The copper network is the historical infrastructure deployed since the beginning of the 20th century for telephone use. It has been used since the 1990s for Internet access.

The copper network has reached its limits in terms of capacity and will not in the long term be able to meet the growing needs of a digital society where the use of home office, videoconferencing, tele-education, on-line health consultations and streaming, to name but a few, will become widespread.

To meet citizens’ expectations and to accompany the transformation of uses, it is essential to have a very efficient infrastructure.

Fibre is more reliable in terms of connection stability than copper, more robust and less energy consuming.

The gradual transition from copper to fibre concerns both private individuals and businesses.

If you live in an area affected by the copper disconnection, your network will be replaced by fibre.

If you have a subscription based on a copper connection:

• either you can opt for a fibre subscription,
• or you can opt for a subscription based on an alternative technology (cable, satellite, 5G).

You will then receive a letter from your operator, 6 months before the disconnection, inviting you to contact them.

If you have taken out a fibre optic or equivalent subscription (satellite, cable, fixed 5G), you are not affected by this technological transition.

On the one hand, the transition to fibre may require wiring work inside your home. There will be no direct costs for the migration, but installation costs (vertical cabling and/or other) may arise.

In addition, this migration may result in a change to your subscription, including tariffs.

If you are subscribed to an offer based on a copper connection, your operator will contact you to propose alternative offers in optical fibre or other technology.

You can also contact another operator of your choice to compare offers.

Operators will send a letter to customers affected by the disconnection.

In autumn 2023, the first customers affected by the disconnection will be contacted by their operator in view of the first deadline of March 2024.

To find out your disconnection date, go to myILR.lu and contact, if necessary, your operator or another operator of your choice to study the possible alternatives

The deadline will be announced in the letter sent by your operator. After this date, the copper-based connection will no longer work. It is therefore important to contact your operator or an operator of your choice as soon as you receive the information letter.

You can check your disconnection date and, if necessary, contact your operator or another operator of your choice to study possible alternative offers.

With a few clicks, you can find out the coverage of fixed and mobile Internet networks in Luxembourg, by area (municipality, address, 1km x 1km grid for fixed, 100m x 100m for mobile) and by technology. Thanks to the ILR’s geographical survey, you have access to information on the coverage of operators’ networks by type of infrastructure in Luxembourg.

Check now the quality and coverage of your fixed and mobile networks

Eventually, offers based on copper technology will no longer be marketed.

The transition to a very high-speed network (fibre or alternative technology such as 5G, cable or satellite) will be accompanied by a change of subscription. Please note that you can keep your telephone number if you migrate to a fixed network (fibre or cable), including in the case of a change of operator.

There will be no direct costs for the migration, but there may be installation costs (vertical cabling and/or other).

Contact your operator or the operator of your choice to find out more.

Check your contract or contact my operator.

Yes, you can have a fibre-based fixed line telephone service. You can take out a subscription for the fixed telephone service only.

Contact your operator or another operator of your choice to find out more.

If you want to keep your telephone number, you can apply to your current or future operator.

When you change operators, you retain the right to port your number to your new operator for a minimum period of one month after the date of change, unless you expressly waive this right.

No, you can only use the fibre to benefit from fixed telephony. In this case, you will have to take out a specific subscription with your operator or another operator of your choice.

Some operators offer packages without television, so you are not obliged to subscribe to a package including television.

If the operator changes the contract, you have the right to terminate your contract without any termination fee, even if your contract has a fixed term that has not yet expired.

The operator must inform you of these changes at least one month before the start of the new contractual conditions.

Insofar as the connection to the high-speed network entails work in the communal areas, it is imperative that permission is sought from the co-ownership.

In addition, any tenant wishing to carry out connection work inside their home must ask their landlord for permission.

If, despite everything, you have not migrated to a very high-speed network before the announced disconnection date, your access will be cut off. You will then no longer have access to your services (fixed telephone, internet access, television). To avoid this inconvenience, you are strongly advised to contact your operator or the operator of your choice as soon as possible to find out what steps to take.

It all depends on your equipment (television, telephone, etc.). Generally speaking, if it is not too old, it can be reused.

Find out more about the ALL-IP

No, on the contrary, optical fibre or equivalent offers a better signal quality than copper. In addition, the Internet connection is much more stable.