Warning to anyone with UK landline as huge change means it will stop working for good – are you affected?
Telephone providers are upgrading the landline network from analogue to digital, meaning that phone calls will be carried over a broadband connection instead of through copper wires.
1
Many other countries, such as Estonia and the Netherlands, have already made this change, and the UK aims to have the majority of the system switched off by January 2027.
The change is being made as fibre optic broadband networks are much faster, more reliable and easier to maintain.
BT's Stop Sell list
BT's Openreach service has just announced 137 new locations on its Stop Sell list.
This means that the majority of homes in these areas already are connected to Ultra-Fast full fibre broadband.
Customers in these areas who want to upgrade or switch their phone service will have to do so through broadband, instead of copper wires.
Landline users are given 12 months' notice of the changes, so the 137 areas on the list have until July 2026 before they are officially put on the Stop Sell list.
James Lilley, Openreach's Managed Customer Migrations Manager, said: 'The stop sell programme is a critical part of ensuring that the UK's communication infrastructure is ready to meet the demands of the future.
"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 as it makes no sense, both operationally and commercially, to keep the old copper network and our new fibre network running side-by-side.
"As copper's ability to support modern communications declines, the immediate focus is getting people onto newer, future proofed technologies."
The new technology, called Digital Voice, will have better call quality and a number of other features, such as three-way calling and call diversion.
Android users warned as major brand shuts down phone business
What do customers have to do?
For most customers the move to Digital voice will simply involve connecting a landline phone to a broadband router.
BT said that more than 99% of handsets are compatible with its digital home phone service.
Customers who are not vulnerable or landline only are being switched nationally across the UK.
The company will contact all customers at least four weeks before they are due to switch to make sure they are ready to move to a digital landline.
Full list of 137 new locations on the Stop Sell list
Glarryford, Aghadowey, Pomeroy, Clogher, Fintona, Dromore/Tyrone, Drumquin, Ashby De La Zouch, Freeland, Adderbury, Broomfield, Woodham Ferrers, Framingham, Newhaven, Sacriston, Hoghton, Penrith, Dalston, New Brancepeth, Annbank, Newton Stewart, Ballingry, Lockerbie, Chudleigh, Milford Haven, Bala, Llandrindod Wells, Stourport, Fernhill Heath, Kessingland, Teversham, Silsoe, Saint Faith, Great Dunmow, Girton, Dymchurch, Shildon, Whitley Bridge, Whaley Bridge, Pencaitland, Durrington, Romsey, Plymstock, Midsomer Norton, Forden, Alsager, Haslington, Dyserth, Sandbach, Stonehouse, Hengoed, Amlwch, Pershore, Menai Bridge, Llandovery, Manningtree, Dickleburgh, Chestfield, South Milford, Dolgellau, Avebury, Lockeridge, Newton Tracey, Ogbourne St George, Sandon, Llanbedrog, Llanfrynach, Eskdalemuir, Long Bredy, Berriedale, Sanday, Llandyrnog, Dolwen, Dolgarrog, Chapelton, Pennyghael, Ulva Ferry, Buckland St Mary, Bishopswood, Hawick, Tottington, Eastwood, Purfleet, Locks Heath, Hook, Felling, Southbourne, St Austell, Stubbington, Lynemouth, Starcross, Loughborough, Easton, Wolverhampton, Ashford, Uxbridge, Woodford, Smallbrook, Wood St, Aylesbury, Ingleby Barwick, Leytonstone, Stockton, Sutton In Ashfield, Washington, Worle, Darlington, Holmfirth, Bedford, Goscote, Bishops Cleeve, Wolviston, Armthorpe, Barnwood, Desborough, Coppull, Trentham, Sale, Hexton, Appley Bridge, Manningham, Stoke City, Warsop
What if I am vulnerable?
Last year, BT had to pause the switchover after concerns that health pendants worn by vulnerable customers would stop working when older landlines were switched off.
Around 1.8 million customers use health pendants, which are emergency alarms worn around the neck.
If these pendants are connected through broadband rather than a landline then they may stop working during a powercut or if the internet fails.
