Openreach has added 112 exchange locations and more than 619,724 premises to the UK's copper-retirement schedule, the BT-owned network operator confirmed on October 9, 2026.

The additions lift the running total of exchanges under "Stop Sell" rules to 1,663 by November 5. That footprint covers roughly 16.4 million premises, where Full Fibre is available to more than three-quarters of homes and businesses, and where communication providers can no longer sell legacy analogue phone or copper broadband products.

What does Stop Sell actually change?

The mechanism is mechanical. Once Full Fibre reaches 75 per cent of premises served by a given exchange, Openreach gives the operators that wholesale-buy its network — Sky, BT, TalkTalk and Vodafone among them — a full year's notice. After that, Openreach pulls copper products from the order books for that exchange.

Existing copper customers can keep their service for now. Anyone switching provider, upgrading a package or making changes to their existing service moves onto a modern digital alternative — most often Full Fibre. James Lilley, Openreach's Managed Customer Migrations Director, framed the policy as preparation for the PSTN end date.

"Our stop sell programme is a key step in accelerating the UK's move to a full fibre future," Lilley said. "Retiring legacy copper services where fibre is widely available will support the industry-wide migration to modern networks, reduce the cost and complexity of maintaining old and new infrastructure side by side, and help ensure customers are ready for the closure of the PSTN in less than four months' time."

How large is the copper network still in scope?

Openreach declines to publish an aggregate national copper-premises count. The running Stop Sell total gives a directional read. Some 16.4 million premises already sit inside Stop Sell zones, with 619,724 more added on October 9. Combined with the exchange footprint yet to cross the 75 per cent Full Fibre threshold, the analogue retirement still has runway beyond the 1,663-exchange mark.

What should providers and customers do next?

For the wholesale customers — Sky, BT, TalkTalk, Vodafone — the immediate task is inventory. Each Stop Sell activation pulls a year's worth of address-by-address demand into fibre ordering systems. Communication Providers that have not lined up Full Fibre customer journeys for households that still rely on traditional phone service will see that work stack up through autumn and into the new year.

For end users, the practical consequence is narrower choice on technology rather than narrower choice on provider. A homeowner in one of the 112 new exchange areas who tries to sign a new copper contract today will be redirected, not refused outright. After the one-year notice expires, the redirection becomes the only option.

Where does the PSTN shut-off stand?

The analogue PSTN switch-off is now under four months from Openreach's October 2026 announcement. When the network closes, every premises that currently relies on it will require a digital phone service. The 112 exchanges unveiled this week sit inside that run-up — one more batch of areas where customers will need to convert before the deadline closes.

Openreach will continue adding exchanges through 2027 as Full Fibre coverage crosses the 75 per cent threshold in more areas, ahead of the PSTN closure now less than four months away.