PSTN SWITCH-OFF DELAY
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Finbarr Begley , senior analyst, Cavell “The news that the PSTN switch-off has been delayed doesn’t come as a surprise to many in the industry. The reality is that the telecoms channel has known for some time that many companies, especially SMBs, have either been unaware of the switch-off or not prepared for it. “From Cavell’s own survey of Business
network. In those countries, a power outage would cause a PSTN failure, or a failure of the new system, whereas in the UK if the power goes down in the building but not on a broader scale, the PSTN systems will stay online. “This is vital for the maintenance of multiple emergency services that rely on this power as the ultimate backup. The fact that we have built reliance on that power into our systems means that the change will take longer than it has in other markets. “However, the trend is firmly against PSTN. Already calling is moving away, not just from PSTN but away from fixed telephony altogether. Reports from BT indicate that fixed calling continues to fall, first overtaken by mobile calling and now also being supplanted by in-app calling and OTT. But as much as fixed calling continues to fall there is a resolute percentage at the lower end of the scale that has not and does not want to change. “But PTSN is obsolete, and much like radio-based television, it will eventually be supplanted because the newer systems genuinely are more capable and feature-rich. So expect more and more PTSN to disappear, but the idea that we can turn it all off is a bit more of a stretch.”
Telecom’s decision-makers in the UK in 2023, 80% of businesses overall were aware of the planned switch-off, with 42% saying it would impact their business. However, when smaller companies were asked, 58% of sole traders and 36% of businesses with one to nine employees were not aware. “What does this lack of preparedness look like? It is a mess of desk phones, wired alarms, building equipment, and everything from a smart sensor in a barn in York, down to an alarm in an elderly person’s retirement home in Cornwall. These are services that small businesses rely on and haven’t yet been able to upgrade. Price is a factor as well: older buildings wired with copper phone lines cannot just be upgraded to a new service for free. “Also, there is the factor that in the UK many of the PTSN lines have a power component. This is a large difference from other countries that have successfully switched off their PSTN
Finbarr Begley
cavell.com
Patrick Fenner , co-founder and head of engineering, DefProc Engineering
“It will come as a relief to many people as it provides more time for people to react and implement the necessary changes. I think people underestimated or weren’t aware of the shift in technology and the delay means more time can be spent spreading awareness of how and why people need to change technology. “However, the delay does
2027. Ultimately, the PSTN switch-off needs to happen; we can’t keep the copper network – it just doesn’t have the bandwidth capabilities required for most people and businesses.”
Patrick Fenner
defproc.co.uk
mean that people may be staying with copper longer than necessary
and won’t feel the benefits of a fibre optic connection until as late as
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