What’s happening in 2025?

All communication providers are moving all their customers from the old analogue public switched telephone network (PSTN) to a fully digital network.

We’ve already started. We have all been working in conjunction with BT for the last 18 months. We plan to have moved everyone over before Openreach stop the PSTN (and ISDN) service in 2025. By then, every phone line in the UK will be digital rather than the traditional PSTN.

When you say everyone…..?

Yes, we mean everyone. Business and home. It’s not just your phone services you need to think about. It’s everything else that currently uses the old telephone network, all your non-voice services connected to analogue lines or ISDN lines. Things like alarms, EPOS machines, door entry systems, CCTV, and faxes.

Sounds a bit drastic. Why is it happening?

PSTN has been the backbone of the UK’s phone network for decades. But you can’t help but notice the dramatic changes in technology over the past few years, especially recently. It’s everyday life: smartphones, apps, the cloud, online meeting and so on.

What you probably don’t notice, or are not too interested in so much is the infrastructure that makes everything work. The telephone lines strung across the streets, the copper cables buried beneath your feet, some of which have been down there for over 120 years!

So IP is better than PSTN?

Yes. As an essentially 20th century technology, the PSTN network is increasingly out of kilter with the demands of modern communications. As people switch to mobile and internet communications, everyone demands much more than the traditional technologies were designed to deliver. Which is why we’re switching to IP. It’s now time to leap forward from PSTN to embrace the boundless possibilities of digital.

Is it just the UK?

The switch to digital is happening everywhere, fast. As technology and customer behaviour changes, phone companies across the world are moving from analogue to digital. Germany, Japan, and Sweden are ahead of us in making the shift. Estonia and The Netherlands are already there and have switched off their PSTN networks.

2025. That’s a long way off. Why are we talking about this now? 

You need to start planning your move today because there could be a lot to do. Remember, it’s not just about calls. You need to review everything you’re connecting to your phone lines, like door entry systems and alarms. Most of our customers have already embraced an all-digital model, moving their communications to the cloud making calls over the internet.

Will we be better off with digital?

The move to all-digital isn’t just because the old phone system is, well, old. It’s because all-digital communications are far superior. Even at the most basic level, you’ll be able to make and take calls on any device, from wherever you are, from the same number. And with everything in the cloud, you’ll be able to access systems from anywhere, working from wherever you want.

Factor in the lower costs that IP can bring and it makes sense to get your skates on and go digital as soon as you can. There’s no need to wait until the last moment. 

Sounds great. What do I do next?

Give us a shout or drop us an email to ask any questions and we will get back to you with a solution. It isn’t scary once you know you are talking to the right people.