Cost of traditional landlines will DOUBLE this week, as 1.5 million Brits must still make the switch

The deadline is currently set for January 31, 2027, which was delayed from the original cut-off.

As the deadline approaches, wholesale charges for traditional landlines will reach double their previous level. BT-owned Openreach will increase the wholesale rental charges for its basic legacy Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) service, up from £10.65 a month to £21.30. That equates to an annual wholesale rental cost of £255.60.

Openreach engineer fits the future-proofed full-fibre broadband that will power the next generation of landline telephones

What does that mean for you?

Crucially, this is the wholesale rental charge. This is paid by your telecom provider to Openreach for using its nationwide infrastructure of cables and wires. Openreach is the most widely available network in the UK, reaching 99% of UK homes and businesses across the country.

If you use one of the many, many brands that rely on Openreach's network — Sky, EE, TalkTalk, Vodafone, BT, Plusnet, to name just a few — then these Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will be paying a wholesale rental charge for your usage. That could include a traditional landline or full-fibre broadband connection.

The increase in the wholesale rental charges does not mean household landline bills will automatically double. It's possible that your ISP will swallow the additional rental cost.

Openreach charges telephone providers rather than consumers directly, and individual providers decide what they charge their customers. Your provider might not pass on the costs, but try to incentivise you to make the switch to a broadband-powered landline as soon as possible.

In fact, that's exactly what Openreach is hoping. The wholesale supplier said the price changes are designed to encourage communications providers to move their remaining customers away from legacy products and onto newer digital services before the old network closes.

BT-owned Openreach maintains the biggest broadband network in the UK, with 99% of all properties connected to its traditional copper-based landline or newer full-fibre connections. If you've seen one of these green street cabinets on your street, these boxes were traditionally used to store broadband and phone cabling | GETTY IMAGES

Discussing this change — that kicks in from October 1 — Bryn Thompson, Director at Phonely, told GB News: "January is the deadline for the old network to close – it shouldn't be the date people start thinking about switching.

"With around 1.5 million lines still to move and wholesale legacy charges doubling from October, we'd urge anyone still using an old landline to check what service they're on and explore their options now.

"Leaving it until the final weeks could mean less choice and greater demand for installation appointments at exactly the point a huge number of remaining lines still need to be moved."

While individual providers decide what their customers ultimately pay, households that remain on traditional services should check their current service and compare the alternatives available now, rather than waiting until January.

BT said the switchover represented a “significant national upgrade”, as the UK moves from decades-old infrastructure to more reliable digital landlines.

Broadband-powered landlines use Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, to connect your calls.

If you’ve ever made a call over Wi-Fi or 5G to friends or family using WhatsApp, Skype, or Messenger, then you’re already familiar with VoIP technology. It enables several new features, like the ability to call multiple people at the same time, better call quality, the ability to block numbers, and incoming spam prevention.

More than 91 million scam and spam attempts on BT customers were blocked last year alone, thanks to the improvements afforded by these newer landlines.

If you're not (yet) able to get fast full-fibre broadband at your home address, you won't be able to switch to a Digital Voice landline. Until BT-owned Openreach upgrades the infrastructure in your local area, you'll be able to continue using traditional copper-based landlines for now.

Plans for a UK-wide landline switch-off were first confirmed back in late 2017 by the telecom industry itself — somewhat uniquely, this is not a Government scheme or deadline.

Industry figures said they struggled to source the correct parts to maintain and repair analogue phone lines, as few companies still produce parts for this century-old telephone system. A number of other countries across mainland Europe are undergoing similar upgrades at the moment because of similar struggles.

Digital Voice handsets, pictured here, connect to the back of the Wi-Fi router supplied by your broadband provider and route calls over the internet — not a traditional phone line | BT PRESS OFFICE

Landline-only customers, those who use telecare or who have additional needs will not need to make the switch before the revised 2027 deadline, BT has announced. Telecom providers are developing new landline technology that could solve some of the compatibility issues with Digital Voice.

Over the last decade, Openreach has rapidly expanded its full-fibre network. It now covers 21 million premises, some 60% of UK homes. And the BT-owned brand isn't finished yet — it's still bringing an extra 1 million homes online every three months or so. Openreach wants to reach 25 million premises by the end of 2026, and 30 million by 2030.

Unsure if your address has been connected yet? Openreach offers an online postcode checker to see if they can already order a Full Fibre service or alternatively, check by contacting their service provider.