A recent survey conducted by Spitfire has found that 46% of businesses are unaware that their analogue phone and ISDN services will be switched off by December 2025 by Openreach.
The survey of 400 businesses also reported that 83% of businesses are unaware when their services will be switched off, and 77% haven’t prepared for any disruption.
Considering stop sells for new analogue phone lines and some broadband products are already in place, it is important that businesses prepare for any disruption.
How does the PSTN withdrawal affect my business?
If your business uses an analogue phone line to make and receive calls, you are most affected by the switch off as you will need to upgrade to an internet based solution such as VoIP.
Broadband services such as FTTC or ADSL will also need to switched over to a data-only solution such as FTTP, SOGEA or SOTAP (not available yet).
How can I prepare my business for the PSTN withdrawal?
We are already helping our customers prepare for the PSTN Withdrawal by being able to offer future-proof solutions. We can help you prepare by offering you the following solutions:
Telephony solution for businesses
We can offer an a business telephony solution which suits all businesses regardless of size with enhanced features only premium telephony solutions could offer.
You can find out more on our VoIP Phone System page.
Data-only broadband solutions
As the WLR lines are being withdrawn customers will need to upgrade to a data-only product such as SOGEA or FTTP. Feel free to use our broadband checker website to see if you can get these products for your business.
Other services:
Services that run via a phone line such as payment terminals and alarms will need to be upgraded to an IP based solution. Please contact your current provider and ask them for more information.
You can find out more about the Openreach PSTN withdrawal here.
A message from our managing director:
Openreach have committed to switching off WLR lines by December 2025 – which is not very far away when you consider how many businesses have yet to even start thinking about it.
Any change has the potential to cause disruption. As we get closer to the planned switch-off point there is the potential for a lot of businesses competing for limited engineer resources to make the switch – as such we are recommending to our clients that they look at this now, better to jump on your own terms than be pushed.
Doug Andrews, Globe2
If you would like some help preparing your business for the PSTN withdrawal, feel free to contact us by emailing [email protected], calling us on 03333 446 441 or leaving a comment.
