With parts of the UK’s public switched telephone network (PSTN) still carried over copper wires laid in the 19th century, the countdown to its phase out (along with the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)) is arguably long overdue. VoIP, in the form of SIP services, is the future.
For individual users it’s as simple as switching a contract. For enterprises with complex business telephony needs and multiple locations however, going it alone could quickly become a complicated technical and regulatory ordeal. In order to get the coverage they need, they would need to form relationships with individual carriers in each region, and potentially install hardware locally. Managing all of those suppliers, monitoring all the additional hardware, and dealing with complicated billing, can all result in high demands on management time.
Most businesses will instead seek to consolidate their PSTN replacement services to reliable SIP providers who have the necessary capabilities to support them in different regions. To understand what is involved in providing these PSTN replacement services, I spoke to Ian Guest, Marketing Director at Pure IP, who explained how SIP providers become licenced for PSTN replacement.
A two-strand operation
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Ian Guest[/caption]
If you’re choosing a partner to support your PSTN transition, it’s essential to ensure they can offer the services you need - including security, support, the right SLAs, with the necessary licence and carrier agreements for all the markets in which you operate:
“The first tasks in providing PSTN migration services are focused on the technical aspects; looking at connections with the local carriers in each region, installing the right hardware locally where required, then testing that the call flows work, and ensuring reliability and data security.”
So far, so straightforward. But the second area of focus is regulatory:
“To be compliant as a carrier in most countries, you need a licence that proves that you can actually provide the service in that country”, Guest continued. “In certain jurisdictions there are extensive regulatory requirements to comply with, such as regional infrastructure, or regular audits on local usage and revenue. Some countries even require providers to set up a local company so you can process tax payments — every country has different arrangements.”