BT has now begun contacting vulnerable customers to help them with any additional support they need.
Customers who don't have broadband will also be offered a dedicated landline service, which will allow them to use their landline in the same way they do today until 2030 or once a digital solution becomes available.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
21 minutes ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on car finance scandal redress: mis-sold loans demand action, not excuses or spin
With its ruling in the car finance case, the UK supreme court sent a clear message: some motorists purchased vehicles with deals that were indeed unfair, but it's not the judiciary's job to redraw the boundaries of consumer protection law. That burden, the justices suggested, rests with regulators and elected governments. This reasoning is in line with a major speech in June by the court's president, Lord Reed, who argued that judges aren't policymakers – and shouldn't be. He led a bench that nonetheless upheld a finding of unfairness in the case of the factory supervisor Marcus Johnson. The court flagged the danger, defined the threshold – but stopped short of imposing redress itself. Now, the baton has been passed. Millions could get payouts if the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) follows the court ruling with its proposed redress scheme, now out for consultation. The regulator admits what courts and campaigners have long suggested: that hidden commissions and opaque contracts were endemic, and that consumers were misled on a large scale. It may be 2025, but the roots of this scandal stretch back decades. More than 90% of new car purchases are financed, and for years, buyers weren't offered the best deal – just the one that earned the broker the biggest cut. Last October, the court of appeal saw hidden commissions as tantamount to bribes – secret incentives to push pricier loans. Banks had been on the hook for potentially £40bn in compensation had that view prevailed. But the supreme court disagreed. Dealers aren't fiduciaries, it said. They're not priests or doctors. They're salespeople and everyone knows it. The Treasury had tried, and failed, to intervene on behalf of banks that feared big payouts. The supreme court dismissed that petition with waspish brevity. Rachel Reeves may argue she was guarding financial stability, but it is not a good look to be siding with lenders over misled consumers, especially when there is a strong case to suggest regulators had been asleep at the wheel. The FCA now admits that many firms broke the rules. It plans a compensation scheme covering loans dating back to 2007, including both discretionary and some non-discretionary commission arrangements. The potential bill? At least £9bn, and possibly double that. Most individuals will probably receive less than £950 in compensation. The court's refusal to stretch the law to encompass issues of trust wasn't a shrug; it was a signal. The law allows unfairness to be addressed. But the heavy lifting must be done by the state. This episode lays bare a deeper malaise. Britain's credit system often runs on skewed incentives and asymmetric information. Brokers pose as advisers but act as commission-driven salespeople. In Mr Johnson's case a £1,650 hidden commission – a quarter of the car's price – went undisclosed. That's not a quirk; it's economics' classic lemons problem. In car finance, consumers didn't know how much brokers were pocketing or how that skewed the deal. Without trust or clarity, quality suffers – and everyone overpays for 'lemons' (duds). The court of appeal did focus minds; and failing to interpret the law robustly in the face of clear wrongdoing is itself a judicial choice. The supreme court smartly redirected the narrative. The regulator is stirring. Ministers must now support a consumer-facing system of redress and not shield the City from the consequences of its own mis‑selling. The public will be watching.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
A fair price to the public for water nationalisation
The environment secretary, Steve Reed, claims that water cannot be put into public ownership because it would cost £100bn, and that the government would have to raid the NHS budget to fund it ('Broken' water industry in England and Wales faces tighter controls under new watchdog, 21 July). This is inaccurate. The People's Commission on the Water Sector has investigated the £100bn figure in detail and found that the costs are based on biased evidence and have no basis in law. We have also found that any temporary funds needed to refinance the water sector would be through ringfenced bonds and would not affect the NHS budget. The environment secretary should not use figures that are clearly misleading and have no bearing on the actual costs of public ownership. The £100bn figure is the regulatory capital value (RCV) of the water companies, used by Ofwat and calculated using the market value of water companies in 1989, adding capital spending and depreciation since, multiplied by the retail prices index. Two water companies listed on