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”.
Businesses still using ISDN services are likely to be on older rolling contracts. There are often “huge” cost savings to be made by moving to a VoIP/SIP service instead, says Hazlett.
“Older phone systems might not directly support SIP services, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll need to be replaced,” he adds. “Session border controllers (SBCs) or voice gateways can convert SIP sessions back to ISDN if it’s still needed. The important point is that the service delivered to the customer is replaced.”
Hazlett says “it’s a good time” to review your current PBX solution. Many organisations have already adopted the likes of Microsoft Teams to assist with the distributed working challenges of recent years. “It’s relatively easy to add telephony to this solution, and remove the costs and risk associated with legacy PBXs,” Hazlett says.
It’s also important to review any other services which are likely dependant on analogue or ISDN lines. Payment card machines, emergency alarms, lift-lines and help point systems, door entry systems, fax machines and remote monitoring equipment, among other systems, may rely on the traditional lines being switched off.
“It’s important that you check if these devices can be moved to an IP network instead, and that you contact vendors for alternatives if they can’t,” says Hazlett.
“CPS have years of experience in this space and can help you on your journey; whether that’s enabling enterprise voice features within Microsoft Teams in the most cost-effective manner, or simply migrating your current PBX platform to SIP to enable you to maintain business as normal,” he says.
