2025 – Doomsday for BT ISDN and PSTN lines

As BT draws an end to ISDN/PSTN, you have until 2025 to find an alternative solution to your telephony and business internet requirements.

Fortunately there are a range of solutions available.

We look at the old technology that will be switched off, the reasons for the switch, what alternatives are available and how they can benefit your business.

What is a PSTN line?

“The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the aggregate of the world’s circuit-switched telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telephony operators, providing infrastructure and services for public telecommunication” – Source

Analogue voice data is sent over a circuit-switched phone line made up of copper wires which is owned and operated by your phone provider.

What is an ISDN line?

“Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone network” – Source

Put simply your standard telephone line is used to send voice and data over the same line. Therefore you can make phone calls on a home telephone and plug your broadband router in to access the internet using the same port.

Why is BT switching to IP?

BT introduced ISDN lines nationwide in 1986, and since then connectivity has advanced greatly. The investment and nationwide roll out of superfast internet and Ethernet products provides a viable alternative.

In fact, BT have not installed any new ISDN lines in central London since 2014 which goes to show that many businesses have already moved on. But switching over 3 million active ISDN users is no small task – hence why they have given businesses so much notice.

What are the alternatives to ISDN lines?

The recent investment in the UK communications network has made the new fibre infrastructure widely available and affordable to small businesses. This means IP based solutions such as VoIP and SIP are the top alternatives for businesses.

What is SIP?

SIP (Session initiation protocol) provides you with a phone line which is carried over your fibre internet connection removing the need for an ISDN phone line. SIP lines used to have reliability problems due to inadequate underlying broadband connections. These issues have now been fixed due to connectivity improvements and Service Level Agreements now offered by providers.

What is VoIP?

VoIP is a cloud based telephony solution which moves your whole phone system online, so all your calls are sent over your internet connection. This digital cloud based phone system offers a wide range of additional features such as call recording, receiving voicemails via email, call queuing and unified communications – being able to access the system on multiple devices such as a mobile, tablet and desktop.

Top 5 Benefits of SIP and VoIP

1. Huge savings – Up to a 78% reduction in costs compared to ISDN due to cheaper calls and no more expensive line rental.
   
2. Greater flexibility – Move anywhere in the UK and simply plug back into the network with no need to change numbers.
   
3. Faster installation – No more waiting for an engineer to install physical lines means you get connected faster.
   
4. Higher resiliency – Multiple fibre lines can be installed providing an automatic backup and failover so you’re always connected.
   
5. Advanced features – Increased control, integration and analytics offers a huge range of new and advanced features.

Switch today

To find out more about switching to Internet telephony and start using SIP trunks then see our product range here or speak to one of our team on 0345 004 4040. We can also be contacted by filling in the contact us form.