Statement: Removing fax from the universal service obligations on BT and KCOM

Statement published 13 January 2023

Parliament has recently removed fax services from the USO legislation, following a consultation by Ofcom in November 2021. This amendment was made in light of the migration of telephony networks to internet protocol (IP) technology, which means that fax services will no longer work in the same way after the move to IP networks. It also reflects that use of fax services in the UK is now very limited, and there are a range of free, or low-cost, alternatives available.

We have amended our rules to remove the requirement for BT and KCOM to provide fax services under the USO. This change does not mean that fax services will stop working immediately, but instead there will no longer be an obligation on BT and KCOM to provide fax under our rules - it will ensure that our rules reflect the requirements in the universal service legislation and are not unduly burdensome.

Current users of fax will need to look for alternatives (such as email) ahead of their telephony networks being migrated to IP - the timescales for this will depend on their telephony provider, but is expected to be before the end of 2025.