Leading business telephony and connectivity providers react to BT Group’s decision to delay the PSTN switch-off by a year
BT Group has extended the deadline for moving all customers – consumers and businesses – off the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and onto digital landlines, from the end of 2025 to the end of January 2027.
The delay, which effectively gives customers another year in which to make the move, has largely been welcomed by the comms industry.
The switch-off campaign has been criticised for a lack of government engagement, low levels of awareness and a failure to meet the needs of vulnerable customers who rely on a landline, including 1.8 million users of telecare for remote support.
Unlike the copper PSTN network, which incorporates a 48 volt DC signal that ensures continued operation during a power cut, modern digital equipment provides no such safeguard, potentially putting lives at risk.
In December 2023, BT Consumer (and other communications providers) put a temporary halt to the forced migration of vulnerable customers to digital lines while it implemented the Government’s Charter to protect vulnerable customers and helped set up, in January 2024, the Telecare Action Board (TAB) to identify telecare users and others who will need to be protected in the switch to digital.
In April, BT’s Consumer division re-started forced migrations to its Digital Voice landline service, while continuing to offer and develop alternative options for vulnerable and landline-only customers who don’t have broadband or mobile connectivity. These include free battery units providing back- up power so that phones can continue to operate in the event of a power cut; and a hybrid phone with a battery back-up and the ability to make calls over the mobile network.
This autumn, BT will be introducing an interim landline service that will allow landline- only customers to stay connected while they are moved off the PSTN. This ‘pre-digital phone line’ will give customers who don’t have broadband the ability to use their landline until 2030 or until a digital solution becomes available.
This option will also be available to business customers with specialist connectivity requirements, such as alarms, lifts and emergency lines, ATMs and payment terminals. In fact,
BT Business is urging business and public sector customers to register their interest in testing
this product.
One of the benefits of the switch-off delay for businesses is that it will give them more time
to audit their comms estates and identify any ‘specialist connectivity requirements’ they might have, while enabling them to develop an All-IP comms strategy and secure additional funding that might be needed for new equipment.
Here is how some leading providers of business communication have reacted to news of the delay.
Time to audit comms
Julien Parven, Director of Partner Business, Daisy
“I think the deferment of the final deadline was inevitable. I also think it is beneficial.
“It was inevitable because there just hasn’t been executive sponsorship at a government level, even though the switch-off is an ideal vehicle for propelling us towards the government’s goal of a ‘superfast Britain’.
“Cast your mind back to the analogue to digital TV switch- over and the coverage and level of sponsorship that received. To my mind, the PSTN switch-off is of much greater significance.
It is probably the single most significant event to have happened within telecoms in the last 30 years, but there has been very little official endorsement of it.
“As a result, businesses tend to respond to it in one of four ways: some acknowledge that it’s happening and are already on that digital journey (often prompted by channel partners); some have a degree of apathy and think December 2025 is a long way off and all they have to do to go from the old technology to the new is to flick a switch; a third group doesn’t believe it will ever happen; and, lastly, there are those who are living in ignorance and know nothing about it. This is where ‘promotion’ at an executive and commercial level is required to bring it front of mind.
“The fact that there hasn’t been any official, public acknowledgement of the switch-off is detrimental to UK business and is partly why there’s an estimated 9.2 million PSTN assets still out there that need to be transferred.
“A lot of those PSTN assets are invisible. Businesses may not realise they’re there or they might take them for granted and not know what the underlying technology is. Often, these are critical services that need to be ‘on’ at all times, such as alarm systems, keyholder alerts and emergency phones in lifts. The physical job of transitioning such assets onto an IoT solution or some IP back service is going to be a challenge given that we are already in mid-2024. The deferment gives an opportunity for those assets to be properly looked at and understood.
“I would strongly encourage people to sit down with their supplier and have a conversation about auditing their estate, which may have been in situ for 5, 10, 15 or 20 years, to properly understand whether assets in the estate are needed or whether they’re redundant but still being paid for. It’s not a cost-saving exercise. It’s about reinvesting money being spent on unused assets and becoming a digital business.
“This process will give businesses a proper foundation for their ICT plans and an opportunity to look at how they adopt new technologies to create efficiencies, improve productivity and, ultimately, boost profitability.
“Gaining a deep understanding of where a business is today and where it wants to be tomorrow is so important because there is no one-size-fits-all or take-it-or-leave- it solution. IP may not be the right solution for everything. In some instances, a resilient multi-tiered IoT service that naturally switches between the strongest available mobile network might be the
best option.
“I use a very cliched analogy that if you take your kids shopping for a new pair of trainers, you’re not going to buy the same pair that you bought two years ago because they will have grown and developed different interests. That’s no different to what we’re doing here – the services a business procured in the past probably won’t satisfy their needs moving forward.
“The key thing is for businesses to have a proper engagement with their provider around where they expect their business to be in 3, 5, 10 years’ time and how to future- proof their technology to enable them to achieve those goals.”
The cost factor
Jamie Snaddon, EMEA MD, 8×8 “A lot of organisations will be delighted at the news of the PSTN delay. The reality is that time wasn’t the main factor here: it was cost. A lot of UK businesses are struggling in the current economic climate and having to find funding for a major digital transformation project like this was something that many didn’t have the capacity to deal with. Economic forecasts suggest that the UK will be in a slightly better place by 2026, which is when the revised switch-off date will need to be budgeted for – if, of course, BT stick to the 2027 deadline – and that may give companies a chance to budget appropriately instead of rushing into a solution.”
Take action now
Dom Norton, Director, Spitfire “Our message to customers is unchanged. Although this revised date buys more time, the huge task to move to an all-IP future-proofed service remains. Customers should aim to take action now, as the announcement only provides a one- year extension and we are still likely to experience resource bottlenecks as the months go by. Prices are likely to continue to increase for
the old network services (analogue, ISDN and broadband), adding to the decent cost savings already available on all-IP voice and fibre broadband alternatives, not to mention other benefits including more flexible working.”
Valuable breathing space
Dale Parkinson, Managing Director – Connectivity, Giacom “BT Group’s decision to extend
the migration deadline to January 2027 should not be viewed as an opportunity to stand down, but as an opportunity to take action. This extension provides the industry with valuable breathing space to address challenges and ensure a smooth migration to replacement services for all users and use cases.”
A double-edge sword
Andy Fung, Solutions Architect, Espria “The extension of the digital switch-off deadline to January 2027 provides a welcome reprieve for businesses that haven’t yet completed the move and could allow them to avoid potential disruptions caused by a backlog of users rushing to migrate by the 2025 deadline. However, this delay is a double-edged sword, in that many businesses who have yet to make the move might question the urgency of revised timelines, potentially leading to more confusion. Clear communication, especially from providers, will be key.”
Exchange turn offs continue
Paul Wakefield, Head of Product Management, Product Solutions, Gamma “Gamma’s messaging has consistently been that this is biggest opportunity the industry has seen in a generation. This is about the Digital Switch ON, and we have invested heavily to promote this as anyone who has seen Morph and/or our involvement as a National Champion in the Fit to Switch Campaign (www.fittoswitch. co.uk) can see.
“We cautiously welcome the announcement on the basis that it will provide more time for industry engagement to overcome market apathy; more comprehensive penetration of the full fibre footprint to support digital delivery; and greater opportunity to implement solutions where digital is challenging – specifically critical care.
“That said, it is important to note that exchanges will continue to be turned off and that the new 2027 date is simply an extension of the ‘end of the line’.”
