Openreach kept its free migration offers open to 31 January. Copper line rental rises again on 1 October.
Two Openreach offers that give providers free or discounted connections for moving lines off Wholesale Line Rental were due to end on 31 October. They now run to the switch off itself. The rental on the old line goes up again on 1 October.
Openreach told communications providers on 29 September 2026 that two offers for moving customers off the old phone network, both due to close on 31 October, will now run until 31 January 2027 inclusive, the date the analogue network is withdrawn. The briefing, WLR012/26, is titled "Extension of WLR offers until 31 January 2027" and says the offers are there to "support CPs to migrate off the PSTN ahead of withdrawal in January 2027".
What the two offers are
The first gives "free connections for migrations from WLR Solus (voice-only) to MPF or SOTAP". It launched on 8 June 2026. The second gives "free/discounted connections for migrations from WLR services to SOGEA", and has run since 1 January 2026. SOGEA is a broadband line with no analogue phone service attached, which ISPreview describes as data-only FTTC. Both offers are made to providers, not to end users, and Openreach says they cannot be combined with other promotions and that it can change them. Whether the saving reaches your bill is a matter for your provider.
Why the date moved
ISPreview, reporting the extension the same day, put the lines still to move at around 1.2 million, including around 350,000 business lines. It said the main focus remains on people who use home telecare systems, such as elderly and disabled users, because that equipment is not always compatible with digital lines. Lines that have not moved by 31 January may be transferred to EVAc, Openreach's last-resort service, which ISPreview notes is more expensive and lacks some features. We covered EVAc and its price last week.
The rent goes up on 1 October
The offers are the carrot. The stick lands on 1 October. When Openreach set out its price changes in November 2025, it said the Wholesale Line Rental basic price of £10.65 would rise by 20 per cent on 1 April 2026 and by 40 per cent on 1 July, and that "on 1 October 2026 the WLR basic rental price will rise by a further 40% of the current price. This will be to double the current rental price." So from 1 October the wholesale rental on an old copper line is double the £10.65 it stood at when the schedule was announced, before your provider adds its own margin, while the connection to replace it can be free.
What this means for your business
A business still paying for copper lines is now paying the most it will pay for them, and the connection to move each one can cost your provider nothing until 31 January. Ask three things this week: which of our numbers are still on Wholesale Line Rental; are you using Openreach's free or discounted migration connections for us, and is that reflected in what you charge; and what is the date for each line. Include the lines nobody thinks of as phone lines, such as alarm panels, lift phones, door entry and card terminals. If you are in Exeter or the wider South West and want that list checked, we can go through it with you.
#WEARECOBALT
Ready when you are.
Tell us what's slowing your business down. We'll tell you exactly how we'd fix it — plainly, with no obligation.