Since 19 January 2026 one sentence has been doing the rounds in kitchens and neighbourhood chats across the Leine valley: „the copper network is being switched off." To many it sounds as if someone will soon flip a switch and the telephone will go dead. That is not how it works. On that day the Federal Network Agency published its regulatory concept for the copper-to-fiber migration (Federal Network Agency) – a proposal setting out the rules by which the move from old copper lines to fiber is meant to happen. The paper is above all one thing: a brake against exactly the abrupt shutdown so many people fear. It fixes minimum deadlines, it ties every shutdown to hard conditions, and it obliges providers to inform you in good time and at address level. This article explains calmly what was actually proposed, what the switch means inside your home, which letters you need to take seriously and which you do not – and what to do on switch day so that your TV, printer and robot vacuum keep working afterwards without being set up from scratch.
Key takeaways
- The Federal Network Agency's regulatory concept of 19 January 2026 is not a shutdown order: migration may only begin in an area once at least 80 percent (Federal Network Agency) of households there have fiber into the home.
- At least 36 months (Federal Network Agency) pass between the shutdown notice and the actual switch-off. The marketing stop 24 months earlier only bars new copper contracts; existing connections keep working.
- Inside the home a fiber modem is placed in front of the router; the router and existing home cabling usually stay (Deutsche Telekom). The phone runs through the router, and number portability is protected by law.
- Not harmless everywhere: fax machines, analogue door intercoms, lift emergency calls and home emergency call systems must be clarified with their operator beforehand. Approved units run 24 hours (Deutsche Telekom) on battery, which helps little if the router has no power.
- You only need to act on letters from your own provider naming your address and a concrete date; the switch is voluntary at present (Federal Network Agency). Doorstep and phone contracts carry a 14 day (Verbraucherzentrale) right of withdrawal.
- On switch day, re-enter the old Wi-Fi name and password in the new router so TV, printer and robot vacuum reconnect by themselves. Then check coverage, because the router often ends up in a new spot.
What the Federal Network Agency actually proposed on 19 January 2026
First the context that headlines usually leave out: the regulatory concept is not a shutdown order. It is a concept for the conditions under which switching off is permitted at all. The Federal Network Agency published it on 19 January 2026 (Federal Network Agency) and invited all parties to comment by 16 March 2026 (Federal Network Agency). The reason for the change is unspectacular: higher speeds cannot be reliably achieved over copper lines in the long run, operating and maintaining the old technology is comparatively expensive, and energy consumption is higher than with fiber (Federal Network Agency).
The most important figure in the concept for households is a threshold: only once at least 80 percent (Federal Network Agency) of households and businesses in an area are supplied with fiber to the home (FttH) may the migration process be initiated there at all. At the time of the actual shutdown there should generally be comprehensive coverage (Federal Network Agency). In plain terms: the copper does not go before the fiber has arrived. The entire migration process in an area is designed to run for three years (Federal Network Agency).
The switch to fiber is a forward-looking internet upgrade for Germany. Consumers should be informed early and in detail about every step of the transition.
Official statistics show how far the rollout has come. As of June 2025, 42.9 percent (Gigabit Register) of all households had a fiber connection to the building (FttB) or into the home (FttH), or could have one installed at short notice – an increase of 7.2 percentage points (Gigabit Register) year on year. Across all technologies, including modernised TV cable networks, gigabit connections are available to 79.0 percent (Gigabit Register) of households. The data is collected every six months at address level from more than 420 (Gigabit Register) network operators. So the national average is still some way from the 80 percent FttH that counts as the starting condition – and in many places in the Leine valley even more so.
The short version in three sentences
The timeline: why nobody gets switched off overnight
The real reassurance lies in the deadlines. The concept provides that the marketing of copper-based offers ends at least 24 months (Federal Network Agency) before the actual shutdown. And a further 12 months (Federal Network Agency) at least before that marketing stop, the shutdown of the copper network is to be formally announced. Add both together and at least 36 months (Federal Network Agency) – three years – pass between the first official announcement and the day an area is genuinely switched off.
The marketing stop is something rather different from what the name suggests. It does not mean your existing connection stops working. It means that from that point on no new copper contracts are sold in that area. Anyone who already has a connection keeps calling and browsing as before for at least another two years. Only at the end of those two years does the actual shutdown follow – and even then only if fiber coverage is in place.
