Landline Switch Off: Next 84 Areas Of The UK Announced

By Emma Lewis, bOnline

With landlines being permanently switched off from the end of next year, Openreach has now revealed the next 84 new UK locations for the axe over the next year.

Landlines rely on outdated copper wires that are over 100 years old. They’re expensive and difficult to maintain, and don’t meet modern communication needs. This significant development means the sale of traditional analogue services to over 880,000 premises across the UK will stop, affecting all households and businesses too.

What Is The Alternative to a Landline?

The country is fast moving towards a digital era, with old style copper landlines being replaced by superior Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) connections. But it’s not just about broadband; it’s revolutionising home and business phone systems too. It means most people  are now moving over to VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) as the main alternative.

What Is VoIP?

VoIP is a digital communication method that connects calls using the internet rather than copper wires. As it’s cloud based, you can also access your system to make and receive calls on the go using your smartphone or tablet, so no more ‘hanging by the telephone.’ This is great for small businesses in particular.

VoIP phone systems also come packed with loads of extra handy features, including call divert and menus, voicemail, conference calling, access to call analytics data, hold music and much more. You also tend to sign up for a fixed price monthly subscription, many of which include unlimited calls and even international calls, so you can save some serious money.

However, with VoIP requiring a Full Fibre broadband connection to work, the race is on to roll out Full Fibre as quickly as possible. Indeed, following the implementation of the “Stop Sell” directive, Internet Service Providers will have to offer new customers the significantly faster FTTP connections automatically.

Openreach has said that a “Stop Sell” order kicks in when 75% of premises connected to an exchange can access ultrafast Full Fibre broadband. So customers who want to switch, upgrade, or re-grade their broadband or phone service will need to move to the new digital service provided over the Full Fibre network.

However, it’s important to note that customers in these exchanges who cannot yet receive Ultrafast Full Fibre at their premises are not currently affected. This means they can carry on using their existing copper-based services until Full Fibre is available to them.

Which Areas Are Next To Lose Landlines?

Below is the latest full list of areas where copper cables are being phased out:

1. Aberdeen
2. Addingham
3. Alderminster
4. Antrim
5. Appleton Roebuck
6. Ashington (Northumberland)
7. Barking and Dagenham
8. Bishop Auckland
9. Blackpool
10. Bradford
11. Bridgend
12. Brighton and Hove
13. Burnham-on-Sea
14. Buxton (High Peak)
15. Cannock
16. Cardiff
17. Carlisle
18. Chatham
19. Chelmsford
20. Chesterfield
21. Coalville
22. Craigavon
23. Doncaster
24. Ellington (Northumberland)
25. Exeter
26. Flamborough
27. Gillingham (Kent)
28. Glasgow
29. Greater London
30. Greater Manchester
31. Greater Manchester
32. Greater Manchester
33. Grimsby
34. Havering
35. Haywards Heath
36. Heage
37. Houghton-le-Spring
38. Huddersfield
39. Ilkeston
40. Ilkley
41. Ipswich
42. Kidsgrove
43. Leicester
44. Leicester
45. Leven
46. Llanbrynmair
47. Luton
48. Manchester
49. Mareham le Fen
50. Moore
51. Motherwell
52. New Mills
53. North Kelser
54. Oldham
55. Penistone
56. Pontardawe
57. Portlethen
58. Raunds
59. Rayleigh
60. Rearsby
61. Rippingale
62. Ross-on-Wye
63. Rotherfield
64. Rotherham
65. Rugby
66. Saintfield
67. Scotter
68. Scunthorpe
69. Sheffield
70. Sherburn (County Durham)
71. Skegness
72. Solihull
73. South Cave
74. Southend-on-Sea
75. Southwark
76. Stotfold
77. Stratford-upon-Avon
78. Tameside
79. Torquay
80. Trefor
81. Tregynon
82. Wakefield
83. Waltham on the Wolds
84. Wigan

Want To Know More?

It is important to be on top of the landline switch-off and how you can find the right VoIP system for you. It’s particularly important if you’re running a small business, and it’s worth doing your research:

• Is There An Alternative To Losing My Landline?
• Switching To VoIP: What Small Business Owners Really Want To Know
• What is The Landline Switch Off and What Does It Mean For My Business?