase of one of the most significant infrastructure upgrades in a generation. As of January 2026, we’ve already moved around 80% of our voice customers to All-IP services, a clear sign of the momentum behind the transition to digital communications.

For partners, this is a key moment to get ahead of the switch-over by simplifying legacy estates, modernising communications, and preparing for what comes next.

Take action now and protect customers 

Legacy networks are becoming harder to maintain. The UK’s PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), which runs on ageing copper infrastructure, was designed for a different era and has become increasingly unreliable.

The numbers speak for themselves: system, hardware and software failures led to 192 million lost customer hours of service from 2024 and 2025. Older copper lines also have significantly higher fault rates than newer fibre too, with reports suggesting they can be 5-10 times more prone to faults.

At the same time, businesses are more dependent on reliable connectivity than ever before. From cloud applications and collaboration tools to customer service platforms and payment systems, organisations increasingly rely on always-on digital services to operate effectively.

The backbone of connectivity

Supported by Government and Ofcom, the nationwide move to digital landlines will ultimately deliver more resilient services. Similar upgrades are already underway or complete in countries including Australia, Germany, France, and the Netherlands, highlighting a global shift towards more future-ready digital infrastructure.

BT Group is currently one of the biggest investors in UK infrastructure and will have invested more than £40bn in the country between 2020 and 2030. This includes plans to bring full fibre – the UK’s most reliable broadband technology – to 30 million UK homes and businesses, and 5G+ mobile connectivity to 99% of the population.

BT Group’s full fibre broadband network already reaches two-thirds of the UK’s homes and businesses, while its 5G+ mobile network reaches 69% of the population. But it’s not just our infrastructure investment that will enable a smooth transition to all-IP. BT Wholesale is actively working with partners to make the most of the next generation of connectivity and services

Making migration simpler with an experienced partner you can trust

Many organisations still don’t have a full picture of what needs to move and how to approach it. That’s where you can make a real difference, supported by the right tools and insight.

Our tailored migration workshops are designed to give you a clear view of your estate and what must happen next. Each session outlines current services, migration requirements, readiness levels, risk assessments, and key dates (not just the switch-off, but how long you have to take advantage of offers and tools available). We provide a detailed migration plan that you can use directly in customer conversations.

Customers are looking for straightforward guidance. Our priority is to help you deliver exactly that. Our All-IP White Label toolkit gives partners ready-to-use assets to support customer engagement, while our Service Migration Accelerator allows you to transfer multiple legacy broadband circuits at the same time.

And if you’re looking to order placement in bulk for broadband circuits new to BT Wholesale, our Bulk Acquisition Tool allows you to just that free of charge.

We’ve also designed offers to help reduce barriers to adoption and supercharge customer growth, such as the single-order Generic Ethernet Access (SOGEA) installation savings. If you need an engineer to visit your customer’s site, you’ll get credit per order when migrating from Wholesale Line Rental, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, and Fibre to the Cabinet Shared Metallic Path Facility.

Our SOGEA solutions already give you an easy way to deliver fast, future-proof connectivity and grow your revenue – and with this offer, you can boost your profitability even more until 31st October 2026.

Streamlining the process

We’re also helping you take the complexity out of large-scale migrations with dedicated tools designed to save time and reduce manual effort. Taken together, you have what you need to navigate the move to digital and keep things simple for customers.

With Smooth Switch, previously known as Session Steering, we offer seamless broadband authentication, without you having to touch your customers’ routers. We create an intercept to automatically redirect the end user from their old service to your network. You don’t need to change anything on their router, so the migration experience is seamless for you and your customer. Migrations are quicker and easier, and your customers avoid disruption.

Setting up for the next generation

As customers move away from legacy services, their expectations are changing. Communications are becoming more integrated, with digital voice, collaboration tools, and mobile converging into a unified experience.

The PSTN switch-over is an opportunity to broaden the conversation and offer solutions that better reflect how businesses operate today. Partners who act early will find it easier to manage the transition, support their customers, and stay in control of delivery.

At BT Wholesale, we’re focused on making that as straightforward as possible. As well as providing you with the solutions to complete your migrations, we’re available for ongoing support if you have any questions about our portfolio, our network, or our migration tools.

Our project managers will keep you in the loop and ensure your migrations run smoothly. We’ll also support your sales and marketing efforts through Partner Plus.

Get in touch, we’re here to help if you need us. Speak to your account manager about our all-IP support services, and let’s take this journey together.