the stock exchange have market values around half their RCV. KKR merely offered £4bn in its takeover bid for Thames Water, which has an RCV of £21bn, before it pulled out in June. RCV bears no resemblance to the market value of the company and should not be used as the cost of public ownership. Market value is also not the correct way to value a water company. In law, the government would simply need to pay a fair value, not market value, to take a company into public ownership. This would take into account the inadequate investment in the sewage infrastructure, the dividends paid, the high debts incurred which have weakened financial resilience, and the huge costs required to rectify the damage done under private ownership. The law ultimately has to ensure that a 'fair balance' has been struck in the public interest, and 'appropriate value' for secured creditors. In the case of failed water companies that have returned billions to shareholders and creditors, while leaving billions more in repair costs, this would mean paying something closer to zero for transfer into public Becky Malby, Dr Kate Bayliss, Prof Frances Cleaver, Prof Ewan McGaugheyThe People's Commission on the Water Sector Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Divorced man awarded only 0.5 per cent of wife's $80million fortune wins 'gender bias' appeal
A city trader who claimed his divorce settlement was 'gender prejudice' after being handed $450K of his ex-wife's $80million family fortune has won an appeal case to have the arrangement reviewed. Simon Entwistle's three-year marriage to Jenny Helliwell ended in 2022 but he was awarded just 0.5 per cent of her fortune. He blamed gender bias for the decision and has won his case at the Court of Appeal in London, meaning his settlement will now be considered again. Appeal judges ruled Jenny had engaged in 'fraudulent' behavior by not declaring almost $64milllion of her £personal fortune whilst making a prenuptial agreement. The couple had a lavish wedding in Paris in August 2019 and Entwistle 'enjoyed the trappings of being married into a family of exceptional wealth,' it was said. They were living in a luxury villa in Dubai gifted to Helliwell by her father, businessman Neil Helliwell. But when they split up, Helliwell got her lawyers to order her husband out of the family home with just 48 hours' notice in August 2022. The pair, both 42, then went to court, with Entwistle asking for $3.3million from his interior designer ex-wife's personal fortune. Entwistle claimed he needed $48K a year for flights and $35K a year 'on a meal plan just for himself' because he said: 'I can't even cook an omelet. The judge told him: 'Being married to a rich person for three years does not suddenly catapult you into a right to live like that after the relationship has ended.' He was left with a 0.5 per cent share of the pot after the judge upheld a pre-nuptial agreement the pair had signed promising they would each keep their own assets in the event of a split. Appealing that ruling, Entwistle said he was a victim of 'gender prejudice' and that the prenup had been invalidated by Helliwell having failed to disclose assets worth almost $64milllion- amounting to 73 per cent of her wealth. Now, Lady Justice King has ruled that the nondisclosure by the heiress amounted to 'fraudulent' behavior which had invalidated the prenup. She allowed Entwistle's appeal and sent the case back to the divorce courts, ordering it to be recalculated as if the pre-nuptial agreement did not exist. The judge said: 'Willful or fraudulent breach of that agreement such that the disclosure made bears no resemblance to the true wealth of a capable of being material non-disclosure, as it deprives the other party of the information that they have agreed is necessary in order for them to decide whether to agree to a pre-nuptial agreement. 'Since the husband in the instant case was deliberately deprived of information which it had been agreed that he should have, in my judgment, the agreement cannot stand.' Challenging the judge's ruling at the Court of Appeal, Deborah Bangay KC, for Mr Entwistle, said: 'The judge was warned against gender prejudice, but failed to heed that warning. 'Had the positions been reversed, it is very unlikely that he would have so ungenerously assessed the needs of a wife after a six-year relationship.' She also argued that the prenup, which had been key to the husband's low award, was invalidated by Helliwell's failure to disclose her full wealth. Lady Justice King, giving her ruling, made no finding on the gender prejudice argument but said: 'The husband and wife entered into the agreement on the day they married, July 12, 2019. Upon divorce, each party would retain their own separate property and split any jointly owned property as to 50 per cent each. 'At the heart of the dispute is whether the wife's undoubted failure to disclose the majority of her substantial wealth should have the consequence that the agreement should not be upheld by the court. 'In the present case, the non-disclosure of the majority of her assets by the wife was undoubtedly deliberate.'
