What does the UK’s analogue switch-off mean for you?
In 2025 the UK’s traditional analogue phone system is being turned-off. If you’re already using a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone system you’re ahead of the game, but not necessarily immune to the change. What’s happening, when, and what do you need to do?
The UK’s landline phone network is based on century-old technology and brings a connection to your home or office via a copper-cable. Openreach is replacing this old analogue technology, with digital fibre-optic connections and currently plans to turn off the analogue phone network at the end of 2025.
If your business is still reliant on analogue lines, and an on-site PBX (Private Branch eXchange) is a sign you are, you’ll need to take action. But its not just your telephone system that could be affected. Many other services make use of analogue phone lines, including alarms and security systems, CCTV, door entry systems, payment terminals, telemetry, and much more including cash machines and railway signals. These will all need to change to digital technology before the analogue switch-off.
But here, we’re going to focus specifically on what this means for telephony.
The switch-off affects both PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), even though ISDN transmits data digitally. Most providers are expected to stop selling new/additional lines during 2023, so this may increase the urgency for some to go digital.
Openreach is already rolling out a full fibre network (fibre to the premises or FTTP) and in many areas this is already available.
Switching to digital telephony
If you’re currently reliant on an analogue phone system you’ll need both a full fibre connection and a new, digital phone system. Equipment, such as handsets, that works on the analogue phone system won’t work on the digital system.
But a switch to a digital, VoIP system is likely to bring with it many benefits.
It enables you to do away with desk phones completely, in favour of softphones. Essentially, this is an app that replicates the features of a traditional, desktop business phone, but on your computer and it adds video conferencing and text chat into the mix. Suddenly, hybrid workers can access the same phone system at home as they do in the office.
With many systems there’s also an app for Android and iOS devices. Not only does this enable mobile workers to use the main phone system on their own device, it provides the same call monitoring, logging, transferring, and integrations available in the office.
VoIP systems also integrate very well with other software, such as help desk and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
While 2025 still seems a while away, its worth doing a little basic fact-finding now. If you know how much you’ll need to do you can plan accordingly and avoid paying over the odds. Either supply-demand inequalities or opportunistic pricing could see late-adopters paying more than those that act before 2025.
What’s best for you?
As a first step talk to us at IT Managed. We can help you understand how this affects you, when you should act, and how you can benefit by switching from analogue to digital telephony.
