Quick answer
Stop-sell means Openreach will no longer sell a product - not that it has switched it off. Since the national stop-sell in September 2023 you cannot order a new analogue (WLR) phone line anywhere in the UK, and most changes to existing analogue lines are blocked too. The lines you already have keep working until the network is switched off on 31 January 2027. So the practical position today is: what you have, you keep for now; what you do not have, you cannot get; and if you want to change anything, the answer is almost always "migrate instead".
Stop-sell is the single most misunderstood part of the switch-off, and the confusion costs businesses time. People hear "stop-sell" and assume their lines are being cut off imminently. Others hear "the switch-off is 2027" and assume they can carry on ordering lines until then. Both are wrong, and the gap between them is where the awkward surprises live - usually when someone tries to add a line for a new office or move a line to a different room and is told it cannot be done. Here is what is actually blocked, why, and what to do instead. If you have hit a blocked order and need a route through it, get a no-obligation quote and we will tell you what is available at your address.
Stop-sell versus switch-off: two different things
These get used interchangeably and they should not be.
| Stop-sell | Switch-off | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Openreach stops selling a product | Openreach stops running the network |
| Effect on existing lines | None - they keep working | They cease |
| When | Exchange-level from 2021 onwards; national September 2023 | 31 January 2027 |
| What you notice | Orders and changes get refused | Anything on the line stops working |
Stop-sell came first deliberately. If Openreach had kept selling copper lines up to the switch-off, it would have spent years connecting customers to a network it was about to retire - and every one of those customers would have needed migrating anyway. Closing the front door first is the only sane way to empty a building.
The two stop-sells, in order
Exchange-level stop-sells came first. Openreach's approach was to stop selling copper-based products at an individual exchange once full fibre had reached roughly 75% of the premises that exchange serves. Salisbury and Mildenhall were the first trial exchanges, and the programme then rolled out in tranches, each announced in advance. If your address sat behind an exchange that had passed the threshold, your options narrowed years before the national deadline - which is why some businesses hit this in 2022 and others not until much later. It felt arbitrary at the time; it was actually just fibre coverage.
Then came the national stop-sell in September 2023. From that point the exchange-by-exchange question stopped mattering, because the restriction applied everywhere regardless of local fibre availability. This is the one that catches most businesses: since September 2023, there has been no such thing as ordering a new analogue business line in the UK.
For the wider timeline and the deadline itself, see our PSTN switch-off deadline guide.
What you can and cannot order now
| What you want to do | Possible? | What actually happens |
|---|---|---|
| Order a brand-new analogue phone line | No | Blocked since September 2023 |
| Order a new ISDN2 or ISDN30 | No | Blocked; ISDN stopped being available before analogue |
| Add an extra analogue line at an existing site | No | Treated as a new WLR order and refused |
| Move an existing analogue line to a different address | No | Treated as a new provide at the new address |
| Change the broadband speed on a line that carries a phone service | Generally no | Regrades on WLR-based products are blocked |
| Keep your existing analogue lines running as-is | Yes, until 31 Jan 2027 | No action needed until you migrate |
| Repair a faulty existing analogue line | Yes | Openreach still maintains the network it is running |
| Order a digital line, SoGEA, FTTP or hosted voice | Yes | This is the intended route for everything above |
The row that surprises people most is the "move an existing line" one. Intuitively, moving a line you already pay for feels like a change rather than a purchase. In Openreach's terms it is a cease at one address and a new provide at another - and new provides are exactly what stop-sell blocks. This is why an office move is now, in practice, a forced migration. Our guide to moving office phone lines and numbers covers doing that deliberately rather than in a panic.
The trap: changes to existing lines are blocked too
If there is one thing to take from this article, it is that stop-sell is not only about new lines. Openreach also blocked most modifications to services built on the legacy products. In practice that means the answer to nearly any "can we just tweak..." question is no:
- Adding a line or a channel to cope with growth.
- Regrading the broadband on a line that also carries voice.
- Relocating a line within a building where it needs a new circuit.
- Changing the configuration of an ISDN delivery.
The reason is the same as before: any of those would mean Openreach doing new work on a network with a fixed end date. From a business's point of view, though, it has a specific and useful consequence - your legacy setup is frozen. It will keep doing exactly what it does today, and it will do nothing new. If your business is growing, that alone is a reason to move now rather than in 2027, because your current lines cannot grow with you.
