Evolve Directline: Discontinue – Everything you need to know.

In this article, we'll cover key details with Evolve Directline Discontinue [also known as End of Service EOS / End of Life EOL]. Evolve Directline can also be referred to as EDL.

We’ll cover when these changes will take effect, the impact of this change and what our impacted customers need to do.

What's changing?

At Optus we’ve continued to update and improve our products, particularly as our customers’ needs and technology continue to evolve. Unfortunately, this means we occasionally need to say goodbye to older technologies including Evolve DirectLine Fixed Voice Services (EDL).

From June 2025, we can no longer offer business customers the ability to purchase, relocate, change ownership of recontract their existing EDL service(s).

On 31 March 2026 EDL service(s) will be discontinued and no longer available. This means after this date, existing service(s) will stop working, any fax lines will be terminated, and incoming and outgoing calls will not be possible, including the ability to make emergency calls.

Please refer to FAQ section for more information with services that will be impacted by this change.

What are my options?

Between now and 31 March 2026, customers may choose to cease their EDL service(s) or transition to an alternative Optus solution. If customers select to transition to an Optus solution, we’ll work with you to determine the best option to suit your business needs. We’ll aim to minimise any disruption to your business by maintaining your existing EDL service(s) until the new Optus solution is active.

What do I need to do?

Our goal is to make this change as seamless as possible and we will be contacting impacted Evolve Directline Business customers. We will be directing these customers to call their Account Manager or our dedicated Business specialists to work through available solutions for their business to minimise impact. We will help you through the transition process.

Customers are encouraged to contact us as soon as possible prior to 31 March 2026 using the below contact details:

Account managed customers: Please call your Account Manager directly for support.

Unmanaged customers: Please call Business Care on 1300 737 574.

FAQs

When is this change happening?

What are the features that will stop working?

All the service capabilities of these products will be removed at termination.

This means, ingoing and outgoing calls will not work anymore, fax lines will be terminated. Other business use cases examples include (but may not be the exhaustive list):

Core Analogue Connection: The customer will lose the direct dial analogue service that connects their legacy equipment, such as analogue telephones, a compatible PBX, or a key system, to the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN).
Emergency Calls: The customer will lose the ability to make emergency (000, 106) calls via the service line.
Optus Care Calls: The customer will lose the ability to call Optus Care team via the service line.
Specific Call Features: They will no longer have access to a range of features that may have been included in their service:
- Call Forwarding: The ability to route incoming calls to a different, pre-programmed number.
- Conference Calling: The capability to establish a call with up to six participants, provided their own equipment supports it.
- Voicemail: A service that answers calls with a recorded announcement and allows callers to leave messages.
- Hotline: A feature that provides an automatic connection to a pre-determined destination number.
- Preselection: The ability to choose alternative carriers for long-distance and mobile calls made from the service.
If used for Fax machines: The ability to send and receive documents by transmitting their scanned data over an analogue telephone line.
If used for EFTPOS machines: The capability of processing electronic financial transactions, such as credit and debit card payments, via a secure dial-up connection.
If used for Alarm Lines (Security and Medical): The ability to automatically transmit critical alerts from security or medical alarm systems to a central monitoring service.

Does Optus offer a replacement?

A like-for-like replacement for the legacy Directline service is not possible due to its outdated technology. Depending on your business requirements, Optus may have an alternative product available to our impacted customers.

Our business specialists can talk through suggested alternative products and whether it meets the needs of your business. Customers are encouraged to contact us before 31 March 2026.

If impacted customers choose to transition to an alternative solution, we’ll aim to minimise any disruption to your business by maintaining your existing EDL service(s) until the new Optus solution is active – including if this date is after 31 March 2026.

Account Managed customers: Please call your Account Manager directly for support.

Unmanaged customers: Please call Business Care on 1300 737 574.

Do customers need to return their equipment?

What will happen with remaining contract terms if I transition to a new technology solution or cancel my Evolve Directline service completely before 31 March 2026?

When I move to a new solution with Optus, will my hardware need to be replaced?

When I move to a new solution, will my phone number(s) remain the same?

If I decide to move to another provider, what do I need to do?

Further help

Account Managed customers: Please call your Account Manager directly for support.
Unmanaged customers: Please call Business Care on 1300 737 574.
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