You may not of heard about the BT Switch Off 2025, this is when BT are phasing out ISDN and PSTN business lines.
Here is what you need to know.
The BT Switch off (BT stop sell), due by 2025, is going to cause a huge change and affect almost every business. Between 2025 and 2027, old style phone lines can be switched off with just 90 days notice to you, the customer.
What this means is that all traditional phone lines, delivered over copper, will become redundant by this date.
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I have a phone system on BT digital lines and I have broadband that runs on an analogue line, will I get cut off?
In theory, you will as BT are already phasing out ISDN and PSTN business lines.
You need to have changed to IP-based phone lines by 2025 if you want to continue using your current phone system and broadband.
Do I need to act now?
Now is the time to start looking at what options are out there according to your budget. You will likely get calls from sales houses pushing you to do the change now. Our advice is, don’t sign up for anything until you have looked at what is available and what benefits it will give your business.
If you have an old phone system that is end-of-life (no longer manufacturer-supported) then it is highly likely that you won’t be able to upgrade it for it to work on an IP (internet protocol) system. In this case, you will need to upgrade to a new system at some stage.
What phone system options are there to replace what I have?
- A Hybrid Phone System.
This is a physical phone system on-site with IP channels (phone lines delivered over the internet). This set-up is similar to a traditional phone system, but without copper wires running into the building.
- A Hosted Phone System.
This set-up means you will have IP Phones on site, but no physical phone system as it’s all in the cloud.
You have IP phones and an internet connection to deliver the voice channels rather than traditional phone lines.
Both are great options to solve the problems caused by the BT 2025 switch off.
Both these options work well and so it’s a case of weighing up which solution works best for your business.
Both on-premise and cloud-based systems have remote working capabilities.
What about my broadband that is on an analogue copper line?
If you’re running anything on the old copper wiring, you will need to get it changed. One option is a full-fibre connection – fibre from the exchange directly into your premises. This is known as FTTP (Fibre-to-the-Premises). A second option is SoGEA, which is a broadband connection that is not delivered over a standard analogue phone line.
All voice traffic will need to be IP-based by 2025. There will be stop-sell orders on certain exchanges from 2021 and a full stop-sell order on Openreach exchanges from 2023, so now is a good time to do some research into what you need to do.
Don’t leave it until the last minute and be pushed into a panic sale.
MFTS can give you advice and tips on what your business may need. There is no off-the-shelf product, which means we can build a system to your requirements. BT Phasing out ISDN and PSTN needs your attention now!
Please contact us or call 01892 577 577 to find out how we can help you avoid the problems being caused by the BT 2025 switch off.