According to DCD, the global shutdown of legacy copper telephone networks is accelerating, with the European Commission setting a 2030 deadline for member states. In the UK, BT’s Openreach operates 5,600 exchanges, mostly for copper, and aims to close 103 legacy sites by December 2030, starting with a pilot in Oxfordshire, with plans to discuss closing the remaining 4,600 in the 2030s. Spain’s Telefónica just finished its switch-off in May 2025, reducing exchanges from over 8,500 to about 3,000 fiber sites. In the US, AT&T plans a full copper retirement by 2029 and just completed an $850 million sale-leaseback deal for 74 central offices, while other carriers like Frontier and Ziply are repurposing old buildings for colocation and edge computing.
The end of an orange era
It’s wild to think about. That humble copper wire, strung up for over a century, is finally getting its pink slip. And it’s not just one country doing it; it’s a coordinated, global phase-out. The EU wants it gone by 2030 to hit its Digital Decade goals, and frankly, the economics are undeniable. Fiber is just better—faster, more reliable, and, crucially, cheaper to maintain and more energy-efficient in the long run.
But here’s the thing: pulling the plug is the easy part. The real story is what happens to the massive, often centrally-located, physical infrastructure left behind. We’re talking about thousands of telephone exchanges, or central offices, suddenly sitting empty. It’s a huge real estate puzzle. Do you sell them off for quick cash? Or do you see them as a strategic asset for the next wave of computing?
From switchboards to servers
This is where it gets interesting. A lot of these telcos sold their core data centers years ago. Now, with the boom in edge computing—where you need processing power physically closer to users—those old exchanges are looking pretty valuable again. They’re already wired for power and connectivity, and they’re in neighborhoods everywhere. It’s a ready-made edge network waiting to be rebooted.
Look at what companies are already doing. Ziply is offering retail colocation in its upgraded facilities. Frontier has ‘Edge Colocation’ at over 2,500 spots, including old central offices. Lumen is reportedly pivoting some sites to data centers. Even in Canada, Telus is turning inner-city exchanges into residential developments. They’re not just abandoning these assets; they’re creatively monetizing them. For industries that rely on rugged, reliable computing at the edge, like manufacturing or logistics, this emerging network of local data hubs could be a game-changer. It’s a shift that companies providing industrial panel PCs and other hardware for harsh environments are watching closely, as it could redefine where and how industrial computing is deployed.
The US lags and the cash grab
Now, the US picture is messier. With a fractured landscape of incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) like AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen, there’s no single plan. A 2015 report suggested there could be 30,000 central offices across North America. That’s a staggering number of properties.
AT&T’s strategy seems to be a mix: sell and lease back. That $850 million deal with Reign Capital for 74 offices? That’s a classic move to unlock capital from real estate while retaining operational control. It lets them fund the fiber rollout without completely giving up the footprint. But it also feels a bit like a short-term financial fix. If edge computing explodes, will they regret not holding onto more of these sites outright?
What could possibly go wrong?
So, is this all smooth sailing? Probably not. First, the consumer transition. Moving everyone off old copper landlines, especially in rural areas or for alarm systems, is a logistical and customer service nightmare. We’ve seen botched transitions before.
Second, and more critically for the edge computing dream, is scale. STL Partners predicts 1,800 “network Edge” data centers globally by 2028. That’s a big jump from 800 today, but it’s still a fraction of the tens of thousands of central offices out there. Not every small-town exchange will become a thriving edge node. Many will just be sold or demolished. The real test is whether telcos can build a compelling, standardized service on top of this scattered real estate that businesses actually want to use. Otherwise, this great copper shutdown will just leave us with a lot of empty buildings and a few savvy real estate deals.
