What's Happening with The PSTN Switch Off?

You'll have no doubt been aware of the impending PSTN switch off for a good couple of years by now. In fact, it's now less than five years before the switch off is completed.

If 2020 has taught us anything about business, it's that remote working is the future and the ability to work from anywhere is critical to business continuity.

What is the PSTN?

The PSTN is the Public Switched Telephone Network and it’s been around since 1875. Definitely due an update!

In 2025 this much-needed update will be complete and the legacy telephone network will no longer be operational. At this point, if you want to buy a phone line you'll need a solution that uses an Internet line such as VoIP or hosted voice, rather than a solution that uses the traditional copper wires.

Switching to VoIP will provide you with crystal clear class signal, greater reliability and a more agile and scalable solution than traditional telephony could ever provide.

What’s happened so far?

Last year was a busy year, aside from the global pandemic it was an important one in terms of the switch off. Openreach announced plans that it was accelerating its plans to move away from PSTN services and this meant that more than 100 UK exchanges will receive over 75% coverage of FTTP by June 2021.

Salisbury lead the charge by entering a "Stop Sell" on Dec 1st 2020, meaning that since then businesses in Salisbury have no longer been able to order any new analogue or ISDN lines. They've also been unable to add new phone lines or channels to existing installations.

To counter this, Salisbury is the first full five-enabled city, meaning that residents and businesses alike can make the most of the newest telephony technology available.

What happens next?

After the 118 identified exchanges receiving 75% FTTP coverage by June 2021, a further 169 exchanges have been identified and these will enter a "Stop Sell" later in the year.

By 2023 the whole of the UK will enter a "Stop Sell" meaning that in less than two years time analogue and ISDN phone lines will no longer be available.

What should I do?

Whilst you still have time on your side, now is the time to sit down and access the needs of your business and what products can help you with future-proofing, talking to suppliers to get an understanding of installation timings and costs will also ensure that minimal disruption occurs.

As our workplace moves to an increasingly remote model, it's now also worth considering how your solutions will support this long term. Now's the time to assess your telecoms, it's never too early to switch to a VoIP or Hosted solution and the benefits are numerous; reduced CAPEX, easy to scale and remote working capabilities.

VoIP is implemented over your internet connection, it’s easy to set-up, highly scalable and offers a greater degree of flexibility and agility to your workforce. Hosted phones are protected from disaster. If a site is down, life carries on as normal for staff and customers alike, providing business continuity for your business.

There are a vast array of technologies on offer which can benefit your business. Now is the time to research which is the best solution for you.

Why Wavenet?

Staying connected is a primary goal for businesses whatever their size.  Yet when systems fail and products outdate, staff can’t work to their full potential, threatening your success.

Wavenet support businesses with any kind of network and connectivity issue. Identifying the problem at its source, we deliver a solution that works and acts quickly. And thanks to Wavenet’s continual support 24/7, systems will forever be maintained. No matter the industry, no matter the need, we can help make your business brilliant.

As an ISP, we have over two decades of experience in networking and connectivity for businesses, with more than 100 highly trained and UK-based engineers and long-standing partnerships with all the tier one connectivity suppliers. We are passionate about providing your business the very best solution that meets and often exceeds your needs and work with you to understand your business before suggesting the right solution.