Big Switch Off
Is your business ready for The Big Switch off?
BT Openreach are switching all traditional telephone landlines off. Originally 2025, this is now expected to be complete by January 2027. If your business still relies on landlines for communication with your customers, now is the time to upgrade your telephone systems!
By 2027, Openreach will have switched off all traditional telephone landlines.
What is The Big Switch Off?
In 2017, BT Openreach announced that they will be switching all traditional landlines off in 2025.
Although the deadline has been extended, any businesses who use traditional landlines (Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) or Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)) to operate their telephone systems will have their communication streams switched off unless they upgrade.
In a world where business communications are absolutely essential to business success, this is a major change and one that will affect many businesses in the UK.
What’s the solution?
Obviously when something is called The Big Switch Off, it’s going to have big consequences and affect a lot of people.
This isn’t a decision that will have been taken lightly.
The solution is already out there and it’s a Voice over the Internet (VoIP) services.
As you might guess from the name, VoIP uses an internet connection to transmit telephone calls rather than traditional landlines.
As IT specialists, we are really excited about this solution and think it is a far better option than traditional landlines.
Why is VoIP better?
BT Openreach have been planning for The Big Switch Off since 2017 and undertook some major works to strengthen their fibre network in 2019.
This now means that the majority of the UK has access to a strong internet connection and, as such, Voice over the Internet (VoIP) services are taking over.
By making the switch today, these are some of the major benefits your business will have the opportunity to enjoy:
- VoIP will future-proof your business, ensuring you continue to communicate with your customers via telephone after 2025.
- By using the internet, your telephone communications are no longer tied to a physical location. If you happen to be working remotely one day, you will no longer need to worry about missing calls to the landline – you’ll be able to accept those calls to the same number wherever you may be.
- There are no initial or ongoing costs for maintenance as all voice calls will be transmitted via the internet – you’ll just need reliable internet provider
- It can grow and adjust as your business requires. VoIP is a really flexible solution and can be completely tailored to your business needs – whether that’s adding more users or scaling things back!
Why is now the right time to upgrade?
Quite simply, the way things work in the world of telephony are changing and if you don’t upgrade your telephone systems by 2025, you might be cut off.
Lots and lots of businesses are being affected and you’re not alone in making the switch. In fact, 65% of businesses will also be switching to VoIP at the end of their current landline contract.
The sooner you make the switch, the sooner you can access all the new opportunities it will bring!
Want some more information on The Big Switch Off?
We have wrote brilliant articles over the last year which are centred around the big switch off and how they can help educate and prepare you and your business for any changes which you may need to make:
