Europe is accelerating the phase-out of copper and redefining digital connectivity

Spain has a head start: copper lines have been largely phased out, and fiber is already the standard for fixed-line access. Furthermore, the rollout of 5G is progressing steadily, laying the groundwork for 6G. For Spanish companies, the challenge is not to migrate, but to leverage this foundation to build more resilient, secure, and intelligent networks.

The network is becoming a strategic asset, and this is where Saima Systems supports organizations: it helps them evolve toward software-defined architectures (SD-WAN), capable of integrating connectivity, security, and control into a single management layer with solutions such as SAIWALL Secure SD-WAN.

For decades, copper has been the backbone of communications in Europe. Key services have been built on it: landline telephony, ADSL, dedicated lines, and numerous business applications. For years, it has also supported business services such as legacy dedicated lines, backup connections, alarm systems, POS terminals, elevators, and other M2M equipment.

With the proposed Digital Networks Act (DNA), introduced in 2026 and currently under consideration, the European Union is ushering in a structural shift toward a model based on very high-capacity networks and setting the timeline for the complete phase-out of copper by around 2035.

It is important to remember that the copper phase-out did not start from scratch. In recent years, the implementation of the European Electronic Communications Code—which is still in effect—has been paving the way. The first national copper phase-out programs in Europe began around 2010–2015, led by countries such as Sweden, Estonia, and Spain, which already had high fiber penetration.

Sweden was the first country to begin the process in 2010 and has now shut down virtually all of its copper lines. Spain and Slovenia began closing copper exchanges in 2015–2016, followed by Norway and Portugal in 2019, Hungary in 2020, Slovakia in 2021, Malta in 2022, Belgium and France in 2023, and Italy in 2024.

The Digital Networks Act outlines a phased timeline through 2035:

• 2026–2028. A phase focused on planning and the first waves of migration in areas where fiber or fixed 5G are already widely available.

• 2028–2032. Acceleration phase, with the gradual closure of exchanges, network reorganization, and massive replacement of xDSL accesses in urban and suburban areas.

• 2032–2035. Final phase, in which mainly residual cases remain: complex rural areas and particularly critical services that require a more delicate transition.

The phase-out of copper is driven by three structural factors:

Economic Reason
Maintaining both a copper network and a fiber network in parallel entails very high operational, maintenance, and energy costs for operators. Every copper exchange that remains active ties up resources that cannot be allocated to deploying fiber, 5G, or next-generation wireless solutions.

Technological reason
Not even the most advanced copper variants can compete with fiber or 5G/6G in terms of capacity, latency, and reliability.

Environmental reason
Fiber networks are more energy-efficient than copper networks. In a context where the EU aims to align its digital policy with its climate goals, maintaining an aging copper network is difficult to justify.

The landscape of copper networks in Europe in 2026 is highly uneven. Countries such as Norway and Spain have already virtually completed the phase-out of copper. At the other end of the spectrum, markets like Germany and Greece continue to rely heavily on copper for fixed-line access, with a much higher percentage of xDSL lines compared to fiber.

This scenario places Spanish companies in a unique position, as they already operate on infrastructure that is ready for the future. However, this advantage also presents a challenge: transitioning from a network that is modern by infrastructure to one that is strategic by design.

Companies can rethink their connectivity architecture:

• identify which locations require true redundancy (fiber + 5G, for example)
• define service levels based on the criticality of applications
• segment traffic between offices, remote users, and cloud environments
• improve visibility and control over the network.

The combination of various next-generation access technologies, when properly orchestrated, enables the creation of networks that are more resilient and offer a better user experience than legacy copper-based architectures. Technologies such as SD-WAN allow organizations to leverage heterogeneous links (fiber, mobile, radio, satellite) as if they were a single managed logical network, applying policies for quality of service, security, and application prioritization.

Instead of replicating an outdated model over a fiber connection, companies can use this transition to transform connectivity from a physical medium into a strategic business platform. Undoubtedly, this is a winning strategy for sustained competitiveness in advanced and widespread digitalization.

In this landscape, where connectivity management is becoming increasingly strategic, having a partner that specializes in secure, state-of-the-art connectivity is essential.

Saima Systems supports organizations in this evolution through its SAIWALL Secure SD-WAN technology, which enables:

• the integration of multiple access points (fiber, 5G, wireless, satellite)
• centralized network management
• ensuring service continuity through load balancing and automatic failover
• incorporating advanced security directly into the network.

In this way, the transition to new digital connectivity is not limited to a technological change, but results in a more resilient, more secure network that is aligned with business needs.