Openreach has announced another major step towards a full-fibre future, naming 94 new exchange locations – covering almost one million UK homes and businesses – where it plans to stop selling traditional copper-based broadband and phone services.
The move is part of Openreach’s long-term plan to retire the ageing copper network and transition customers to digital, full fibre connections that deliver faster, more reliable speeds.
Once an area reaches a “majority fibre coverage” threshold, Openreach begins a “Stop Sell” process – meaning broadband providers like BT, Sky and Vodafone will no longer be able to sell or renew copper-based packages at those exchanges. Instead, they’ll offer FTTP (Full Fibre to the Premises) services wherever available.
“Taking advantage of the progress of our full fibre build and encouraging people to upgrade where a majority can access our new network is the right thing to do,” said James Lilley, Openreach’s Managed Customer Migrations Director. “It makes no sense, both operationally and commercially, to keep the old copper network and our new fibre network running side by side.”
He added that as the copper network becomes less capable of supporting modern communications, the focus is firmly on getting people moved onto future-proofed fibre technology.
If your area is part of the Stop Sell programme, it doesn’t mean your internet will suddenly stop working – but it does mean that when you next change, renew or upgrade your package, your provider will likely switch you to Full Fibre.
The benefits are clear:
Customers in the affected exchange areas will be contacted by their broadband provider well in advance.
To see if your postcode is part of an upcoming copper switch-off area, you can check broadband availability and compare Full Fibre deals on our site.
Use our postcode checker to see which Full Fibre networks are live near you.
