Openreach (BT) has today released the ‘Tranche 10’ batch of 32 UK exchange areas where they plan to move away from copper-based analogue phone (PSTN / WLR etc.) services and on to a new all-IP network, which will also occur once over 75% of premises in each area can get “ultrafast broadband” (FTTP and G.fast at 300Mbps+).
Just to recap, there are currently two different, albeit related, phases to moving away from the old copper line infrastructure. The first starts with the gradual migration of traditional analogue voice (PSTN) services to digital all-IP technologies (e.g. SOGEA), which is due to complete by December 2025 and is occurring on copper line products (i.e. copper and full fibre ISPs are both introducing digital voice / VoIP style solutions for customers).
The second phase involves the ongoing rollout of faster Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband infrastructure – using light signals via optical fibre, instead of slower electrical signals via copper. Only after this second stage has largely completed in an exchange area can you really start to switch-off copper in favour of fibre, which is a longer process as you have to allow a few years for user migration.
The process for fully moving from copper to “fibre” begins once 75% of premises in an exchange are able to receive ultrafast connectivity. We note that hybrid fibre G.fast coverage also counts for this, but its impact will be small (the rollout stopped at 2.83 million premises) and is only relevant where speeds of 300Mbps+ are achievable.
Between the full fibre rollout and the gradual switch away from copper lines, this process will take several years in each area to complete, and the pace will vary (i.e. some areas will have better fibre coverage than others). We should add that Openreach currently plans to stop selling all analogue phone lines to new customers by September 2023 (as above, this has no impact on copper SOGEA or full fibre lines, as they’re digital).
The migration process away from the legacy services usually starts with a “no move back” (i.e. no going back to copper) policy for premises connected with FTTP, which is followed by a “stop-sell” of copper services to new customers (12-months’ notice is given before this starts and that is what today’s list represents).
The above stage is then followed by a final “withdrawal” phase. At present, Openreach are already preparing to fully shut down and withdraw older analogue products in two trial areas – Salisbury and Mildenhall – and they’ve notified ISPs that these products will be withdrawn in Spring 2023. But many more will follow, including those in today’s list, albeit not for a while.
The 32 exchanges announced today – reflecting 287,000 premises – takes the total number of exchange upgrades that have already been notified as part of the aforementioned process (including trial exchanges) to 672 (i.e. a total of around 5.9 million premises). The “stop sell” in these areas will be introduced from 1st November 2023.
The operator has also added a Stop Sells Page to their website, which makes it easy to see all of these changes. Remember, the following list is tentative, so changes and delays do sometimes occur.
32 Stop Sell Exchanges in Tranche 10
Openreach has informed us that ‘Lucy Lane’ (Colchester) was incorrectly included on their list and has now been removed.
Im on the list . I have FTTC and have had DV for 12 months and its good very clear but no good if i get a power cut
Well my exchange is on the list
Get loads of power cuts in my area we have a cheap UPS runs all the network gear for a few hours. After that it’s 4/5G if my laptop still has a battery. Seems a load of people get upset they can’t make emergency calls it’s such an edge case I don’t get why people fixate on it.
It’s a brave new world my son… A world where you provide the power not the datacenter
It’s good to see all parts of the UK included, showing FTTP coverage is continuing to spread rapidly.
Well, today I learned that there’s a place called Moscow in Ayrshire…
We talk about Moscow at work all the time–it’s a requirements prioritisation categorisation (MSCW–Must, Should, Could, Won’t, but always verbalised as “Moscow”)
Thanks for giving the area, saves me looking it up.
Using a mask to avoid getting covid from a cabinet describes openreach
This stupid comment appears every time the stock photo is used.
Who’s taking the picture? when was it taken? You can see both of their hands – so I’m going to assume its not the subject of the picture. It’s quite possible that’s the protocol for the area they’re stood in.
It makes no sense in any way.
Yes, it makes no sense to wear a mask, much less to wear one when working in a cabinet, even worse to take a photo thinking it’s a good idea
The mask wearer was in an exchange type building when the photo was taken and was then a sensible idea and even now its still a sensible idea.
Wearing something that does not work is not sensible
My exchange listed 2 years ago and we haven’t got FTTP yet. Openreach still have no dates. We are only less than 1 miles from MITCHAM telephone exchange.
Stop sell happens when 75% of subscribers at an exchange have access to FTTP. There is no requirement that the other 25% ever get FTTP, they could remain on FTTC or ASDL for ever and for those people there is no change (they can still order more ASDL / FTTC).
In reality, FTTP roll-out in an exchange area will get to a point where it stalls because further extension of the FTTP network is no longer cost effective as there is lower hanging fruit elsewhere. Eventually work will come back round to those exchanges, either as they have again become the low hanging fruit for FTTP rollout or because the exchange closure programme needs the copper replacing to allow the exchange to close.
Wahey, there’s my exchange (WWCRAL), that’s good news!
Good to know that my local exchange doesn’t exist according to Openreach’s spreadsheet above… Rolls eyes
Which spreadsheet are you referring to? If it is the stop sell spreadsheet then maybe it isn’t on it because it is not yet subject to a stop sell?
