In December 2020 we began to discuss the long-term handover architecture of the Openreach network with Communications Providers (CPs). We highlighted the opportunity for Openreach to exit exchanges that will no longer be needed to support FTTP, FTTC or Ethernet services. We set out an ambition to exit 100 exchange buildings by December 2030, and a large majority of the remaining 4,500 non-handover exchanges in the early 2030s.
By exiting exchanges, we see an opportunity for Openreach and CPs to consolidate infrastructure, reduce energy consumption and increase efficiency.
A key goal and priority for Openreach is to ensure that all customers are migrated safely and with minimal disruption. Openreach is running a pilot to help us develop and test the processes we need to achieve this goal.
Openreach’s exchange footprint is a legacy of the original Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) rollout, which began over a century ago. Openreach leases space in c. 5,600 BT exchanges to provide services to CPs, and CPs can interconnect at any of these exchanges to pick up traffic.
Today we use c. 1,000 exchanges - Openreach Handover Points (OHPs) – to provide nationwide coverage of fibre broadband services (FTTC, FTTP and Gfast). The remaining 4,600 exchanges are used to provide ADSL broadband and “legacy” voice services (WLR, MPF and SMPF). Most are also used to provide Ethernet or other leased line services.
For over a decade, CPs have been migrating broadband customers from copper-only ADSL broadband (served from the local exchange) to fibre-based VDSL broadband (FTTC), served from an OHP exchange. Over 60% of Openreach lines are now provided using FTTC.
The PSTN platform will be closed on 31 January 2027, as a result Openreach products such as WLR3 will be discontinued. This is leading to widespread adoption of IP Voice, and supporting the migration from legacy voice (using WLR and MPF) to IP-based voice over SOGEA and FTTP. We expect around 15m lines to move to our SOGEA and FTTP products as part of this migration. As with the continuing growth of FTTC, these changes are happening across the UK.
FTTP Build - Our goal is to reach 25 million homes and businesses by 31 December 2026
We believe that everyone deserves the best possible broadband connection wherever they are in the UK – and we aim to deliver full fibre as quickly and as widely as possible, whilst making sure everyone goes home safe and well every day.
01 July 2024 - Update following Space and Power June 2024 IWG GEN064/24.
24 May 2024 - Update on schedule of Exchange Exit industry working groups to assist CPs with migration approach and process GEN051/24.
14 May 2024 – Request for identification of WLR and MPF lines supporting telecare devices in the Exchange Exit pilots Ballyclare and Kenton Road. GEN046/24.
10 May 2024 – Openreach has published a briefing to inform all CPs about a change to the current schedule of the Exchange Exit industry working groups. GEN045/24.
28 March 2024 – Publication of ‘Openreach industry consultation response March 2024 - How we propose to exit the 103 priority exchanges by 2030.’ GEN033/24.
19 March 2024 - Openreach has published an update on the impact of the PSTN charter on the three Exchange Exit pilot exchanges. GEN026/24.
2 February 2024 – Openreach has published a briefing updating CPs on the impact of the PSTN charter on the Deddington Exchange Exit pilot. GEN016/24.
28 December 2023 - Openreach industry consultation response published 'How Openreach propose to exit the 103 priority exchanges by 2030. GEN093/23.
7 November 2023 – Openreach has published a briefing updating CPs on the Exchange Exit 2030 consultation document, together with a status update on the five Exchange Exit pilots. - GEN071/23 (openreach.co.uk)
21 June 2023 - Openreach has published a consultation document on the Exchange Exit 2030 proposal - GEN035/23 (openreach.co.uk)
The overall objective is to exit three child exchanges (see table below).
A priority for Openreach in this pilot is to ensure all customers are migrated safely and with minimal disruption from the child exchange to the parent exchange. The pilots will help us develop and test the processes that we and industry will need to underpin to achieve this goal.
We continue to engage with our CPs, their third-party integrators (TPIs) and resellers as appropriate, and wider stakeholders including industry associations and Special Service providers, in order to build interlocked migration plans, the operational enablers, processes and Product notification periods to facilitate exchange exit.
We understand the PSTN charter (GEN009/24) may have an impact on the ability to exit the three Exchange Exit pilot exchanges, Deddington, Kenton Road and Ballyclare by the product switch off dates. We are working with industry and the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to identify telecare end customers and provide safe migration journeys. In the meantime, we ask that CPs continue with migrations where possible across all products and services that have a migration pathway to exit.
We have three pilot exchanges, all of which will be ‘child’ exchanges.
These are: