Openreach has expanded its full fibre rollout plan by adding another 112 exchange areas to the list where providers will no longer be allowed to sell legacy copper-based services to premises that can already receive a full fibre connection. The move is part of its wider shift away from the older copper network and toward newer broadband infrastructure.
With this latest batch, copper sales restrictions now apply in 1,572 locations, covering 15.4 million premises. In practice, that means homes and businesses in those upgraded areas are expected to move onto full fibre products when available, rather than signing up for older services delivered over copper lines.
The change is aimed at speeding up customer migration to the newer network as Openreach continues to push full fibre deeper across the UK. For internet providers, the update narrows the range of products they can offer in places where fibre coverage is already in place.
The latest expansion shows how the transition from copper to full fibre is gathering pace. As more exchange areas are added, the number of customers affected by stop-sell rules continues to rise, marking another step in the long-term replacement of legacy broadband infrastructure.
