A Pre-Digital Phone Line (PDPL) is a temporary, transitional service that we’re using to help customers move off the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), while retaining compatibility with legacy analogue devices. Learn more about it below.
Who is it for?
It’s for businesses or individuals using non-telephony devices that depend on analogue lines, such as:
What is happening?
- The UK’s PSTN is being phased out, with a planned switch-off by January 2027 for all providers – but BT Business is aiming to move all customers by the end of this year.
- PDPL is available as a temporary solution until full All-IP migration is possible.
- It will be supported until December 2030, after which all services must be fully digital.
Important to know
- It’s not a long-term solution – it’s meant to buy time for customers to prepare for a full digital migration.
- There’s no rollback to PSTN once you’ve migrated, only forward fixes to IP solutions are allowed.
- Broadband cannot be hosted on a PDPL.
- No engineering visit is needed, and nothing needs changing on site.
- Some features you have on PSTN won’t work on a PDPL.
Want to know more? Please contact your account manager or specialist to understand if a PDPL is suitable for your business.
If you’ve already been contacted about your analogue phone line moving onto a PDPL, find out more on our in-depth PTSN help guide.
