The phone line switch-off: what colleges and universities need to check

On this page

At a glance

• Openreach: “On 31 January 2027, all traditional phone lines will be going digital.”
• Affected equipment includes CCTV, alarms, payment terminals, lift systems, door entry and telecare.
• Lines not moved in time may be switched to Openreach’s EVAc service.
• The DfE says to audit every copper-connected service, cancel unneeded lines, move to VoIP where suitable, and give routers a UPS or battery backup.

The date

Openreach says: “On 31 January 2027, all traditional phone lines will be going digital.” It lists CCTV, alarms, payment terminals, lift systems, door entry and telecare among the equipment affected. Lines that haven’t been moved in time may be switched to EVAc (Emergency Voice and Access Continuity).

What the DfE says to do

The DfE’s guidance Prepare your education estate for the PSTN and ISDN switch-off (published 13 January 2026, for England) is written for estates and property managers, facilities and IT teams, and governors. It says to:

1. Audit every copper-connected service — alarms, lift lines, door entry, card machines, backup broadband, building management systems, meters, EV chargers and SEND assistive technology.
2. Cancel lines you don’t need.
3. Move to VoIP where suitable.
4. Check router power, and provide a UPS or battery backup.

It also warns that the phone (ATA) ports on routers “aren’t suitable for alarms or other machine-to-machine services”.

Backup broadband on copper

If your backup broadband runs over a copper line, it is part of the audit too. The DfE’s backup standard asks for a second connection of a different type — see resilience and backup lines.

Suppliers who say they provide phones and voice services are in our supplier directory.

Questions people ask

What does the PSTN switch-off mean for us?

Openreach says traditional phone lines go digital on 31 January 2027. The DfE’s guidance for the education estate says to audit everything on a copper line — alarms, lift lines, door entry, card machines and backup broadband — and to plan replacements with battery backup or a UPS.

Sources

Checked 25 October 2026. We wrote this guide from these sources, in our own words:

1. Openreach: Upgrading the UK to digital phone lines (openreach.com)
2. DfE: Prepare your education estate for the PSTN and ISDN switch-off (gov.uk)

Broadband for Education is an independent guide. It is not a broker or a supplier, and it is not owned by, or connected to, Jisc, any network provider, framework or government body. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.