Openreach has confirmed today that it will delay the switch-off of all copper-based phone lines across the UK until 2027, two years later than originally planned.

The delay will apply to all customers, both business and consumer.

The delay follows a wave of concern over the exposed vulnerability of predominantly elderly customers, who rely on landline-based medical and security alarms. While these systems can also work over digital landlines, they are vulnerable to power cuts or other outages, unlike legacy copper connectivity. Due to these users relying on their devices to access emergency services in a crisis, it’s absolutely essential that they remain functional regardless of the underlying phone service technology.