| What many people fear | What is actually proposed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| „Everything is switched off nationwide on one date." | Shutdowns happen area by area, within a migration process designed to run three years. | Federal Network Agency |
| „It will happen without warning." | Shutdown notice at least 12 months before the marketing stop, which comes at least 24 months before the shutdown. | Federal Network Agency |
| „First they switch off, then fiber arrives." | The process starts at 80 percent FttH in the area at the earliest; coverage should be comprehensive by shutdown. | Federal Network Agency |
| „Marketing stop means my line is dead." | A marketing stop only means no new copper contracts. Existing connections keep running. | Federal Network Agency |
| „I have to sign immediately." | Switching is currently voluntary; the maximum contract term is 24 months. | Federal Network Agency |
The sheer number of people affected does not speed things up – it slows them down. In the Deutsche Telekom network alone roughly 25 million (Deutsche Telekom) active customers are still on copper, spread across some 180,000 (Deutsche Telekom) street cabinets; the shutdown is explicitly happening „piece by piece". By 2030 all 41.5 million (Deutsche Telekom) households in Germany are meant to have the option of a fiber connection, and today more than 5.7 million (Deutsche Telekom) households can already browse at fiber speed. Nationwide, around 5.3 million (Federal Network Agency) households currently use a fiber connection, while a further 3.3 million (Federal Network Agency) could have one but do not use it.
What this means for you
What actually changes inside your home
Now to the practical part that triggers most of the phone calls. Technically the switch is more manageable than the grand term „network migration" suggests. With fiber to the home (FttH) a fiber socket is installed in the building or flat; with fiber to the building (FttB) the existing telephone socket continues to be used (Federal Network Agency). A short cable runs from the socket to a small new box: the fiber modem. It converts the light signals into electrical signals that an ordinary router understands.
The decisive point for daily life: the fiber modem goes in front of the router, it does not replace it. Customers do not have to change their router and as a rule do not get a new one (Deutsche Telekom). Whether your existing device is suitable should be clarified with your provider beforehand (Federal Network Agency) – in many cases the familiar router simply keeps running. And nothing has to change in the home network itself; the existing cabling can continue to be used unchanged (Deutsche Telekom).
The telephone takes no special route: it runs through the router, as it has for years now. Your number stays with you, number portability is protected by law (Federal Network Agency). Your DECT handsets – the cordless phones registered on the router – remain usable. Anyone already making calls through the router will barely notice the change on the phone itself. Anyone still running a genuinely analogue device on a classic socket should look more closely – more on that shortly.
New: the fiber modem
A small box between the fiber socket and the router. It needs power and a permanent spot. It does not replace your router but sits in front of it.
Stays: your router
In many cases the existing router can keep running. Whether it is suitable is worth clarifying with the provider in advance – that spares you a nasty surprise on switch day.
Stays: your number
The phone runs through the router and number portability is protected by law. DECT handsets continue to register on the router as before.
Stays: the cabling
Nothing has to be rebuilt in the home network. Existing network cables and sockets in the house can continue to be used unchanged.
Check: analogue devices
Fax machines, old answering machines, analogue door intercoms and some emergency call devices hang on classic sockets. They need a separate look.
Check: power in an emergency
No power means no router, and no router means no landline. Anyone who depends on being reachable should plan a mobile fallback.
Old devices and emergency call systems: worth a second look
The most honest part of this article is the part where not everything is harmless. The vast majority of households will barely notice the switch. But there is a handful of devices where a phone call beforehand beats improvising on switch day. These include fax machines, older answering machines with their own connection, analogue door intercoms with a telephone link, some lift emergency phones – and above all home emergency call systems.
With home emergency call systems the issue is a difference that few people cared about for a long time: on the old analogue landline the voltage came from the line, so you could still make calls during a power cut. On today's IP network the connected devices need their own power supply. Approved home emergency call devices are battery-buffered and must work for at least 24 hours (Deutsche Telekom) without external power – but the battery in the alarm unit is of little use if the router is dead at the same time. So the rule is: before the connection is switched, talk to the operator of your emergency call system. Many systems now have a mobile fallback, others need a buffered power supply.
Clarify before switch day, not after
A fax machine can in most cases still be run on one of the router's telephone ports, but it does not work reliably in every constellation. Anyone who depends on fax professionally is better off checking an alternative in advance. And anyone with an analogue door intercom linked to the telephone should ask the manufacturer or the maintenance firm whether and how the device can run on the router. These are manageable questions – they should just be asked before the technician is at the door.
Which letters you need to take seriously – and which you do not
A lot of things that look like fiber are landing in postboxes right now. The difference matters, because it decides whether you have to act or not. Take seriously any letter from your own provider that refers concretely to your address and your existing contract and names a deadline or a date. The Federal Network Agency explicitly provides that consumers be informed of shutdowns in good time and at address level (Federal Network Agency). Such letters may also contain a contract amendment – there, reading pays off.
You can be far more relaxed about anything that looks like advertising: unaddressed mailshots, „last chance" campaigns, flyers with supposed connection deadlines, letters from firms you are not even a customer of. There is no obligation to take a fiber connection, and no imminent copper shutdown either (Consumer Advice Centre). Switching is currently voluntary (Federal Network Agency). What such letters often omit is the cost: one-off connection charges can range from 500 to 1,000 euros (Federal Network Agency) and are frequently waived when a two-year contract is signed; the maximum contract term is 24 months (Federal Network Agency).
- Does it carry my name and exact address – or is it a mailshot addressed „to all households"?
- Is the sender my actual provider, the one I hold a contract with?
- Is a concrete date named, or only „soon", „shortly", „last opportunity"?
- Is this information about the switch – or a new contract I am being asked to sign?
- Are one-off costs, monthly price and contract term stated clearly and completely?
- When in doubt: do not sign, ask your provider on the number from your last invoice.
That the uncertainty is real is shown by the complaint figures. From January to November 2025 the consumer advice centres recorded more than 4,000 (vzbv) complaints about fiber internet access – an increase of 55 percent (vzbv) on the same period the year before. The Federation of German Consumer Organisations therefore demands that the migration be safe, transparent and largely free of additional financial burdens, and that area-wide switching plans be published, because many people are unsettled by opaque or even contradictory information about shutdown dates (vzbv).
Doorstep and phone: spotting dubious offers
The switch is a sales opportunity, and it shows. Consumer advice centres report that people are poorly informed in sales conversations and sometimes pressured into signing on the spot, and that representatives seek access to homes under false pretences – for instance by claiming they have to „check the router" or „check the connection" (Consumer Advice Centre). There is no general right of entry; you do not have to let unannounced callers in (Consumer Advice Centre).
The picture on the phone is similar. In 2025 the Federal Network Agency recorded a total of 39,842 (Federal Network Agency) written complaints about unlawful telephone advertising, up six percent on 37,561 (Federal Network Agency) reports in 2024. In 13 larger proceedings, fines totalling around 1.1 million euros (Federal Network Agency) were imposed. Across all forms of number misuse, 85,158 (Federal Network Agency) complaints were received in 2025, and around 6,200 (Federal Network Agency) numbers were shut down. How to recognise and fend off such calls is described in detail in our article on phishing and fake calls.
The simplest sentence at the door
The practical warning signs are almost always the same: time pressure („today only"), supposed obligations („you have to switch anyway"), vagueness about the sender, a price quoted without the one-off costs, and the wish to come inside right away. If you are unsure, check the details calmly in the broadband atlas of the federal Gigabit Register, or call your provider on the number printed on your last invoice – not the one printed on the flyer. The same basic rule applies to handling passwords and online accounts safely.
Checklist for switch day
When the appointment does come, a short hour decides whether your evening is relaxed or whether half the flat has to be set up again from scratch. The provider's technician usually brings the line to the house and installs the fiber modem – for everything that happens in the home network afterwards they are mostly not responsible. That is exactly the gap the calls to us come from: the internet works, but the TV can no longer find the Wi-Fi, the printer is offline, the robot vacuum has lost its map and the voice assistant stays silent.
The most important trick is unspectacular and still regularly forgotten: note down the Wi-Fi name (SSID) and Wi-Fi password of the old network and enter them into the new router in exactly the same way. Then most devices reconnect by themselves as if nothing had happened. If a new network name with a new password is assigned instead, every single device has to be set up again – from the TV to the smart lighting to the doorbell.
- Beforehand: note the Wi-Fi name and Wi-Fi password of the old router and keep them handy.
- Beforehand: dig out your provider access details and customer number.
- Beforehand: inform the operator of any home emergency call, lift emergency phone or medical device.
- Beforehand: photograph which cable goes where – that saves guesswork later.
- On the day: find the socket, connect the fiber modem, place the router behind it.
- On the day: re-enter the old Wi-Fi name and old password into the new router.
- On the day: test the phone – one call out, one call in, check the DECT handsets.
- Afterwards: work through TV, printer, robot vacuum, voice assistant and smart home devices.
- Afterwards: check whether coverage across the house still holds – the router often sits in a new place.
The new location is the underrated side effect
How we take over switch day in the Leine valley
This is exactly the point at which our phone rings. Not because something is broken, but because a gap opens between „the line is here" and „everything works as before" that nobody feels responsible for. We close that gap during the home visit: we connect the fiber modem and the router, carry over the Wi-Fi name and password from the old network, set up telephony with your numbers and DECT handsets, and then reconnect your devices – from the TV to the printer and the robot vacuum to the voice assistant.
Afterwards we check whether coverage across the house still holds, because the router often sits somewhere else after the switch. If necessary we measure room by room and suggest what helps – that is part of Wi-Fi optimization and is not blindly sold along with it. Finally we show you calmly what has changed and what has stayed the same. Anyone who wants it gets the key details on a note to read up on later. You have one personal contact throughout, not a hotline with a queue.
The home-visit flat rate is 79 € for up to 60 minutes, and travel within 10 km around Nordstemmen is included. You will find the full scope transparently on our pricing page. We come to Hildesheim, Sarstedt, Elze and Gronau among other places, as well as the surrounding towns in the Leine valley. The appointment can be scheduled to fall on switch day – simply get in touch via the contact form or by phone and we will sort it out calmly. Incidentally, anyone using the opportunity to tidy up their technology anyway will find useful starting points in our articles on setting up the electronic patient record app and on choosing a smart door lock safely.
Sources and studies