With the UK’s analogue broadband switch-off in January 2027 getting closer and closer, AllPoints Fibre Networks (APFN) has launched SoGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access) on its Aquila wholesale platform, extending the company’s network reach to areas not yet covered by full-fibre and giving its partners a more effective way to hit the deadline.
The shift from copper to full-fibre networks was first announced by BT in 2019, described then by the UK’s incumbent telco as “every bit as significant as the move from analogue to digital and black and white TV to colour. The rationale given for the programme was that legacy network skills and parts were increasingly difficult to come by, and that digital services – such as voice over IP (VoIP), video conferencing and other apps – were becoming more popular and effective.
By retiring analogue phone lines, the operator said it would create through its Openreach broadband provision division a simplified network to meet the enhanced needs of an increasingly digital society.
In practical terms, BT began in 2019 a process of transitioning more than 14 million traditional lines across the UK onto digital services to realise its plan on a national basis. A stop sell process for copper connection has been in place, triggered when a majority (75%) of premises connected to a particular BT comms exchange can get a full-fibre connection. Customers who then want to switch, upgrade or regrade their broadband or phone service have had to take a new digital service over Openreach’s full-fibre network.
Following the decision to shut down the PSTN, it was agreed to test processes for migrating customers to fibre services and, ultimately, withdraw legacy copper services and the wholesale line rental products that rely on them.
Despite the general progress in the programme, in May 2024, BT Group revised its timetable for moving all customers off the PSTN from its original date of the end of 2025 to January 2027. The new deadline followed a series of improvements to the programme that BT assured would better protect vulnerable customers and those with additional needs, including telecare users, resulting in a single switch for the majority of customers – both businesses and consumers.
SoGEA is designed to give APFN’s partners a straightforward, single-order route to connect customers in areas where full-fibre has not yet been built. It allows partners to migrate customers away from traditional landline-based services ahead of the PSTN switch-off in January 2027, without requiring a wait for full-fibre availability.
The launch follows what APFN says have been successful partner trials with Meraki, Triangle, F One Technologies and Nu Fibre, and brings a further 9.3 million UK premises within reach of the Aquila platform. Combined with existing fibre-to-the-premises offerings, that brings Aquila’s footprint to 32.9 million.
The service is claimed to be designed for simple, largely remote activation, giving partners a faster, lower-cost way to serve customers who don’t yet have full fibre. SoGEA has already been successfully trialled with partners including Meraki, Triangle, F One Technologies and Nu Fibre ahead of the full launch.
“The PSTN switch-off is imminent, and partners need practical ways to migrate customers today,” said Nisreen El-Kaloush, chief commercial officer of AllPoints Fibre Networks. “Working with our trialists, we’ve made that simple. SoGEA extends Aquila’s reach into areas that don’t yet have full fibre, without adding complexity for partners. That’s what a single wholesale platform should do: remove the barriers to better connectivity, and bring more networks and products together through one route to market.”
Adam Monaghan, co‑founder and solutions director at provider F One Technologies, said: “With the PSTN switch-off approaching, having SoGEA available through Aquila gives us another practical route for helping customers move away from legacy services.”
As it was working with APFN, Nu Fibre announced that it was expanding its own connectivity offering with the launch of Nusim, marking the first step in its expansion into the mobile and SIM market. The product is designed to give both existing and new NuFibre customers the opportunity to access mobile connectivity even if they do not have a NuFibre broadband service.
Customers can add as many eSIMs as they require, making Nusim suitable for individuals and those looking to manage multiple mobile services from one account.
