Openreach Copper Stop Sell: Is Your Exchange on the New List?

If you have seen that Openreach is "phasing out copper" at your local exchange, here is the short version: your service keeps working, you do not have to do anything today, and the only date that really matters is 31 January 2027. This guide lists all 112 newly named exchanges, explains exactly what Stop Sell does and does not do, and sets out what happens to each type of customer, starting with the people who need to act first.

Is my exchange on the list?

Direct answer: here are all 112, in alphabetical order. Openreach published them on 27 July 2026 in no particular order and without totals, so we have sorted them and counted them. Seventy-six are in England, twenty in Scotland, fourteen in Wales and two in Northern Ireland. Use your browser's find function to search for your town.

Being on this list does not mean anything changes at your address next week. Openreach gives providers a year's notice, so these exchanges are expected to enter Stop Sell around August 2027. Plenty of exchanges are already there: Openreach says that by 20 August 2026, Stop Sell rules will have been activated in 1,572 exchanges, covering around 15.4 million premises.

What Stop Sell actually does, and what it does not

Direct answer: it stops Openreach selling new copper products at an exchange. It does not switch off a single existing service.

This is the point almost every headline blurs, so it is worth being precise. Openreach's rule is a threshold rule. In its own words, "Stop Sell is triggered when a majority (75%) of premises connected to a particular exchange can get ultrafast Full Fibre." Once that happens, "customers who then want to switch, upgrade or re-grade their broadband or phone service will have to take a new digital service over our new Full Fibre network."

Read that carefully, because the operative words are switch, upgrade or re-grade. If you do nothing, nothing happens. Openreach is explicit about the people who cannot get fibre yet: "Customers in these exchanges not yet able to get Ultrafast Full Fibre at their premises won't be impacted and can stay on their existing copper-based service until Full Fibre does become available."

One honest caveat, because we would rather give you the full picture. Openreach's reassurance about keeping copper is written specifically about customers who cannot yet get full fibre. If fibre is available at your door and your exchange is under Stop Sell, the practical reality is that you will be moved across at your next contract change, and certainly ahead of the national switch-off. Stop Sell does not end your service, but it does mean the clock is running.

What happens to me? The four outcomes

Direct answer: it depends entirely on what is physically available at your address, not on which exchange you are attached to.

Here is every route, in plain English. Find the row that matches what you have now.

That last row is the one worth knowing about, because it is barely publicised and it solves the problem most people are frightened of. SOTAP for Analogue launched commercially in October 2025. It is an exchange-based service that replicates how the old phone worked, over modern kit, with nothing changing inside the home. If you or a relative genuinely cannot cope with a phone that plugs into a router, this is the product to ask your provider about by name.

If someone in your home uses a care alarm, read this first

Direct answer: tell your phone provider and your telecare supplier now, before any migration is arranged. There are real protections, but they are triggered by your provider knowing.

This is the part of the copper switch-off that genuinely matters, and it is where the industry has already been made to tighten up. A pendant alarm, a fall detector or a linked smoke alarm that dials out over an old analogue line may not work the same way over a digital one.

Two formal commitments now sit behind you. Under the PSTN Charter, signed by twelve providers including BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone, KCOM, Zen and Utility Warehouse, the signatories committed that "No telecare users will be migrated to digital landline services without us, the customer, or the telecare company confirming that they have a compatible and functioning telecare solution in place." They also committed not to undertake non-voluntary migrations "until we have full confidence that we are taking all possible steps to protect vulnerable people".

Separately, Openreach has signed the PSTN Network Operator's Charter, alongside CityFibre, KCOM, Community Fibre, WightFibre and AllPointsFibre, committing to at least twelve months' notice and to the same telecare confirmation requirement before migrating a known telecare user.

Our full safety-led guide to care alarms, telecare and the PSTN switch-off goes through device-by-device compatibility, and switching on behalf of an elderly parent or relative covers doing this for somebody else.

Will my phone work in a power cut?

Direct answer: not on its own. A digital line needs mains power, so you need a back-up, and your provider has an obligation here.

An old analogue phone drew its power down the line from the exchange, which is why it kept working when the lights went out. A digital phone runs through your router, and a router without electricity does nothing.

Ofcom's standing requirement is that providers must offer at least one hour of continued, uninterrupted access to emergency services in the event of a power cut, to customers who depend on their landline. PSTN Charter signatories went further, committing that "Where battery back-up solutions are provided, we will work to provide solutions that go beyond the Ofcom minimum of 1 hour".

What that means in practice varies by provider, and some sell battery units rather than supplying them. So ask two direct questions: what back-up will you give me, and is it free? Our guide on whether your phone will work in a power cut sets out the current position by provider. If you have no mobile signal at home, say so, because that materially changes what your provider should offer.

