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.
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 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 April 2025 - Implementation of Exchange Exit Stop Sell 01 April 2025. GEN034/25
27 February 2025 - Confirmation of Exchange Exit Stop Sell from 1 April 2025. GEN020/25
13 February 2025 - Planned changes to Openreach LAD dataset that remap postcodes of five exchanges scheduled for closure. GEN013/25
31 January 2025 - Exchange Exit Offer terms (final) published. GEN010/25
28 January 2025 - Deddington Pilot Exchange Exit update. GEN008/25
23 December 2024 - Invitation to the Quarterly All IP and Exchange Exit Industry update. GEN116/24
20 December 2024 - Pricing for new orders in five additional exiting exchange areas. GEN115/24
19 December 2024 - Notification of Prove Telecare Pilot starting on 1 February 2025 GEN114/24
03 December 2024 – Notification Draft Commercial Contract extended deadline for review to 10 January 2025 GEN101/24
02 December 2024 - Briefing to update CPs on the Deddington Exchange Exit Trial Closure. GEN100/24
28 November 2024 – Briefing to notify CPs that the Exchange Exit Blueprint and updated FAQs have been published on the Exchange Exit portal. GEN099/24
13 November 2024 – Briefing published to inform CPs of the draft contract for the exchange exit commercial offer GEN092/24
23 July 2024 - Briefing published to notify CPs of contract amendments and decommissioning timeline for Ballyclare and Kenton Road pilot exchanges GEN071/24
17 July 2024 - Briefing published to notify CPs in regard to upcoming activities for Exchange Exit, including detail of the Staines and Baynard Walkthrough, GEN067/24
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:
Background
The Exchange Exit programme covers 108 exchange sites which Openreach plan to fully close by 2030. The Pilot sites (Deddington, Ballyclare and Kenton Road) are scheduled to close in 2025, while the premises covered by the rest of the 105 Exit sites will be migrated to nominated Receive sites in 4 Phases over the next 5 years.
What does this mean for me?
From 1 April 2025, irrespective of their Phase of work, all exchange sites under the Exchange Exit programme will follow the rules for either the WLR withdrawal or the FTTP Priority Stop sell depending on their status. The difference will be that MPF and SOTAP/SOTAP for Analogue use will both be restricted and require an exception to order.
Provision of Leased line and exchange-based products will be restricted at all Exit sites and an exception will be required to order them. There will be no restrictions on ordering Leased line or exchange based products at Receive sites.
A list of the exchanges being closed, their nominated Receive sites and their Phase of work can be found under the Exchange Exit List section here.
Order Restrictions
A summary of the rule sets across the Exchange Exit programme can be found below. The rule set in use will depend on the exchange status. If the site has been flagged as an FTTP Priority site, the first rule set will apply, if not then the second (WLR) rule set will apply.
Please refer to the relevant Stop Sell site for more details regarding the details applicable for each scenario.
Post 1 April 2025, if a CP wishes to order any product into an Exit site or order copper products, they must request an exception via the appropriate Formwize.
Exception requests for use of copper products can be submitted to Openreach using this dedicated Formwize.
Exception requests for leased line and exchange based products can be submitted using this dedicated Formwize.
FTTP Excess Construction Charges (ECCs):
A Stop Sell exception may be requested for FTTP orders placed within an Exchange exit receive site, where FTTP ECCs are found to apply in excess of the ECC waiver threshold, and a CP no longer wants to proceed with their FTTP order (provided the ECCs have not been accepted).
A Stop Sell exception must be placed in order for Openreach to refund any FTTP order cancellation charge.
For further detail, please refer to the briefing here.