- BT is urging businesses still using analogue landlines to switch to digital by the end of next year, as the UK’s historic copper telephone network approaches the end of its life.
- The call comes as a new study reveals a fifth of small businesses (22%) still see themselves as “analogue”, relying on tools like traditional landlines, paper contracts and fax machines.
- Ofcom reports that incidents on the ageing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) rose by nearly half (45%) in the last year.
- As well as phone and broadband services, any business equipment linked to the PSTN – including payment machines and security alarms – could be impacted.
- As analogue copper infrastructure becomes increasingly unreliable, BT is working to move companies of all sizes over to newer, digital networks in 2025 – with a mission to ensure no business is left behind.
UK companies still connected to analogue copper landlines are at increasing risk of outages, the latest figures suggest – as BT urges all businesses to switch to more robust, reliable digital networks by the end of 2025. The call comes as new research from BT suggests one in five small businesses (22%) still define themselves as “analogue”, relying heavily on traditional or 20th century technologies.
The UK’s traditional copper telephone infrastructure is set to be retired by the end of January 2027, and BT warns that businesses failing to migrate sooner will face increased outages as the ageing network becomes more fragile. Ofcom’s recent Connected Nations report highlights that the number of incidents on the legacy Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) increased by 45% in 2024.1
The move away from the PSTN and onto more reliable digital infrastructure like full-fibre networks is a once-in-a-generation, industry-wide programme, recognised as a necessary step by Ofcom and Government. BT is working with its UK business customers to move them off legacy analogue landline connectivity by 31 December 2025.
A national survey of small businesses by BT found one in five (22%) still define themselves as “analogue”, primarily using traditional processes such as physical filing systems, paper contracts, and older technology such as fax machines. By contrast, four in five (80%) that have invested in new technology say it has given them a competitive advantage, with 79% saying it had helped them to find new customers.
The study shows attitudes towards tech have shifted over the decades as businesses adjust to the impact of era-defining tools and upgrades. One in seven (14%) small business leaders admit they had been sceptical or resistant to taking their business online when the internet took off in the 1990s, with 18% saying the same about social media a decade later and 11% dragging their feet during the advent of the personal computer in the 70s and 80s.
Better digital connectivity, alongside tools like social media, has laid the foundations for start-ups and scale-ups across the UK in recent years, with almost three quarters (73%) of those running a business saying they couldn’t do so without reliable broadband and mobile connectivity.2 BT has warned that organisations that fail to make the switch to newer digital networks could risk missing out on the productivity gains of workplace advancements like AI and augmented reality, reliant on faster, high-bandwidth, future-proofed connectivity.
Small Business Britain, an organisation which champions the UK’s 5.5 million SMEs, is supporting BT’s digital call.
Michelle Ovens CBE, Founder, Small Business Britain, comments: “Small businesses are the engine of the UK economy, but to reach their full growth potential entrepreneurs need to embrace digital opportunities as much as possible. We see a huge appetite among UK business owners to embrace technology and build digital skills – particularly since the pandemic when growing this capability helped many to adapt and survive.
“However, business owners also need support to make these transitions – which is why we highly value our ongoing partnership with BT to help small businesses on their digital journey so they can face the future with confidence."
As part of the national move off the PSTN, BT moved customers off almost 300,000 legacy business lines in 2024. It’s no longer possible to sign up to legacy phone or broadband services and from 31 December 2025, any existing PSTN-connected business services may change in preparation for the full retirement of the network by the end of January 2027. Any technology still relying on the PSTN will stop working when the network is retired.
Kerry Small, Chief Operating Officer – Business at BT, comments: "The UK’s analogue copper telephone network has a proud history, but it’s no longer up to the task for businesses. It’s simply too risky to build the economy on a shaky foundation, and we’re calling on all businesses to move before the end of 2025 – well ahead of the switch-off.
“Analogue companies making the move now can benefit from rock-solid digital connectivity to help keep them in business for years to come. We’re supporting customers small and large through the move, so no business is left behind. Whether you’re a tech start-up or a family firm passed down through generations, when it comes to going digital – BT’s got your back.”
BT worked with polling house, and BPC member, Censuswide, to survey 1,500 senior decision-makers working for UK-based small and medium-sized businesses between 28th October and 1st November 2024.
1 Ofcom: Connected Nations UK Report 2024
2 BT: Connectivity proves critical as more than half of entrepreneurs run a business from their phone
