PSTN is the analogue phone service. The title of your post is 'Data only....' therefore the assumption being you didn't have telephony.
If memory serves, they can’t deliver Digital Voice, (the replacement for the PSTN), over ADSL. As FTTP is not yet available, it sounds like a temporary move to FTTC/VDSL to accommodate the close down of the PSTN in January.
BUT…if the exchange is closing down by 2030 you’ll be better upgrading to FTTP/Full Fibre as soon as it is available.
(Full Fibre doesn’t come from the local exchange or via the cabinet. Out of the 5600 exchanges at the moment, full fibre will eventually only need 1000, so the rest will shut).
FTTC/VDSL is like a half-way house. Yes, it does come via the cabinet, as it uses the old copper line for the last bit to reach the house, but fibre is delivered from another exchange to a new cabinet next to the old one and then the connection patched across to the old cabinet.
It does seem a bit strange, as I'm surprised they'd spend money on putting FTTC in when FTTP will be available soon. You're probably best to wait and see what the engineer says.
@WSH Forum post looks like can have DV on ADSL
Digital Voice on ADSL?
There was an article/post a while ago , apparently some customers that currently have telephone and broadband , not necessarily a shared metallic path facility where different providers deliver one service each but where the customer had the same provider for both services , but importantly on ADSL with no FTTC or FTTP available , will get a second line installed that delivers a new broadband service from EE , the existing BT ‘line’ then can be changed from ADSL to a PDPL (pre digital phone line ) maintaining the customer’s two services, albeit now on two separate copper pairs , and some sort of billing jiggery-pokery keeps the costs the same as they were .
The article never made it clear why this was necessary, the assumption was that ADSL (exchange based broadband) or SoTAP (ADSL without PSTN telephone) although initially thought to be able to deliver DV , either ultimately proved not to be compatible with DV or the costs involved were not justified for a very small number of customers.
Perhaps the OP visit from Openreach will be to install this second copper pair with EE ADSL(SoTAP) .
I’d listen to what iniltous says, as he tends to be the expert in this area.
Thought does occur though, FTTP may be closer than you think. My estate was done about four years ago. CityFibre came round, dug the roads up, stuck their cables in. No sign of Openreach. Then, out of the blue, about four months later Openreach email and say their full fibre is now available! I’m retired, so I’m about all day. Didn’t see a thing going on, so you never know, perhaps the install has been going on behind your back.
@iniltous both my current BB and Tel are with BT and have been for decades.
My new situation will be BT for telephone and EE for Broadband.
Just sort of remember The man I spoke to at BT cust svcs at one stage did mention enig "may install" 2 lines or fibre. I asked why 2 lines and I didn't think fibre was available. He wasn't sure, he was a nice chap didn't want to tell me anything he wasn't sure of.
Hopefully I'll get a good engineer so I can explain situation. If I cannot run route from back of house will have to cancel and get ethernet laid.
If it is full fibre, it's worth being aware that you can have up to 100m of ethernet cat 5e/cat 6* cable between the box they put on the wall, (an ONT or Optical Network Terminal), and the router. The two don't have to be side by side. The ONT will need power, though.
(*If you get ethernet put in, cat 6 has more future proofing, as it can potentially handle more than 1 gigabit).