The UK's public switched telephone network (PSTN) is being shut down in 2025, and traditional telephony products like ISDN will stop being sold next year. UC Today talks to CPS about avoiding a comms problem as a result of the switch-off.
The PSTN, some parts of which have been in use since Victorian times, is being retired in favour of new super-fast networking solutions, but what should businesses do to make sure they are not caught out with phone lines that simply won't work after the cut-off?
To begin with, they shouldn't wait that long to start preparing for the change, and should step into action now, unlike others.
According to a recent survey of 400 UK-based SME businesses conducted by ISP Spitfire, nearly half (46 percent) of firms were unaware that their existing analogue and ISDN services will be switched off completely.
The same survey suggests that even if they were aware, 77 percent of businesses haven't prepared for the disruption the switch-off may cause.
End of the line
Openreach has already started the gradual migration away from traditional voice services, part of a project it started in 2015. Around 280 exchanges across the country will be in a “stop-sell” state for new voice lines by the second half of this year. The remaining exchanges are scheduled to follow by no later than 2023.
Traditional voice services can no longer keep up with the high bandwidth demands of businesses and consumers, so these services are being replaced with dedicated super-fast data networks delivered using fibre-optics. Where in the past you would buy a voice line and add broadband services, you will now buy a dedicated data line and access voice service via the internet using technologies like VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or SIP (Session Initiation Protocol).
Making sense
Nat Hazlett, Solutions Architect at UC provider CPS, says of the migration: “Services built around VoIP, SIP, and hosted telephony have many benefits over traditional voice lines including reduced costs, improved resiliency and great flexibility. We’re very much in favour of the move.”
While all older existing services will work until 2025, Hazlett says companies affected should “get ahead of the curve”.
