As the roll out of fibre optic cable continues, BT’s support for PSTN is winding down and may affect your business sooner than you think.
The 2025 deadline for BT’s “Big Switch Off”, the end of the PSTN and ISDN network, continues to draw closer. But in the meantime, the stop sell of related products is being rolled out across the UK, which means support for a range of current products that you may rely on will be affected.
Here’s what you need to know to prepare for stop sell before it reaches your area.
Stop sell is used by Openreach when it stops selling a specific product.
This isn’t the same as a product being withdrawn because you can continue to use the product until it is finally withdrawn from sale, but it does notify you that there will be no more supply of new products that come under the stop sell.
BT’s “Big Switch Off is the turn-off of its PSTN and ISDN networks.
This is due to be completed by the end of 2025 and means ISDN and analogue lines will be replaced by a digital, full fibre network using Internet Protocol (IP).
As part of the change, when an exchange area becomes at least 75% full fibre enabled, there will be a stop sell of PSTN phone line services to new and existing customers.
In addition, although current services will continue to work until the final switchover, by September 2023 there will be a complete stop on selling traditional phone lines in all exchange areas.
Despite The Big Switch Off happening at the end of 2025, the gradual transition to full fibre connectivity and the end of selling traditional phone lines by September 2023 means businesses need to start planning now.
In December 2020 Salisbury came under a stop sell order, meaning businesses there weren’t able to order any new WLR (wholesale line rental) services, including analogue and ISDN phone lines. They were also no longer able to add new phone lines or channels to exiting installations.
Any businesses that hadn’t planned for this was caught out, stuck with an existing service that was now struggling to meet their needs and would have to be replaced or updated without the time they had hoped for to plan an alternative or to find the required budget to move to a fibre-enabled phone system.
This is particularly important because PSTN lines support a variety of equipment used by businesses, such as alarm systems, electronic point-of-sales machines, faxes, CCTV, lifts alarms, etc. The impact of the switch off from PSTN is far reaching for businesses still relying on the current PSTN network.
To avoid harmful consequences to your business operations and to enable effective planning to change your internal communications infrastructure, it’s necessary to know firstly what will be impacted by the Big Switch Off and then understand what needs to be replaced or updated, and the likely cost and lead time.
If you want to learn more about BT’s Big Switch Off, take a look at our blog and our recent post, What does the 2025 ISDN switch off mean for my business?
Our team is also ready to help you to understand how the end of the PSTN and ISDN network will impact specifically on your business and discuss the options available to you regarding transition to a digital network, which systems and equipment will be impacted and how making the right changes can help to boost your operations and productivity in the long run.
And we already support a number of our customer businesses with their telecoms needs, including a range of VoIP phone systems, reliable internet connections and software and hardware needs.
Although a change to your current communications system or key systems (such as alarms) may not be something you’d planned for, internet-based telecommunications, such as VoIP are actually great for businesses.
They offer more flexibility as they aren’t restricted by phone lines, they use advanced technology to support better productivity and can reduce running costs. Making the transition sooner rather than later could bring unexpected business benefits.
No matter what size of organisation, we will help provide the right solution for you and can help you to plan a smooth and cost-effective update to your telecoms and other PSTN-supported systems.
If you would like to talk about how we can support your business, we’re ready to take your call, or you can book a free demo to see what we offer.
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You and your team are able to see where they are using their time and how productive they are actually being. Also they are able to clock in and out, so really good for flexi-working.
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We proactively seek opportunities to support good causes for our community.
From sponsoring local community football teams, to engaging with charity fundraiser days, we believe it’s important to continually strive to do good for the better of others.
We have members who volunteer with youth organisations, are engaged with the Round Table, run marathons and volunteer at events where we may be needed. Every charity receives a discounted IT and Telecoms service too.
Protecting your digital data is crucial for every business and this can start with the industry-leading security we offer. The Syn-Star specialists can help with identifying any vulnerabilities within your IT systems and act accordingly to ensure cyber-attacks and data breaches are mitigated.
Your business will never fall behind with its technology when you work with Syn-Star.
We understand IT and Telecoms for your business is an investment, but it’s important to use the best resources available to enable the growth of your business. Our IT Consultancy and Virtual IT Director Services are available to support you with how you use your business technology for years to come.
Syn-Star can conduct quick and easy phishing exercises to identify people within your team who need to improve on their knowledge around fraudulent emails and how they can be alerted to these threats.
At Syn-Star, our experts can proactively work to understand exactly what software you need to support with the business operations. Whether you need a listening ear on what software to choose, or would like to seek some specialist knowledge, we’re here to help where we can.
At Syn-Star, we keep Telecoms simple. There’s so much available to help UK companies with their communications. VoIP systems, fixed landline, cloud phone systems, SIP trunking and more. Contact us for further details.
Desk phones, cordless phones or conference phones, Syn-Star can provide you with whatever you need.
From conference calling facilities to the headsets which work best for your team, we’re able to provide all the equipment you need and complete any telecoms job from start to finish.
There is no need to be in the office to make and receive phone calls from your company’s number. Our market-leading Telecoms platform gives you the flexibility of desk phones, soft phones and mobile apps as standard.
Whether your team works remotely, or perhaps staff are on a business trip anywhere in the world, calls can still be made, and people are reachable via phone wherever they go.
With a range of products, our team can support you by installing exactly what you need for internet connectivity. We work with the very best products to provide speedy bandwidths which play a part in the increased productivity of your team.