The date that actually matters: 31 January 2027

Direct answer: Stop Sell is a rolling, exchange-by-exchange restriction. The PSTN switch-off is a single national deadline, and it is now six months away.

People conflate these two constantly, and it is easy to see why, since both are about copper going away. The distinction is simple. Stop Sell controls what Openreach will sell at a given exchange. The PSTN switch-off is when the old analogue telephone network ends. Openreach's own guidance is unambiguous: "By 31 January 2027, all UK providers must move from analogue to digital phone lines."

Our full analysis of the switch-off, including what we think actually happens on the day and who is most at risk of being left behind, is in The Last Dial Tone, our PSTN switch-off report. If you want the shorter version, the UK copper switch-off explained covers the essentials, and our landline switch-off checker tells you in six questions whether you are ready.

The bit your provider might not mention

Direct answer: it can be surprisingly hard to order a plain part-fibre service ahead of Stop Sell, because providers would rather sell you something faster.

This is a real and slightly awkward feature of the transition. In the window before Stop Sell arrives, a household that only wants like-for-like broadband without a phone line often finds that option buried, or simply not offered online. The commercial logic is not sinister, it is just commercial: providers want to move customers onto full fibre, which is more reliable for them to run and creates an opportunity to sell a faster tier.

Two things follow, and both are worth knowing. If you specifically want part-fibre without a landline, you may need to ask for it by name on the phone rather than expecting to find it in a web basket. And if you are being nudged towards a faster package, that is a genuine choice rather than an obligation, so it is worth checking what the same provider charges a new customer for the same thing. Our report on the loyalty penalty found existing customers routinely paying several pounds a month more than newcomers for identical service.

There is also a quiet cost angle pushing in the same direction. Openreach is raising wholesale copper line rental in steps before January 2027, which feeds through into what old-style packages cost. Copper is not just going away, it is getting more expensive on the way out.

How far along is all this?

Direct answer: around 15.4 million premises will be under Stop Sell by 20 August 2026, out of an Openreach full fibre footprint of roughly 23.4 million.

One transparency note, because three different footprint figures are in circulation this week and we would rather explain that than pick one quietly. BT's results for the quarter to 30 June 2026 give the audited figure of 23.4 million premises. Openreach's press release a month later says 23.5 million. thinkbroadband's independent tracking, which counts premises only once they are confirmed ready for service, had reached 23.1 million on 27 July 2026. All three are honest measures of slightly different things at slightly different moments, and we use the audited investor figure throughout.

Openreach also describes 23.5 million as "around 66 per cent of the UK". We have not used that percentage, because it implies a UK premises base of around 35.6 million, which is considerably larger than the roughly 30.5 million homes Ofcom works from. On Ofcom's base the figure would be closer to three quarters. Our report The 82% Country works through the national coverage numbers properly.

Looking forward, Openreach says it is "connecting around one million premises every three months, aiming for 25 million by the end of 2026 to as many as 30 million premises by early next decade, assuming conditions for investment remain supportive." That last clause has been in the wording for a while and is worth keeping in view: the 30 million figure is an ambition with a condition attached, not a commitment.

What should I do now?

Direct answer: almost certainly nothing urgent, unless there is a care alarm in the house.

If you do end up moving, One Touch Switch means you only have to contact the provider you are moving to, and they handle cancelling the old service. Our guide to what actually changes at home when you move from part fibre to full fibre covers the practical side, from the engineer visit to where the new box goes, and what happens to your phone number answers the question people ask most.

Running a business or a building?

The consumer picture above is only half of it. Lifts, fire alarms, door entry systems, payment terminals, franking machines and building management panels have all traditionally run over analogue lines, and they do not migrate themselves. Our guides to the PSTN switch-off for UK business, including alarms and lifts and the ISDN switch-off cover what to audit and in what order. If you manage a site with any of that equipment, January 2027 is closer than it looks.

Frequently asked questions

Is my exchange on Openreach's Stop Sell list?

Openreach named 112 further exchanges on 27 July 2026, covering 554,918 premises. The full alphabetical list is in this article: 76 in England, 20 in Scotland, 14 in Wales and 2 in Northern Ireland. Openreach gives providers a year's notice, so these exchanges enter Stop Sell around August 2027. Many more exchanges are already under Stop Sell: Openreach says 1,572 of them, covering around 15.4 million premises, by 20 August 2026.

What is Openreach Stop Sell?

Stop Sell is triggered when full fibre reaches more than 75% of premises served by a telephone exchange. From that point Openreach will not sell new copper-based products, or allow migrations onto them, at addresses where its full fibre is available. Openreach's own wording is that customers who then want to switch, upgrade or re-grade their broadband or phone service will have to take a new digital service over the full fibre network.

Will my broadband or phone stop working because of Stop Sell?

No. Stop Sell does not switch anything off. It restricts what can be newly ordered at an exchange, not what already runs there. Openreach states that customers in these exchanges who cannot yet get full fibre at their premises will not be impacted and can stay on their existing copper-based service until full fibre does become available. The date that does force change is the PSTN switch-off on 31 January 2027.

