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[Bowdon]

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/04/openreach-consult-uk-isps-on-wlr-telephone-network-closure.html

Openreach (BT) has this week announced that they will next month begin consulting UK ISPs on the process and timeline for withdrawing their Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) service by 2025, which underpins a lot of traditional copper telephone lines (PSTN / POTS).

At this point it becomes important to distinguish between the phone / voice side of that service and the physical copper line underneath. BT has long spoken of their desire to migrate users off their traditional phone (PSTN) network and switch them to IP-based voice services (e.g. VoIP).

Crucially this doesn’t mean that they’re going to completely remove the copper lines, not least because new hybrid fibre (part fibre) broadband technologies like G.fast will continue to use some copper for awhile. Indeed it will still be a couple of decades before every line is truly fibre optic. At present Openreach only aspires to reach 10 million premises with “full fibre” lines by around 2025 and even that is far from being a done deal.

As part of this Openreach has also indicated that they’d like the ability to migrate consumers from copper to Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines as the service is deployed, although Ofcom will need to agree such a move and that’s a complicated problem for the regulator. A lot of ISPs have investments in the copper network and consumers will also need to adapt (different service, higher cost etc.).

    An Openreach Spokesman said:

    “In May [2018], we’ll consult with industry around the process of withdrawing WLR and related products.

    This follows plans by BT to upgrade its customers from analogue (PSTN) to digital (all IP) telephone services by 2025.

    We’ll be working with our Communication Provider customers over the coming months as we consider the move to IP voice services – where broadband rather than voice becomes the primary service.”

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/04/19/bt_pushes_ahead_with_plans_to_switch_of_traditional_telephone_network/

It is good to see BT/OR making moves in the right direction. I know I was pushing the issue in another thread about moving away from copper. This story is a small step in that direction. I am happy that this issue is in motion and being talked about at the highest levels.

[Black Sheep]

It was your 'other thread' that prompted the decision-making, Bowden ..... 

[jelv]

If OR want that to happen there will have to be a guarantee that anyone force to move from copper to VoIP faces no increase in price. If OFCOM don't insist on that they should be hung drawn and quartered!

[Chrysalis]

OR could accept that if they could price wholesale closer to retail, their biggest issue right now is ofcom handshackling them.

[niemand]

OR can't tell retailers what they should charge. Nothing to do with OR at all that one.

[Chrysalis]

Ok I will rephrase, closer to current retail price.

Although with a free hand if OR seen retail prices jumping up say 10% a year they could follow with their own price increases.  So basically they could react.  Right now they cannot.