The spreadsheet currently lists a few hundred exchanges from a total of 4600 so there are many more stop sell announcements to come…
There was a sorry tale recently on Money Saving Expert forums, where Talktalk pressurised an existing customer to take “fibre” without explaining that a new connection to the house would be needed.
TT duly scheduled an Openreach engineer to come and install the FTTP/ONT only to find all of the route from the street to the house was concreted over (and the demarc point was buried deep inside a much extended house), and the customer was in no way willing to have the this dug up.
But, TT had already put in place the termination for the existing copper connection with Openreach as part of the work order, and yep it is in a “No move back” exchange, so customer doesn’t have internet or phone anymore and TT can’t request reprovision of the service.
Lots more of this kind of SNAFU to come in the coming years
Personally I am not rushing, and none of the properties that I have involvement in are in any of the tranches yet (and my main property is connected to a really large exchange that is likely to be retained longer term so I don’t expect any pressure to move from FTTC anytime soon, although I expect I will be asked to move to DV within 12-18 months).
Once you’re in a stop sell area and have FTTP available then you won’t be able to change your broadband provider without moving to fibre. If you don’t want FTTP then choose a supplier who you will never want to leave…
It’s a common issue that people extend over their property over the ducting, when doing that it would be sensible to contact Openreach about moving the duct bend to outside the property. At some point every property will need to upgrade their connection to fibre or risk no fixed broadband connection so they may as well accept the work needed to be carried out.
I am not rushing either, I am fine with what I have, zzoomm FTTP is available to me now, but I am still in contract with plusnet for 9 months. If plusnet do me a good deal at the end, I think I will stay with them, I can’t be bothered with the hassle.
I presume also by the end of my contract Openreach will have extended their FTTP up here, but again it is hassle for little gain and more money.
Anyone have any news on the lesmahagow exchange when we will get FTTP
I have GFast (145 mbs). BT/Openreach keep advertising FTTP. Their webbsires encourage customers to register. Still no signs of any progress. Meanwhile, Virgin have laid fibre in the Openreach ducts and city fibre are digging up pavements all over the place, to lay fibre. So why are Openreach not keeping up?
I imagine their resources are tied up elsewhere. They can only build so much at once, competing with Virgin Media isn’t a high priority, CityFibre won’t be going live for a while and pausing ongoing projects to chase altnets is inefficient.
They’ll usually have plans for an area ready or start planning when an alternative network starts requesting exchange space or duct surveys. They presumably just don’t have the resources to already have fibre in the ground where you are – can’t be everywhere at once.
Does this news have any relation to an exchange coming to the end of FTTP rollout? I’m on the Shefford exchange which is in this Tranche 10 list, but whenever I enquire about timeframes all I get is ‘coming soon’, which has been the case for the last two years now. I’m on the edge of town and pole fed rather than duct fed so I worry I’ve been forgotten about when other areas of the town can now get FTTP.
Bt Openreach have fitted my house with FTTP this is from a pole..so am I reading it correctly or wrong. Is this the real thing FTTP I mean because it comes from the pole or does FTTP have to come through ducts underground??
@Dave, FTTP can come from poles, that is how zzoomm is doing it up here, but in ducts in other parts, I presume openreach will also use the poles up here as well. I think a fair bit of openreach FTTP uses the poles.
Just to be clear the stop sell doesn’t just mean FTTP is being provided, it means copper based services won’t be. It could just mean you’re being moved to SOGEA or SOGFAST.
As far as I know, it is more to do with PSTN than fibre, the old copper cables will still be there and people that are using FTTC will still be using FTTC unless they change provider and that is if FTTP is available.
This is nothing to do with PSTN. See comment on your post below.
Our exchange stop sell date is September next year, but the switch off is 2025 by all accounts, if it happens. Makes no odds to me as I already use a VoIP system, but for people who have equipment that don’t work on a VoIP system, that may be a problem.
Still anything can happen before then
You’re mixing up 2 different programmes.
There is the PSTN switch off that is happening in 2025.
This is the full fibre stop sell which is a completely separate programme. It means when an exchange area reaches 75% Ultrafast coverage (Ultrafast is defined as FTTP & G.Fast above 300Mb/s) then a stop sell is triggered on non FTTP products for anyone who has FTTP available. Meaning if you have Openreach FTTP available you will not be allowed to switch FTTC provider or order an FTTC service. You won’t even be allowed to change speed on FTTC. ALL orders must be on FTTP.
Anyone who doesn’t yet have FTTP available will be unaffected. This can happen before or after 2025.
This is purely Openreach orders only and has no effect on any Alt-Net.
@John, The start of the artical is confsuing, it says Openreach (BT) has today released the ‘Tranche 10’ batch of 32 UK exchange areas where they plan to move away from copper-based analogue phone (PSTN / WLR etc.) services and on to a new all-IP network, which will also occur once over 75% of premises in each area can get “ultrafast broadband” (FTTP and G.fast at 300Mbps+)
The title says about Copper Phone to Fibre Switch, so it gets confusing. on telephone-exchange.co.uk, it says Openreach have not identified your Exchange as a ‘FTTP Priority Exchange’ and the ‘Stop Sell’ date will be September 2023. If that is for fibre, then Open reach will have to move to get the city covered.
I realise it doesn’t involve alt networks
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