Does Stop Sell mean I have to switch to full fibre?

Not immediately, and not because of Stop Sell alone. But if full fibre is available at your address and your exchange is under Stop Sell, any change you make, including switching provider, upgrading or re-grading, will have to be onto a full fibre service. In practice most people in that position will be moved to full fibre at their next contract change.

When does the old copper phone network actually switch off?

31 January 2027. Openreach's own guidance is that by that date all UK providers must move from analogue to digital phone lines. That is the hard deadline for every household still on a traditional landline, whether or not their exchange is under Stop Sell.

What is the difference between Stop Sell and the PSTN switch-off?

Stop Sell is about what Openreach will sell, exchange by exchange, once full fibre passes 75% availability there. The PSTN switch-off is a single national deadline of 31 January 2027 after which analogue phone lines cease. Stop Sell has been rolling out for years and continues afterwards. The switch-off happens once.

What happens if I cannot get full fibre at my address?

You keep a service. If you can get fibre to the cabinet you will typically move to SoGEA, which is the same part-fibre broadband without a traditional phone line, with the phone delivered over the internet. If you can only get ADSL you will move to SoTAP. A small number of premises are handled by SOTAP for Analogue, an exchange-based product that keeps an ordinary analogue phone working with no new equipment, no engineer visit and no battery back-up needed at home.

I have a care alarm or telecare pendant. What should I do?

Tell your phone provider and your telecare supplier now, before any migration is arranged. Under the PSTN Charter, signed by twelve providers, no telecare user should be migrated without the provider, the customer or the telecare company confirming that a compatible and functioning telecare solution is in place. Openreach has signed the equivalent network operators' charter. Do not wait to be contacted.

Will my phone work in a power cut after the switch-off?

A digital phone line needs mains power, so it will not work in a power cut unless there is a back-up. Ofcom requires providers to offer at least one hour of continued, uninterrupted access to emergency services during a power outage to customers who depend on their landline. PSTN Charter signatories committed to work towards going beyond that minimum. Ask your provider what they will supply, and whether it is free.

Will moving off copper cost me more?

Not necessarily, and it can cost less. Entry-level full fibre is often priced at or below equivalent copper packages, and Openreach is raising wholesale copper rental charges before January 2027, which puts upward pressure on old-style line prices. The bigger risk to your bill is being out of contract, which typically costs several pounds a month more than a current deal.

Can I keep my phone number when I move to a digital line?

In almost all cases yes. Number portability applies to digital voice services in the same way it applies to traditional lines, and a like-for-like migration with your existing provider normally keeps the number unchanged. Confirm it in writing before any migration, especially if you are also changing provider.

What is SoGEA?

SoGEA stands for Single Order Generic Ethernet Access. It is the same fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband most people already have, sold without a traditional phone line attached. Fibre runs to the street cabinet and copper covers the last stretch to the property. Any phone service runs over the broadband instead of over the old analogue network.

References

• BT Group. (2026, July 23). Results for the three months to 30 June 2026. https://www.bt.com/content/dam/bt-plc/assets/documents/investors/financial-reporting-and-news/quarterly-results/fy27/q1/q1-fy27-trading-update.pdf
• Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. (2026, January 22). Public switched telephone network charter. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-switched-telephone-network-charter
• Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. (2026, March 24). PSTN network operator's charter. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pstn-network-operators-charter
• Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. (2026, March 24). Non-voluntary migration checklist. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pstn-non-voluntary-migration-checklist
• Ferguson, A. (2026, July 27). New batch of 112 exchanges added to Openreach plans to phase out copper. thinkbroadband. https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/new-batch-of-112-exchanges-added-to-openreach-plans-to-phase-out-copper
• Jackson, M. (2025, September 29). Openreach set October launch for SOTAP for Analogue phone service. ISPreview UK. https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2025/09/openreach-set-october-2025-launch-for-sotap-for-analogue-service.html
• Ofcom. (n.d.). Protecting access to emergency organisations when using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/quality-of-service/protecting-access-to-emergency-organisations-when-using-voip
• Openreach. (2026, July 27). Openreach puts a stop to copper for another half million premises in bid to push customers to new digital lines. https://www.openreach.com/news/openreach-puts-a-stop-to-copper-for-another-half-million-premises-in-bid-to-push-customers-to-new-digital-lines/
• Openreach. (n.d.). The digital phone switchover. https://www.openreach.com/help-and-support/the-digital-phone-switchover

Written by Adrian James, Broadband Editor at BroadbandSwitch.uk (LinkedIn). Reviewed by Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith (LinkedIn). Published 28 July 2026, exchange list last verified 28 July 2026. Stop Sell dates are set by Openreach and can move. This guide is information, not advice.