Copper Switch-Off: The Slow End of DSL – and What It Means for You

Your DSL connection is being switched off. Not today, not secretly overnight – but the decision has been made. The copper lines that millions of German households use to make calls and go online are set to be gradually decommissioned over the coming years and replaced by fibre. The copper switch-off is one of those topics that stays abstract for a long time and then suddenly turns up in your own mailbox. Reason enough to calmly sort out what's actually happening.

First, to put your mind at ease: nobody's internet gets cut off from one day to the next. But if you understand the development, you'll make better plan decisions over the next few years.

Why the copper network is being phased out at all

The phone line in your wall is a remarkable piece of technical history. Many of these copper wires were laid decades ago, originally intended for analogue phone calls – the fact that they now carry 100 Mbit/s or more via VDSL and vectoring is more a feat of engineering than a merit of the cable itself. At some point, physics simply says no: the longer the copper line, the less gets through. Fibre simply doesn't have this problem.

There's also the economics. Running two networks in parallel – the old copper network and the new fibre network – is expensive and also consumes electricity, since the copper technology in the grey distribution boxes along the street is a notorious energy guzzler. Once fibre is fully rolled out in an area, there are solid reasons to shut down the copper. That's exactly the plan: Telekom has launched initial pilot projects in which copper is being switched off region by region, and the Bundesnetzagentur supports the migration with requirements so that no one is left without a connection.

Important to understand: there's no nationwide switch-off date. No "on 31 December 2028, DSL is dead." The switch-off runs area by area, spread over many years, and only ever once a fibre alternative exists locally. In regions without fibre rollout, copper will remain in operation for the foreseeable future. That's what makes the whole thing so confusing for individuals – and so unsuited to scaremongering.

What this specifically means for your connection

Let's run through the three realistic scenarios.

Scenario one: fibre is already available at your address, you just aren't using it. Then you're the household that comes first in the migration. Once the announcement comes that your area is being switched to fibre, you'll get plenty of advance notice and a switching offer – the changeover then works much like a normal provider switch. Honestly, there's little reason to wait for that moment: promotional prices for new fibre customers are currently attractive, and switching is far less stressful when you choose the timing yourself. We've broken down how DSL, cable and fibre compare on price and technology in our comprehensive connection comparison guide.

Scenario two: fibre is currently being rolled out in your area. The construction crew in town, the banners at the town entrance, the stand outside the supermarket – if you live in an expansion area of providers like Deutsche Glasfaser congstar Plans you'll know the campaigns. This is a case for calculation, not reflex: during the demand-bundling phase, the home connection is usually free; later it can cost several hundred euros. Even if you're happy with your DSL, you should at least have the connection installed. It doesn't commit you to any plan, and if the copper in your street is switched off one day, you'll be well covered.

Scenario three: there's no fibre in sight anywhere near you. Then the rule is: stay calm, don't rush. Your DSL keeps running, and without an available alternative, nothing will be switched off either. What you can spare yourself, though, is overly long contract terms with poor conditions – switching options are likely to get better rather than worse over the next few years.

The uncomfortable truth about the transition

Ein Sonderfall, an den kaum jemand denkt: Am Kupfernetz hängt mehr als nur Internet. Analoge Hausnotrufsysteme, ältere Alarmanlagen, das Faxgerät in der Arztpraxis, mancher Aufzugnotruf – all das wurde für die klassische Telefonleitung gebaut. Beim Umstieg auf Glasfaser laufen diese Dienste über den Router weiter, aber eben nur, solange der Strom nicht ausfällt und die Geräte mitspielen. Wer solche Technik betreibt oder für Angehörige verantwortet, sollte das Thema beim Anbieterwechsel aktiv ansprechen statt es dem Zufall zu überlassen. Für den normalen Haushalt mit Router, WLAN und zwei Streaming-Abos gilt das alles nicht – der merkt vom Technologiewechsel im Alltag schlicht nichts.

So much for the theory. In practice, the migration won't go smoothly everywhere – that much can be said soberly. An appointment where the technician arrives sometime between 8am and 4pm is usually part of a fibre house connection. In apartment buildings, you need the landlord's consent, which can take a while. And experience from the first migration areas shows: those who take care of it early have a choice; those who wait until the last deadline get what's left.

One more point, because it tends to get lost in the discussion: the copper switch-off is not an expropriation of DSL customers, but ultimately an upgrade. Nobody is being migrated to worse technology. If anything, it's annoying when it comes to price, since fibre plans are often more expensive than the old DSL once the promotional period ends. Deutsche Glasfaser, for example, starts at €24.99 in the first year, after which €39.99 to €89.99 becomes due depending on speed. If you're coming from a €20 DSL plan, you'll feel that. All the more reason to compare offers instead of signing the first migration letter that lands in your mailbox.

Our recommendation in one sentence: don't treat the copper shutdown as a threat, but as a wake-up call. Check once a year what's available at your address – it takes five minutes. If fibre is arriving in your area, secure your home connection while it's still free. And if you're unsure which plan suits you after the switch: through our contact form you can get a free callback, during which we'll go through the options at your address together.

The copper cable has served Germany well for half a century. But it's yesterday's technology, blocking tomorrow's network. The farewell is coming – gradually, area by area, with plenty of advance notice. For those who see it coming, it's no nasty surprise, but a plannable move to a better line.