Network operator Openreach (BT) has published the next batch of 84 exchanges (Tranche 16) in their “FTTP Priority Exchange Stop Sell” programme, which reflects areas where over 75% of premises are able to get full fibre and will thus stop selling copper based analogue phone and broadband products (i.e. FTTP becomes the only available product).
Currently there are two schemes for moving away from old copper lines and services, which can sometimes criss-cross. The first starts with the gradual migration of traditional analogue voice (PSTN) services to digital all-IP technologies (e.g. SOGEA), which is due to complete by December 2025 and is occurring on both copper and full fibre products (i.e. ISPs are introducing digital voice / VoIP services). The national “stop sell” on analogue phone services began on 5th September 2023 (here).
The second “FTTP Priority Exchange” project involves the ongoing rollout of gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines – using light signals via optical fibre instead of electrical signals via slow copper lines. Only after this second project has largely completed (75%+ FTTP coverage) in an exchange area can you really start to completely switch-off copper-based products, but that’s a long process because you have to allow time for customer migrations.
Between the scrapping of analogue phone services, the full fibre rollout and the gradual switch away from copper lines, this process will take several years in each area to complete, and the pace will vary (i.e. some areas have better coverage of full fibre than others). Naturally, premises that can’t yet get FTTP will continue to be served by copper-based broadband products.
84 New Exchange Locations (Tranche 16)
The migration process away from the legacy services starts with a “no move back” policy (i.e. no going back to copper) for premises connected with fibre, which is followed by a “stop-sell” of copper services to new customers (12-months of notice is given before this starts and that is what today’s list represents). This stage is then followed by a final “withdrawal” phase, but that comes later. The stop sell is applied at premises level, so it shouldn’t impact you if you don’t yet have access to FTTP (edge-case conflicts may still occur due to rare quirks of network availability).
The 84 exchanges announced today – covering 880,000 premises – takes the total number of exchange upgrades that have already been notified as part of the aforementioned process (including trial exchanges), or which are actively under “stop sell“, to 1022. The “stop sell” in the Tranche 16 areas will be introduced from 26th May 2025.
By the summer, these ‘stop sell’ rules will have been activated in a total of more than 700 exchanges – meaning around 6 million UK premises will be under active Stop Sell.
The operator also has a Stop Sells Page to their website, which usually makes it easy to see all the planned changes, but for the last couple of updates the download link for their latest Tranches has adopted the .mht (web archive) format that doesn’t load in any of the web browsers we’ve tried. We’ve highlighted this to Openreach before, although the issue remains.
Otherwise, the following list is tentative, so changes and delays will occur (exchanges can and are often shifted around into different tranches).
84 Stop Sell Exchanges in Tranche 16
Exchange Name
Exchange Location
1. Aberdeen Portlethen (PIP)
Portlethen
2. Aberdeen West
Aberdeen
3. Addingham
Addingham
4. Alderminster
Alderminster
5. Appleton Roebuck
Appleton Roebuck
6. Ashington (AIT)
Ashington (Northumberland)
7. Aspull (ASP)
Greater Manchester – Wigan
8. Atherton (ATH)
Greater Manchester – Wigan
9. Attercliffe (SF/AC)
Sheffield
10. Barking
Greater London – Barking and Dagenham
11. Barnby Dun
Doncaster
12. Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland
13. Bridgend
Bridgend
14. Burnham-On-Sea
Burnham-on-Sea
15. Busby (GW/BUS)
Glasgow
16. Buxton
Buxton (High Peak)
17. Carlisle
Carlisle
18. Chatham Dock (CH/DY)
Gillingham (Kent)
19. Chesterfield (CD)
Chesterfield
20. Clynnogfawr
Trefor
21. Coalville (CJY)
Coalville
22. Cowers Lane
Heage
23. Dowsby
Rippingale
24. Dromara
Saintfield
25. Dunchurch (DEY)
Rugby
26. East (MR/EAS)
Greater Manchester – Manchester
27. Evington (LXV)
Leicester
28. Exeter Castle
Exeter
29. Flamborough
Flamborough
30. Foxhall
Ispwich
31. Grimsby
Grimsby
32. Hadleigh Essex (HVL)
Rayleigh
33. Heath Hayes (HYY)
Cannock
34. Houghton Le Spring (HMI)
Houghton-le-Spring
35. Huddersfield (HF)
Huddersfield
36. Ilkeston (II)
Ilkeston
37. Ilkley
Ilkley
38. Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove
39. Kingskerswell
Kingskerswell
40. Knaresborough (KB)
Knaresborough
41. Leagrave (LGV)
Luton
42. Leven
Leven
43. Lindfield (LEL)
Haywards Heath
44. Llanbrynmair
Llanbrynmair
45. Llanrumney
Cardiff
46. Lofthouse Gate (UOG)
Wakefield
47. Mareham Le Fen
Mareham le Fen
48. Medway
Chatham
49. Moore
Moore
50. Mossley (MMF)
Greater Manchester – Tameside
51. Motherwell (MOO)
Motherwell
52. New Cross
Greater London – Southwark
53. New Mills
New Mills
54. North Cave
South Cave
55. North Kelsey
North Kelsey
56. Oldham
Greater Manchester – Oldham
57. Penistone
Penistone
58. Pontardawe
Pontardawe
59. Raunds (RBC)
Raunds
60. Rearsby (RBX)
Rearsby
61. Richill
Craigavon
62. Ross On Wye
Ross-on-Wye
63. Rotherfield
Rotherfield
64. Roxwell
Chelmsford
65. Rugby
Rugby
66. Scotter
Scotter
67. Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
68. Sherburn Hill
Sherburn (County Durham)
69. Skegness
Skegness
70. Solihull (BM/SOL)
Solihull
71. South Shore
Blackpool
72. Southend (SMU)
Southend-on-Sea
73. Stotfold (XTO)
Stotfold
74. Stratford on Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
75. Templepatrick
Antrim
76. Thurnby (TBV)
Leicester
77. Torquay
Torquay
78. Tregynon
Tregynon
79. Ulgham
Ellington (Northumberland)
80. Undercliffe (QDQ)
Bradford
81. Upminster (L/UP)
Greater London – Havering
82. Waltham On The Wolds
Waltham on the Wolds
83. Wickersley
Rotherham
84. Withdean
Brighton and Hove