"But my provider just sold me a new phone line"
They probably did, and there is nothing wrong with it - but it will not have been an analogue line. What is being sold as "a new business phone line" in 2026 is one of:
- A digital voice line delivered over broadband, which behaves like a landline and plugs into a router. See Digital Voice explained.
- A hosted voice seat, which is a user on a cloud phone system.
- A SIP channel feeding a phone system you already have.
All three are fine products. The reason to be clear about which you are buying is that they have different implications for power resilience, for the devices in your building, and for what happens when your broadband has a bad day. A business that thinks it has bought "a normal phone line" and then discovers the phone does not work in a power cut has been sold accurately and briefed badly.
One genuine nuance worth knowing: where a provider needs to deliver a voice service at an address that has no suitable broadband, there are transitional and specialist products designed to bridge that gap. They exist, they are legitimate, and they are also more expensive and less capable than the standard route. If you are offered one, ask specifically why the standard route does not work at your address - the answer should be about the address, not about convenience.
What to do if an order has been blocked
A refused order is genuinely useful information: it means the decision has been made for you and the only remaining question is what you migrate to.
- Do not keep trying. Different resellers all order from the same Openreach systems. A second attempt through a third party will hit the same block.
- Check what connectivity the address can actually get. Full fibre if available, SoGEA if not. Our SoGEA vs FTTP comparison explains the difference and which you will end up on.
- Decide what replaces the voice service rather than defaulting to the nearest lookalike. Business landline alternatives compares the five real options.
- Count the non-phone devices before you order anything. Alarms, lifts, card terminals and door entry all need their own plan and have their own lead times - see devices that rely on phone lines.
- Protect the numbers. Port them to the new service before ceasing anything.
If you would like someone to check availability at your address and price the replacement properly, that is exactly what we do: get a no-obligation quote or call 0333 006 9399.
The bottom line
Stop-sell is not the switch-off. Your existing analogue lines keep working until 31 January 2027, and Openreach will still repair them. What you cannot do is buy new ones, add to them, move them, or change them - which means your legacy phone setup is frozen exactly as it is today. For a business that is standing still, that is survivable for another few months. For a business that is growing, moving premises, or adding people, it is already a constraint. Either way, the exit is the same and the door has been closed since 2023.
Getting unknown calls on a business line? Our free UK phone number checker shows which network or provider Ofcom allocated any number to, and whether the range is in service — no sign-up.
Frequently asked questions
What does Openreach stop-sell mean?
It means Openreach has stopped selling a product to the providers who resell it. It does not mean the product has been switched off. Your existing analogue lines carry on working, and Openreach still repairs faults on them, but nobody can order a new one or make most changes to an existing one.
Can I still order a new analogue phone line in the UK?
No. The national stop-sell took effect in September 2023, so new analogue WLR lines cannot be ordered anywhere in the UK regardless of what fibre is available at your address. If a provider offers you a "new phone line" today, it will be a digital product delivered over broadband.
When did the Openreach stop-sell start?
In two stages. Exchange-level stop-sells began in 2021, applied where full fibre had reached roughly 75% of the premises served by that exchange, with Salisbury and Mildenhall as the first trial exchanges. The national stop-sell followed in September 2023 and applies everywhere.
Why can't I move my existing phone line to a new office?
Because Openreach treats it as a cease at the old address and a brand-new line at the new one - and new analogue lines are exactly what stop-sell blocks. In practice an office move now means migrating to a digital service, which is why the phone side should be planned as early as the connectivity.
Does stop-sell affect my broadband?
It can. Where your broadband runs over a line that also carries a phone service, speed changes and other regrades are generally blocked, because they count as modifications to a legacy product. The fix is to move to SoGEA or full fibre, where the broadband stands on its own.
Will my lines stop working now that stop-sell has happened?
No. Stop-sell and switch-off are separate events. Existing lines continue until the PSTN is switched off on 31 January 2027, after which anything still running on them stops. Stop-sell simply means you cannot buy your way out of the problem with more copper.
Is stop-sell just BT and Openreach, or all providers?
It affects all providers, because virtually every UK telecoms company sells services built on Openreach's network. A different reseller cannot get round it - they are all ordering from the same Openreach systems, so a blocked order will be blocked everywhere.