Telephony
Copper switch-off in France: what happens to fax machines
Closing the copper telephone network is no longer a plan: it has started. For a fax machine plugged into a wall socket, it means a plain stop.
Short answer
In France the copper network is closing in stages. Commercial closure of most communes took effect in January 2026, technical closure began the same year and is due to finish by 2030. A device plugged into a wall socket — telephone, fax machine, terminal — then stops working.
Two closures, not to be confused
Commercial closure forbids taking out or changing an offer on copper, but existing lines keep working. Technical closure actually cuts the signal. Several years often separate the two: that is why a line 'closed' months ago still works.
What happens to a fax machine
An analogue fax machine draws its signal from the copper pair. Without it, it dials nothing. The regulator is explicit: services using the copper network stop working, and devices must be connected through a router or equipment supplied by the operator, no longer through a wall socket.
Why plugging into the router is not always enough
Connecting the fax machine to a router's telephone port restores the dial tone, not the reliability. Voice there travels in packets and is compressed for speech: the modem tones distort and the negotiation fails. That is the problem the T.38 protocol solves, and that analogue hardware knows nothing about.
The schedule advances by batches of communes
Technical closure proceeds in batches, on announced dates. The list of communes concerned and their batch appear in documents published by the operator and the regulator: that is the only authoritative source for a given address, and it is updated more often than any article.
Published milestones
| Commercial closure, most communes | janvier 2026 |
|---|---|
| Commercial closure, remaining communes | janvier 2027 |
| Technical closure, batch 2 | 27 janvier 2026 |
| Technical closure, batch 3 | janvier 2027 |
| End of technical closure | 2030 |
Frequently asked questions
- Will my fax machine stop overnight?
- No. Commercial closure precedes technical closure by several years, and only the second cuts the signal. The date that matters is the one for the batch your commune belongs to, published by the operator.
- Can a fax machine be kept after the switch-off?
- Technically yes, by connecting it to a router, but delivery becomes irregular: compression designed for voice distorts the modem tones. An online service avoids the obstacle, since the call starts from the operator network.
- Does this schedule apply to other countries?
- No, it is French. Most European countries are running a comparable shutdown at different paces, and some finished theirs for the digital network long ago. Check your own country's schedule with its regulator.
Sources
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