Your complete guide to the PSTN switch-off: Why you need to act now

Maybe you see the PSTN switch-off as a far-away problem to be dealt with another day. Or maybe it’s already giving you migration migraines, with all the logistics you need to work out.

Either way, you need to know:

PSTN migrations are your easy ticket to future-proofing your customer relationships and growing your business—but only if you get on it, stat.

After all, 2.4 million businesses still use PSTN lines. That’s 42% of SMEs and 33% of large enterprises. And they all need migrating.

The big PSTN switch-off: what’s happening

PSTN stands for public switched telephone network. Built from underground copper wires, it’s been used to run telephony services across the UK since the late 1800s (yes it’s that old!).

And over the last 100 years, it’s become an inefficient and expensive mess to keep tabs on (no wonder Openreach are pushing for change!).

People are now sending as much data every 10 minutes over the internet as the total produced from the beginning of time to 2003. And despite being so expensive to maintain, copper wires just can’t keep up with the modern world’s growing appetite for bandwidth and the need for speed.

That’s why back in 2015 Openreach announced it would be switching off the PSTN to upgrade the UK to a faster, greener, more reliable digital service.

But nearly a quarter (24%) of UK businesses still aren’t even aware of Openreach’s plan to withdraw traditional copper line phone services.

Use our free PSTN switch-off sales planner

Take the guesswork out of the PSTN switch-off and cut weeks from planning replacement roll-outs with our free automated tool.

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The PSTN switch-off clock has already started ticking

Openreach have announced they’re going to stop selling new PSTN lines from September 2023. But the switch-off has already begun. By 2025 the PSTN will be fully retired.

So partners need to make the leap to digital now. But phones aren’t the only thing to be affected by the switch-off.

Over two hundred kinds of applications rely on the PSTN for network access

Here are some examples:

– Roughly 500,000 point of sale machines, running over £30bn worth of transactions a year are PSTN-only.

– 25,000 PSTN lines help the water industry complete crucial services like monitoring water levels, managing flood and stormwater, and treatment works.

– 180,000 lifts rely on the PSTN lines to provide emergency call outs in places like train stations, hospitals, airports, and flats.

– 43,000 lines are used by gas and electricity companies to monitor gas pressure, electricity supply, and more.

– 1.8m wearable alarms in the telecare industry are used by the elderly and vulnerable to immediately contact help in emergency situations.

– Over one million burglar and fire alarm systems in the UK are still relying on the analogue network

To put it in perspective: about 50,000 lines a week will need to be switched away from analogue PSTN services until late 2025.

That’s a lot of PSTN migration projects.

The question is: what’s the best connectivity option to help them migrate to?

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Mobile vs fixed line PSTN switch-off replacements

Think carefully when you’re choosing whether to stay with fixed lines or go mobile. It’s very likely that sticking with fixed lines will hold your business back:

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Engineers need to rip up roads to install them, meaning fixed lines can take weeks or even months to set up.

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Broadband outages occur often—whether they’re caused by bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances, like disconnected or damaged network cables. Fixing the problem (and losing business while you wait for the fix) will cost you a hefty chunk of time and money.

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Providers tend to lock you into rigid contracts that don’t suit your needs or growth plans, especially if newer technology comes along later on.

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And your speeds will really suffer in rural areas as cabinets tend to be further away from properties (if the lines can even reach your location in the first place.)

On the other hand, when it comes to mobile:

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Mobile can be installed immediately as plug-and-play. No need to wait for installations or for costly fibre cables to be laid down.

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Mobile downtimes are less likely; and with a Multi-network SIM, you won’t need to worry about outages at all as your connection will simply switch to the next best network.

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Being stuck in long-term contracts won’t happen with mobile connectivity providers as deals tend to be shorter since there isn’t a need to recoup an installation fee.

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Mobile speeds can also be quicker than fixed lines: SoGEA can only deliver up to 80Mbps, while Multi-Network 4G can go all the way up to 150Mbps. And 5G can top that with speeds that average from 200 to 500Mbps.

However, migration demands flexibility and resilience; regular old mobile data just won’t cut it. If you want access to all four mobile networks, adaptive tariffs, granular control, make sure you’re using intelligent mobile connectivity with a partner who can help you future-proof your business.

Plan for the inevitable PSTN switch-off with our free automated sales planner

Not sure how to start planning for the switch-off?

It’s a daunting task. You’ve got different types of customers in different locations, each with their own switch-off dates and connectivity requirements. Miss a deadline or choose the wrong connectivity product, and your customers are at risk of shutting down mid-operation.

Don’t panic.

We’ve built an automated PSTN switch-off sales planner that’ll help you turn the switch-off into a lucrative growth opportunity, for you and your customers. Completely free for our partners to use.

Using the planner is simple: all you need to do is upload a few simple details about your products in our partner portal, and you’ll have the perfect sales plan in your hands in seconds.

Including:

– Switch-off dates for every line in your base

– Stop-sell dates for every location you’ve got solutions in

– Recommendations for the best intelligent mobile connectivity solutions for each of your sites

Give it a try now and take the headache and hassle out of your PSTN migrations.

Take the sales planner for a spin

PSTN sales planner success stories

Take a look at the two case studies below for examples of PSTN migration done right.

In both cases, the sales planner pinpointed the switch-off deadlines per postcode each partner needed to meet, while also revealing the perfect connectivity solution per site.

Migrating 10,000 cash machines from the PSTN to 4G mobile L2TP with zero downtime

One of our ISP partners needed to migrate 10,000 cash machines away from fixed-line broadband on the PSTN. And with their customers being the UK’s biggest banks, they couldn’t afford any downtime.

So we migrated them to 4G Multi-network over L2TP, all while their customers continued to use the cash machines.

Check out the case study

Helping a government body migrate street furniture from the PSTN to a secure WAN

Another partner needed to help a government body migrate 4,500 essential street furniture endpoints (streetlights, traffic lights, cabinets, and more) before the PSTN switch-off, once again with zero downtime.

We custom-built them a secure WAN with unsteered 4G Multi-network SIMs and high-gain antennas, keeping the vital street furniture connected.

Check out the case study