PSTN Switch Off Delayed to 2027: What this means for the Public & Private Sectors

Clive Quantrill • Jun 24, 2024

Authors

Clive Quantrill

Consultant - Satellite, Broadcast & Media
Button
Phil Laws

Business Transformation Specialist
Button
Craig Cheney

Managing Partner - Public Sector & Education
Button
Richard Broadhead

Managing Partner - Retail, Property, Manufacturing
Button

Terminology used in this Article

PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network - a complex network of copper wires, switching centres, and other infrastructure that has been the backbone of the UK's telephony network since Victorian times.

VoIP: Voice Over Internet Protocol - a technology that allows people to make voice calls using an internet-based communications technology. By converting voice signals into digital data packets, VoIP can transmit conversations over broadband connections and across the internet.

IP: Internet Phone - the digital version of your traditional home telephone. It uses VoIP to transmit your voice over a broadband connection. IP phones can offer a range of features like voicemail, call forwarding, video calls, and integration with other internet services.

Digital Voice: refers to BT's specific VoIP service or more generally to any service that transmits voice over your broadband connection. Confusingly, VoIP, IP and Digital Voice are often used interchangeably.

CP: Communication Provider - an organisation, either private or public, that offers telecommunications services or a mix of information, media, content, entertainment, and application services over networks.

ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network - a set of communication standards that allow for the digital transmission of voice, video, data and other services over the PSTN network.

ADSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line - allows for high-speed data transmission over existing copper lines. ADSL is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology that is typically provided from a telephone exchange enabling broadband internet access, video-on-demand, and LAN services . The service is asymmetric in that the broadband speed profile to the premise is higher than that from the premise. Maximum download speeds are in the order of 20Mbit/s (Megabits per second).

VDSL: Very high speed Digital Subscriber Line - a form of DSL technology primarily delivered from street side cabinets delivering very high-speed data rates over existing copper lines. Often referred to as Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC). VDSL is an asymmetric service, with superior performance when compared to ADSL technologies. Maximum download speeds are in the order of 80Mbit/s.

FTTP: Fibre To The Premises - a fibre connection from a premises to a fibre exchange. Offers superior performance when compared to DSL technologies. Services can be symmetric or asymmetric. Maximum speeds are in the order of multiple Gbit/s (Gigabits per second).

When is the New Date?

BT has recently announced an extension to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) switch off in the UK. The previous deadline of December 2025 has been postponed to 31 January 2027.

Openreach (a subsidiary of BT) has reacted to this announcement by extending the withdrawal timeline of their Wholesale Line Rental family of products (landline and ISDN services) to the same date.

Why is the PSTN Switch Off being Postponed?

This delay is primarily due to the difficulties in securing the smooth transfer of vulnerable customers, such as the complex migration issues that could disrupt continuity for safety-critical devices, such as telecare devices, including personal alarms, which in some cases were found to stop working during the initial stages of the switch off. It is estimated that 2.3 million people in the UK currently use personal alarms that rely on the telecommunications network.

All that Extra Time!

It is wrong to think that the extra 13 months given by the delay means pushing back your plans for action. We highly recommend that you continue to focus on December 2025 in order to achieve risk free migrations that ensure continuity of services from the simple to the complex.

This is especially true for the public sector and other organisations that provide a duty of care to vulnerable people and the elderly. We look at those responsibilities in more detail below.

We also make a case for urgent action by businesses—to address service continuity, fire safety and security issues (particularly companies who own, operate and manage buildings).

Digital Inclusion: Reaching Rural & Semi-Rural Areas

Many households, particularly in rural areas, still rely on a traditional copper phone line. In order to switch to a digital service, there needs to be significant upgrades to their connectivity, in the form of fibre or satellite. But the fibre roll-out, even when it reaches these regions, will leave many local communities under-served—due to build priorities or prohibitive costs.

There are several Government initiatives intended to bridge the digital divide and connect hard-to-reach and remote areas. For example, Project Gigabit is a £5bn scheme aiming to connect 85% of UK premises with gigabit-ready fibre by 2025 (rising to ‘nationwide’—around 99%—by 2030).

Connectivity is not the only issue. Digital Poverty is a significant barrier to broadband adoption and therefore the cost implications of switching to an IP-service. While Communication Providers (CPs) stress that VoIP calls will cost about the same as current copper calls (and according to Ofcom, they should provide the new phones free of charge), it is unclear whether all providers will offer a VoIP-only service (without the additional cost of a broadband connection). According to the Digital Poverty Alliance, 53% of people offline cannot afford a monthly broadband bill and 2.5m people are behind in broadband payments.

What the Public Sector Needs to Know & Do

Given the lack of a national plan or central funding for the necessary infrastructure upgrades, responsibilities for welfare and safety will impact at a local level on councils, healthcare services, social housing, fire departments and third sector organisations (charities and community groups). If these upgrades do not get funded and planned in detail (and if alternative digital solutions are not adequately tested under real scenarios) then emergency services could fail at a critical moment, putting vulnerable people at risk.

These responsibilities can be grouped roughly into five areas:

Funding & Planning

Councils will need to work with hospitals, schools and other public bodies, alongside Communication Providers (CPs), to share resources, overcome common problems, and model future costs. Councils can also help to secure funding from government schemes and may be able to provide other means of financial support to help local bodies.

Despite recent concerns from several mayors, the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure has announced that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will not fund local authorities to cover the costs of replacing or upgrading telecare devices.

Protecting the Vulnerable

Ofcom has ruled the following: ‘If you are dependent on your landline phone – for example, if you don’t have a mobile phone or don’t have mobile signal at your home – your provider must offer you a solution to make sure you can contact the emergency services when a power cut occurs. For example, a mobile phone (if you have signal), or a battery back-up unit for your landline phone. This solution should be provided free of charge to people who are dependent on their landline.’

