The Big Switch Off of ISDN and PSTN services in 2027 might seem like a nuisance to deal with but have no fear—we're here to simplify it down to five actionable steps.
With the complete shutdown of BT Openreach’s traditional copper wires in January 2027, businesses are meant to transfer to Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions for their telephony needs. This means all telephone calls will be conducted over the internet rather than through old landlines. The sale of old telephone services has already been halted, meaning businesses will have to make the change when their contract expires.
While this transition has numerous benefits for businesses and communities, it also means adopting new technology and ensuring that your telephone system will fully support the future of your organisation.
To help you make the right decisions for unique business needs, here’s the step-by-step checklist to prepare for The Big Switch off:
Step 1: Assess your business communication needs
Most businesses require some type of telephony service, of course. However, depending on your industry, size, and the nature of your business, your telephone needs may vary. For example, if you’re a customer-centric business with a high call volume, the ISDN switch off is likely a top concern for your operations.
For this reason, it’s important to assess your current communication solutions and understand a baseline level of need from your telephony. Consider the following questions:
How many calls from customers does your business take every day?
How many users/phones does your organisation use?
Do you currently use any complex communication workflows to direct customer calls?
What are the best parts of your customer service experience? What areas could be improved with technology?
How much do you currently spend on telephony services?
Step 2: Assess your how your current voice solution and communications tools serve those needs
The largest opportunity that comes with the BT ISDN switch off and the widespread adaptation of VoIP solutions is the opportunity to implement some of the most technologically advanced and resilient tools. If you’re transferring telephony to a new solution, now is the time to consider communication upgrades.
Some of the ways a VoIP solution can help to grow and improve your business:
Unified Communications (UC): Do your communications span different channels? Bringing together different communication channels like voice, video, chat, and email into one integrated platform can improve internal efficiency as well as customer experience.
Calling from anywhere: Does your organisation have customers internationally? Choosing a VoIP plan with international and national calling can broaden your reach more affordably than traditional phone lines.
Remote work functionality: Does your team work remotely or want to implement a hybrid schedule? VoIP plans allow for your employees to take calls from anywhere, increasing productivity and possibilities for your business model.
Enhanced customer care: Are there areas where you’d like to serve your customers better? With cloud-based services and third-party integrations added through your VoIP provider, there can be increased customer data visibility and more seamless workflows across all customer touchpoints. In today’s age, calling is just one way that customers contact businesses. It’s important to be prepared to meet them across all access channels.
Cost savings: There is no doubt that changing to VoIP will cut costs in comparison to traditional ISDN and PSTN services. You may find that you have more room in your budget to upgrade other parts of your IT stack and technology.
Step 3: Evaluate alternative options for upgrading your communications
After understanding your telephony needs and areas of potential, it’s time to find the right VoIP solution. There are several options, all with a range of capabilities and flexible pricing structures.
Microsoft Teams: Integrate voice with your Microsoft Teams, allowing your employees to make calls within the same platform that they use for other internal business communications.
Hosted Telephony: Switch to cloud-based telephony which enables your workforce to use phone services without having to worry about any hardware or equipment whatsoever. Allow a cloud service provider to handle your phone service and gain the benefits of VoIP.
SIP Trunks: Like hosted telephony, SIP trunks take away the hassle of expensive hardware and offer very flexible and affordable business phone plans.
Step 4: Evaluate providers for your Voice and communications solutions
So, you’ve narrowed down to the type of VoIP solution you want ahead of the ISDN switch off. Now it’s time to find the right provider to meet your goals.
When looking for a telephony solutions provider, there a few things to look for:
Contract types offered: Are there flexible pricing structures that work for your organisation?
Network support: Does the provider have a history of negligible downtime, exceptional customer support, and offer Tier-1 service?
Any carrier restrictions: Does the provider require your organisation to use their Network?
It’s essential to find a telephony provider that not only offers the solution you’re looking for, but also can provide support and recommendations around Add-ons or third-party integrations. For example, if your business is going to be using SIP trunks, it’s important that your SIP trunk provider has experience with supporting businesses that have used communication workflows similar to those of your business. With flexible solutions such as SIP trunking, organisations can create bespoke and custom communication flows via SIP call managers and other integrations. For this reason, having experts on your side to support the technology will be crucial to success.
Step 5: Implement and prepare for the UK ISDN Switch Off before 2027
Once you’ve selected a solution and committed to a provider, congratulations! It’s time to implement and reap the benefits of switching to a VoIP provider (which are likely cost savings and enhanced capabilities).
It’s important to note the most crucial dates being:
31st January 2027: All copper telephone lines will be fully shut down.
Early 2033: The UK government aims to ensure the stability of VoIP communications with a national gigabit-capable broadband network.
About KubeNet
Whether you need to move your broadband away from ADSL and onto a digital connectivity solution or you need to upgrade your phone system from a PSTN-reliant solution to a VoIP-ready solution, we’re here to help. Our product suite and team of experts provide everything you need to move away from the old PSTN, whilst improving your business and even, potentially, saving your business money and improving productivity along the way.
Curious about how to implement these steps for your organisation? Speak with our team about supporting your business communications.
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