Stop, Get Ready, Go: What to Know about the Openreach Stop Sell

Authors

Openreach implemented the national Stop Sell of Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) products (i.e. basic landlines, ISDN2, and ISDN30) on the 5th September 2023. First announced in 2018, this milestone has been approaching for some time, and now that it has been achieved, the world has not stopped! Between careful planning, wide-ranging communications, and numerous trials, the success of this Stop Sell is down to five years of collective effort. Now, the focus has moved to ensuring that all impacted organisations can upgrade their communications infrastructure to maximise costs and operational and productivity benefits whilst mitigating the risk of adverse service impacts. 

There are around 650 Communication Service Providers who buy WLR products from Openreach to sell to their customers. Such customers include households, to significant businesses, and critical national infrastructure organisations who keep the country running. Around 9M WLR products now need to be upgraded to IP and fibre alternatives ahead of the WLR product withdrawal in two years’ time. 

Since the Stop Sell, WLR products have only been available through special exception requests that accommodate for critical customer use scenarios. Luckily, however, these have not received much use to date. 

S0, What are the Alternatives?

That’s Fibre To The Premises (FTTP), right? Well, it may be for around half of the UK, but coverage is not ubiquitous yet. FTTP is being built by Openreach and there is a strong community of Alternative Network (AltNet) suppliers, but AltNets tend to have localised builds – often by town, city, or region. For service providers seeking national offerings, it’s likely that buying from multiple access network wholesalers will be necessary. 

To bridge the gap to full nationwide FTTP coverage, Openreach have an alternative fibre-based offering: SOGEA, which is a Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) technology. Whilst availability of FTTC is very high (95%+), it does not have complete coverage, and will not be extended further. 

Where there is no fibre-based offering available, Openreach plan to launch a copper-based alternative called SOTAP, which is a transitional product based on a copper line. SOTAP may also be appropriate where the customer-need cannot be met imminently with a fibre-based product. 

And what about Wireless? Certainly, wireless-based solutions will have a part to play, be that in the form of 5G, IoT, or LORaWAN, although some of these might not be available if the planned location is remote. The new generation of low orbit Satellite communications will also offer an option for the hardest to reach locations. 

Swapping Out the Old with the New

WLR products have long been used by customers in innovative ways to meet their needs. Though they were initially developed to enable customers to talk to each other in homes and offices, they are now also used in locations that couldn’t be any further, such as for monitoring and controlling applications. Indeed, as we go about our daily lives, you would be surprised to discover how WLR products are used to keep the country working: from traffic lights to water level monitoring stations; gas pressure monitors to electricity substation controls; the emergency lift line in the office at work to the health monitoring devices in an infirm person’s home; the fire alarm to the intruder alarm; the CCTV camera to the payment machine in your local coffee shop; the list is endless. All of these applications should be tested to ensure that they will work on replacement fibre-based products. Test facilities are available in a number of locations across the UK, either run by a single Communication Service Provider, or, in the case of Openreach, multiple Communication Service Providers. 

WLR Withdrawal

So far, the focus has been on the WLR Stop Sell, which has zero impact if customers do not need to buy more products or make changes to existing ones. The WLR product withdrawal in December 2025, however, is a different kettle of fish.  

On this date, the plan is that WLR products will cease to function. Organisations that use WLR products will need to have other solutions in place if they need to maintain continuity of operation. Broadly speaking, the larger the organisation, the more complex and long-winded the transformation will be. 

Many organisations have this underway, but, unfortunately, the majority do not. Some of the learning we have encountered is that companies: 

• do not know what lines they have, what they’re used for, or if any special services equipment is connected to them; 
• do not know who’s responsible for the lines in their organisations; 
• do not recognise the need to manage the change as a formal project and have no budget cover; and 
• underestimate the time required to manage the transformation. 

Organisations that don’t have plans in place need to act soon if they’re to complete the change in time. Service Providers must also reach out to their customers to ensure that they’re ready for the change and that any special services they use today are tested to function on the new network.

What's Next?

Along with the withdrawal of WLR and the building out of FTTP, the next big consideration is the Openreach Exchange Exit. This programme was announced by Openreach in 2020 with the intent of exiting 4,600 of the current 5,600 exchanges, leaving 1,000 ‘Openreach Handover Point’ (OHP) exchanges. This programme will impact all services currently being provided at an exchange to be exited.  

FTTP & SOGEA products will remain unchanged as these are already served from OHP exchanges, however, there are small number of OHPs that will be exited, and these will require special arrangements in order to re-parent the equipment. 

It is important to note that Openreach have long-lined copper-based services when exchanges have been exited previously, but this won’t be repeated in the new Exchange Exit programme, meaning that all products will be provided over a fibre-based infrastructure moving forward. This is a complete withdrawal of the copper network and all related products, i.e. WLR and LLU MPF portfolios. 

Service Providers who provide services from exchanges to be exited, including those who rent space in these exchanges for equipment and connection of backhaul, will need to engage with Openreach to ensure that their ongoing needs can be met. Space in OHPs might become a premium and so the need to act fast may be important. 

For business customers, consideration must be given to the migration of high bandwidth circuits. The complexity of this should not be underestimated, as these circuits are typically used for business-critical functions when circuit downtimes are important and need to be avoided or minimised.  

How Cambridge MC can Help your Business

If you lack the in-house expertise and knowledge for the necessary assessments and migration plans, we can help. Cambridge Management Consulting employs experts with decades of experience in senior roles in Tier 1 Telcos, AltNets, and Enterprises to help you with these very factors and considerations. Phil Laws, who works within our Telecoms Strategy and Transformation practice, is an expert in this area and works closely on projects and issues connected to the PSTN Shutdown, Exchange Exit and FTTP build. 

To get in contact with Phil for a consultation on how your organisation can make a seamless transition, please use the form below.

About Cambridge Management Consulting

Cambridge Management Consulting (Cambridge MC) is an international consulting firm that helps companies of all sizes have a better impact on the world. Founded in Cambridge, UK, initially to help the start-up community, Cambridge MC has grown to over 200 consultants working on projects in 22 countries.

Our capabilities focus on supporting the private and public sector with their people, process and digital technology challenges.

For more information visit www.cambridgemc.com or get in touch below.