PSTN SWITCH-OFF
Making the switch The PSTN switch-off is coming in 2025, with a stop-sell from September this year, but many businesses are not prepared for this – and resellers have a vital job to ensure customers are not just aware of it but equipped to deal with it.
Preparing customers Resellers should be helping
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN) have underpinned communications in the UK for many years, but the system has become outdated and is now in the process of being replaced by Voice IP Services. The switch-off of the PSTN and ISDN networks is scheduled for 2025, but there is a stop-sell on related products from September 5, which means businesses should be acting now to make the move to digital services – but many are not. “Businesses are not prepared for the switch- off and stop-sell,” says Dave Stonehouse, head of bid management at NG Bailey IT Services. “Currently more than 700 exchanges already designated as stop sell exchanges, with more moving to this status. Despite this recent industry data showed 72% of businesses aren’t making preparing for the transition a high priority. “This matters because traditional phone connections do more than provide a dial tone. The lines form an integral part of a business’ communications infrastructure. “This transition is one of the most dramatic changes to the UK communications infrastructure in the past decade and could mean more than not being able to get online. In worse case scenarios your building entry system, lifts and CCTV could all stop working, while contact centres may fall silent and card payments or telephone banking services cease to function. “Despite these ramifications many businesses are oblivious to the impending seismic change and are therefore not preparing for it. “The stop-sell this September means that customers will not be able to purchase any new services or even modify existing services. “Perhaps most importantly it stops the ability to switch service providers, which means some customers could be tied into the wrong service for them.”
customers to get ready for this – if they aren’t already, Dave adds. “If businesses are not aware of or
planning for this, they are already late, the transition could be complex and have significant impacts to the business operations such as outages and loss of services,” he says. “Resellers should be advising their customers of the lead times to implement the changes and the consequences and impact of the transition. For large organisations with complex call routing and multiple locations with legacy services this redeployment is not as simple as migrating to a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).” Dave adds that there are certain steps that should be followed. Firstly, BT Openreach should be contacted to find out when the switch-off is happening in that area and local exchange. “Then it’s time to look at your connectivity requirements and consider the right solution for the business,” he says. “For some it may seem as simple as switching to mobile data points, but this can create challenges within older buildings where there are ‘blind spots’ and will likely only solve a couple of the problems.” Dave adds that it isn’t just about phone lines. “Consider how end points such as alarm systems interact with the exchange – is it direct via an analogue connection to the exchange, a dedicated ISDN-2 digital service or private branch exchange?” he says. But this changeover should be viewed as an opportunity. “This change presents everyone with the chance to future proof their assets,” Dave says. “This may mean moving processes virtually to the cloud, rationalising the technology investment or investing in solutions to deliver the benefits of Industry 4.0. This presents a chance to assess the hardware – what is currently used, no longer needed, potentially won’t require, or may require more than ever moving forward. A solution shouldn’t just solve the problem but
Dave Stonehouse head of bid management
www.ngbailey.com
Despite these ramifications many businesses are oblivious to the impending seismic change and “
are therefore not preparing for it.
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