Councils should continue to work with CPs to provide these services free-of-charge as well as providing a smooth transition and clear communication for vulnerable people.

Continuity of Public Services

Understand how the PSTN supports the services offered in the local community, for example: emergency lift lines in council buildings, payment machines in cafes, and local call centres/help desks. Work with local groups and advisory boards to ensure there are communication strategies and ways to share resources. Also, make it clear that migrated services must be tested and comply with current regulations.

Infrastructure Development

Ensuring adequate internet infrastructure is a key responsibility of local councils. They need to work with internet service providers (ISPs) to enhance connectivity, particularly in rural and underserved areas, to support new IP-based communication systems.

Awareness

Unlike the shift to digital TV, which was government-initiated, the phase-out of the PSTN is industry-driven because the network is privately owned. Consequently, it is unlikely there will be a government-sponsored national campaign to spread awareness of these changes and the risks involved. It therefore falls to local authorities, in conjunction with CPs and local groups, to try and disseminate this information to their communities, and in particular to vulnerable people.

How we can Help

Our Public Sector team can help local councils and other public bodies by providing strategy, financial planning, procurement and project management services as and when you need them. Get in touch with Craig Cheney, Managing Partner and lead for Public Sector & Education, to discuss a range of services which might suit your needs: ccheney@cambridgemc.com

View our Public Sector & Education services

Helping Local Businesses: How can SMEs Prepare Now?

Surveys indicate that around 9 out of 10 businesses have essential services that rely on the PSTN. Your business needs to prepare for the 2027 switch-off by transferring your tradition phone line, and any device that uses it, to a digital alternative.

While communication providers (CPs) are aware of which organisations are using PSTN services and should contact them directly, the overall responsibility for upgrade and hardware updates falls to the customer. Many businesses potentially require new phone handsets and may need to retrain staff on new service dashboards.

Larger businesses should conduct a thorough analysis of the potential impact and identify outdated equipment to replace. This is also an opportunity to leverage the benefits of IP by incorporating call analytics and other AI or cloud-based tools. We highly recommend you start now to prevent a costly and stressful transition or worse, a last-minute overhaul that creates service disruption.

You may wish to enlist a third-party solution provider who will migrate all of your phones numbers to IP-services, provide phones and headsets and a call management platform. This could reduce the headache for your business and prevent the risk of downtime and outages when you switch.

To find out more about how our services and experts can help your business, contact Clive Quantrill, Senior Partner - Telecoms Strategy & Transformation, and his team: cquantrill@cambridgemc.com

If you operate a call centre and need help with the migration of services and/or setting up a call management platform with AI analytics, get in touch with our Contact Centre specialists, Simon Kissane and Marcel Biesmans: skissane@cambridgemc.com. We have partnered with Dialpad, an industry-leading AI-powered Customer Intelligence Platform.

Retail, Property & Manufacturing

The PSTN switch off, which will arrive much quicker than we think, will have a direct impact on many aspects of the built environment with both owners and operators in this space needind to act now. You should start planning upgrades and the migration of your infrastructure to digital voice services using a systematic methodology. If you lack the in-house experience or this is a drain on internal resources, consider using a third party to conduct a comprehensive review of your IT and telephony equipment to create a detailed migration and upgrade strategy.

Companies and organisations potentially affected by the PSTN switch off include: retailers; department stores; shopping centres; outlet centres; retail parks; entertainment and leisure venues; distribution and logistics centres; service stations; drive-thru facilities; office buildings and campuses; factories; advanced manufacturing facilities; hospitals; health centres; care homes; schools; universities; sports facilities and many more.

This is a complicated process with many project streams for those businesses and organisations that have a property portfolio/estate to manage. Public Sector organisations that service and maintain various distinct property types, such as social housing, will also face significant challenges.

It may be in your best interest to upgrade these services under one programme, using a central PMO and procurement process, and a single solution provider, to ensure targets are met on time and operational efficiencies are maximised to reduce costs.

How we can Help

Our team can help; providing strategy, procurement and project management services as and when you need them. Get in touch with Richard Broadhead, Managing Partner and lead for our Retail, Property, Manufacturing practice, to discuss a range of services which might suit your business needs: rbroadhead@cambridgemc.com

View our Retail, Property, Manufacturing service

The List of Affected Equipment is Longer than you Might Think

Many businesses still rely on PSTN service-based technologies and will be severely impacted by the switch off. We have provided a quick reminder of affected services below to help with general awareness (please note, this is not a complete list, and you should conduct a thorough review of your equipment):

Phone Lines: All phones connected to a landline or ISDN line
Broadband: Businesses using ADSL or FTTC
Door Entry Systems: Systems running on ISDN
Alarms: fire, smoke and intruder alarms that reply on analogue communication
EPOS Machines
CCTV
Lift Emergency Lines: These usually run on PSTN and you should contact the servicing company or manufacturer to find out what provision is being made to switch to VoIP or cloud telephony
Cash Machines
Fax machines: Fax machines usually access the PSTN via an analogue interface
Health Monitors and Telecare devices
Cardiac Arrest Phones
Secure phones (Brent phones)
Pagers
Level crossing emergency phone lines
Utility monitoring & control lines

Our Services

Cambridge Management Consulting has a team of experts who specialise in the PSTN switch over and help private and public sector organsiations of all sizes. We can analyse your telephony and IT equipment, as well as alarms and other special service devices; and then create a detailed migration plan as well as offering procurement services to keep this plan within your budget.

By outsourcing this process, you can save time and money and also negate the drain on daily resources——allowing your teams to stay focused on daily operations. If you do not have the knowledge and skills in-house to manage this process, please get in touch with Clive, Richard or Craig using the form below to discuss your requirements.