Ask ten business owners about the PSTN switch off and nine will tell you the date. Ask them
what’s actually connected to their phone line, and the room goes quiet.
That’s the real risk here. Not the deadline itself. 31 January 2027, confirmed by Openreach.
But the stuff nobody thinks to check until it stops working. After helping more than 500 UK
organisations through this exact migration, we’ve noticed the same blind spots come up again
and again.
So, here’s the checklist we’d actually run through with you. Ten things worth confirming
before your exchange migrates, not after.
1. What’s Physically Plugged into Your Phone Line
Start here, because everything else follows from it. Most businesses know their handsets are
connected. Fewer remember the fax machine in the back office, the intercom by the loading
bay, or the old modem nobody’s touched in years. Walk the building. List everything.
2. Alarm and Security Systems
Intruder alarms and fire systems that dial out over a phone line need separate sign off from
whoever installed them. This isn’t something your phone provider handles automatically, and
it’s not something to leave until the week of the switch.
3. Card Payment Terminals
Older chip and PIN machines sometimes rely on a phone line to process transactions. If yours
does, check with your payment provider now. A till that can’t take payment is a much bigger
problem than a phone call that rings through differently.
4. Lift and Emergency Phones
Building lifts often have a dedicated emergency line. So do some door entry systems. These
tend to be forgotten because they’re rarely used, which is exactly why they need checking, not
ignoring.
5. Telecare and Monitoring Devices
If your business supports vulnerable customers, staff or tenants, care settings, sheltered
housing, some healthcare providers, check for any telecare devices connected via landline.
These were a major reason BT pushed the original deadline back, and they need individual
attention.
6. Your Current Contract End Date
Some existing phone contracts run past January 2027 without accounting for the switch off at
all. Check what you’re actually committed to, and when, so you’re not locked into a service
that’s about to stop existing.
7. Broadband That Shares the Same Line
Older broadband connections, particularly ADSL, run over the same copper infrastructure
being retired. If your internet and phone line come from the same source, that’s one
conversation, not two.
8. Call Routing and Extensions
If calls currently route through a receptionist, an IVR, or between several extensions, map out
how that actually works before you migrate. It’s far easier to replicate, or improve, a call flow
you understand than one that’s grown organically over a decade.
9. Staff Who Work From Multiple Locations
Hybrid and multi-site working exposes the limits of a fixed landline fast. If your team needs
to answer business calls from home, a second office, or a mobile, that’s a decision worth
making deliberately rather than inheriting by accident.
10. Who’s Actually Accountable for the Migration
Someone in the business needs to own this. Not “IT will sort it eventually”, a named person,
with a date, checking the above list off. Migrations that drift without an owner are the ones
that end up rushed in December 2026.
Why This List Matters More Than the Date
A missed call costs the average UK business roughly £340 in lost opportunity. Multiply that
across a poorly planned migration week, engineers on site, systems half moved, nobody quite
sure which line is live, and the cost adds up fast. We’ve handled over 10 million calls for UK
businesses in the last 16 years, and the pattern holds: it’s never the switch off itself that causes
disruption. It’s the item nobody checked.
Run through this list properly, and the migration becomes what it should be, quiet, planned,
and largely invisible to your customers.
Let’s Talk Phones
If you’re not sure how many items on this list apply to your business, that’s exactly what a
proper audit is for. PineVox reviews your current setup, flags anything that needs separate
attention, and can have you fully migrated within 48 hours with zero disruption. Audit your current phone setup free.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What Is the Actual Deadline for the PSTN Switch Off?
31 January 2027. Openreach has confirmed this date is locked in, following an earlier
postponement from the original December 2025 target to allow more time for vulnerable
customers to migrate safely.
2. Can I Keep My Current Phone Number After Switching Off My Landline?
Yes. Moving to a VoIP or cloud-based system doesn’t mean losing your number. It transfers
across as part of a standard migration, and customers dialling your existing number won’t
notice a change.
3. What Happens If I Do Nothing Before 2027?
Your existing line will keep working until either your local exchange migrates or the final
deadline hits, whichever comes first, but you lose control over the timing. Businesses that
wait tend to migrate under pressure, with less time to check the items above.
