Phone Lines are changing!
The ISDN and PSTN network has been in place, supporting the countries communications needs since the 60’s. It’s the copper phoneline infrastructure that we have grown familiar with over the years, at home and in business.
In 2015, BT announced that they will be switching off the PSTN and ISDN networks by December 2025, marking the biggest change in the telecoms industry for over 50 years!
At the time, most businesses were using an ISDN service of some description to make and take telephone calls. Residential phone lines and internet services were all based on PSTN too!
Why is BT pulling the plug?
Put simply: It’s old and outdated.
The legacy infrastructure cannot keep up with our modern communications demands. We all need more bandwidth, more of the time! The number of connections required now in urban areas is far greater than they could have anticipated.
BT have maintained the infrastructure for a long time and it has cost them a small fortune to do so.
There are now better, simpler and faster technologies available, which provide more flexibility and scalability. As technology continually evolves, legacy services are made redundant.
What does it mean for businesses?
If you haven’t already, you will need to review and update your communications services to a more modern alternative.
There are a couple of options available:
- SIP lines – digital phone lines that use your internet connection to receive and make calls.
- Hosted voice – move your phone system to the cloud using Unified Communications.
Unified Communications is the best solution in most organisations. It provides a revolutionary user experience. It’s simple, flexible and robust.
Check out our Unified Communications Services page to learn more.
The big switch off might also might mean to you need to look at your internet connection and make sure it’s full fibre. This can be more expensive, but there is usually an option that can be justified, and costs have come down for proper leased line commercial fibre connectivity.
Lastly, you may also need to take a look at your provisions for other services. Alarm lines, lifts, payment terminals have all traditionally used copper phone lines, that will need to be moved to some form of IP alternative before that same deadline.
Will it happen?
Though lots of us are naturally cynical and have been doubtful that the December ‘25 deadline will be met, BT are still adamant that it will and have already started refusing orders for new and expanding ISDN services.
There a millions of lines still in service and less than 700 working days for them all to be sorted. We are now advising businesses to avoid being part of the clumsy last-minute rush that we might experience in a year or so and get cracking with these changes.
James Fisher, Director of Agile Comms Says:
A huge number of organisations are still running some form of ISDN or PSTN service and we don’t have long until people will be panic buying (and selling) so it’s really something that should be considered and planned now.
Get in touch today if you would like some help considering your options and making a plan for your business.