UK PSTN
SWITCH OFF 2025 INFO/ADVICE
It has been
well publicized that analogue lines are due to be switched off by the end of
2025 and that all analogue lines will be discontinued.
In general it is anticipated
that most business customers will switch to a whole voip
system, where, effectively the PBX is in the cloud and you will rent/purchase
IP handsets (1 per user) connected to your network/remote network. This would be
chargeable per handset. Monthly prices would depend on features, type of
handset etc. For this solution we recommend and work alongside https://www.town-and-country-comms.co.uk/
who can also supply SIP trunks.
There
are however, alternative solutions available for those that may be happy with
their existing system, not too worried about remote working, have a large
number of existing handsets on site that are needed but rarely used and not
worth paying monthly for. Or you may have mainly voice wiring and not existing
network cabling where you would need it.
A Single line analogue PBX, could be connected to the
analogue (FXS) port of the broadband modem (ie BT
Digital voice) If you are an existing BT broadband customer this is a straightforward
changeover.
A Multi line analogue PBX could be connected via an
FXS gateway usually 2 – 8 ports but available up to 48 ports. This would involve
porting your existing numbers to VOIP/SIP. The gateway converts the SIP trunks
back to analogue trunks. Many SIP/VOIP providers will supply these
preconfigured.
An ISDN system can be connected in the same way, but
using an ISDN gateway, again these can be supplied by the provider, or
purchased and configured yourself.
Some of the later PBX systems can be connected
directly to SIP trunks i.e the Panasonic NS range.
Panasonic KXTDA and NCP systems can also be connected
in this way, but supplies of the VOIP cards are limited and they can be
prohibitively costly (particularly KXTDA). These systems can still be connected
via analogue/isdn gateways though.
Swapping the connections over is a relatively
straightforward procedure, but would require an engineering visit from your
system maintainer/competent engineer.