July 3, 2026, 2:06 pm | Read time: 5 minutes

The short answer is: Yes–but this mainly affects the remaining copper lines here. The technical switch to digital IP telephony was completed in Germany years ago.

Finland Says Goodbye to Analog Landline Telephony

With the shutdown of the last analog connections, a chapter in telecommunications history ends in Finland. This step was made possible primarily by the advanced expansion of modern fiber-optic networks and the switch to digital IP technology.

For decades, classic analog telephony shaped communication in private households and businesses. However, with the increasing spread of mobile communications and internet-based communication services, traditional technology has steadily lost significance.

Even though landline connections are still used, voice transmission today is mostly digital via the Internet Protocol (IP).

Germany Has Already Completed the Analog Shutdown

Anyone reading the news from Finland might assume Germany is facing a similar upheaval. In fact, the crucial technical switch was completed years ago in this country.

The major telecommunications providers have gradually converted their classic analog and ISDN connections to so-called all-IP connections. Since then, phone calls are no longer transmitted over the former circuit-switched telephone network but as data packets via the Internet Protocol (VoIP). The Federal Network Agency refers to this process as “IP migration.”

For most users, the switch went almost unnoticed. The phone remains in its usual place, the phone number does not change, and calls work as usual. However, the technology already operates fully digitally in the background.

It’s important to note: A landline connection today no longer automatically means analog telephony. Modern IP connections are still considered landlines because they are tied to a fixed location phone number.

Why Copper Lines Still Exist

The presence of a classic phone jack in many households does not mean that analog telephony is still in use. In many regions of Germany, internet access is still provided via DSL connections. These use the existing copper lines as physical infrastructure but transmit voice and data entirely digitally. The copper cable often serves only as a transmission medium.

The real change in the coming years will therefore affect the infrastructure over which telephony is transmitted rather than telephony itself.

Also interesting: What Silent Calls Are and the Dangers They Pose

The Next Big Step: Fiber Replaces Copper

The federal government, network operators, and the Federal Network Agency aim to replace the existing copper networks with fiber-optic connections in the long term. Fiber optics enable significantly higher bandwidths, are less prone to interference, and are considered more efficient and easier to maintain in the long run than aging copper networks.

Unlike Finland, however, there is no nationwide deadline in Germany for shutting down copper networks. Instead, the phase-out is gradual and regional–depending on where fiber optics are already available and the Federal Network Agency approves a shutdown.

Network operators cannot independently decommission copper lines. Each case requires approval from the Federal Network Agency, which checks, among other things, whether affected households have an equivalent or better alternative–usually a fiber-optic connection–and whether competition in the telecommunications market remains ensured.

For consumers, this means that DSL connections will remain in place for several more years in many areas. Only when powerful alternatives are available in a region can the local copper lines be gradually shut down. In most cases, a switch to a fiber-optic connection will then be necessary. The existing landline number can usually be retained through number portability.

These European Countries Are Already Ahead

Finland is not among the first countries to modernize its classic telephone technology. Several European countries have already completed the switch to IP telephony or are much further along in phasing out old networks.

The pioneers include:

• Sweden, which largely decommissioned its classic circuit-switched telephone network (PSTN) many years ago.
• Netherlands, where network operator KPN fully switched its classic PSTN network to IP technology in 2018.
• Norway, which shut down its classic PSTN network in 2022.
• Switzerland, where classic circuit-switched telephony has also largely been replaced by IP technology.

Germany has completed the migration from analog and ISDN connections to all-IP technology. However, the development of fiber-optic expansion and the phase-out of copper networks is slower than in some Nordic countries and countries like Spain or Portugal.

In terms of fiber-optic expansion and the phase-out of copper networks, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Finland, and Norway are among the European frontrunners.

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What Does This Mean for Consumers?

For most households, there are currently no immediate changes. Those with a DSL, cable, or fiber-optic connection who make calls via their router are already using modern IP telephony. Shutting down analog landline technology would no longer affect these connections.

Only when network operators phase out their copper networks in certain regions might a switch to a fiber-optic connection be necessary. The existing landline number can usually be retained.

However, an important difference from the past remains: Modern telephone connections depend on household power supply. If the power goes out, routers and often landline phones and the internet will not work–unlike many earlier analog phone connections, which received their power directly from the telephone network.

Also interesting: The Beginnings of Mobile Communications–How the World of Cell Phones Was Created

Conclusion

Finland’s move primarily marks the end of the last analog landline connections. Germany completed the technical switch to digital IP telephony years ago.

The next major challenge is no longer the switch from analog to digital but the gradual replacement of the remaining copper networks with fiber optics. While Finland is shutting down the last analog connections, Germany is facing the next stage of modernizing its network infrastructure.