Are you considering what life will be like after the ISDN switch off?

ISDN is due be switched off in 2025.

BT will move all the lines to an IP based telephony system bringing telecoms up to date and in line with the fast moving technology industry.

ISDN is the Integrated Services Digital Network, which was introduced in the late 1980s to replace PSTN, the public switched telephone network which transmitted voice calls using copper cables, the fundamentals of which hadn’t changed since communications through a telephone began.  With the introduction of ISDN, voice and data could be combined on one digital line.

Why is ISDN being switched off?

• Out of date systems
• Other technology is advancing extremely quickly, providing more cost effective solutions
• Telecoms is an industry which needs to keep up with the advancements

Businesses, however are still largely unaware of the switch off …

Moving to an IP based telephone system (Hosted or SIP Trunks) 

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) has a wealth of benefits for an organisation of any size or sector.  It uses SIPs (Session Initiation Protocol) and allows people to make calls that are both video and voice, using computer and mobile devices with an internet connection.

• Easy to add/remove users
• Work from anywhere in the world
• Invaluable for multi-site businesses
• Great for remote workforces
• Systems is based in a Data Centre

VoIP integrates with mobiles and computer systems creating unified communications (UC) that facilitates hot desking and allows it to operate successfully.

Scalability is easy because no extra lines need to be added, making it perfect for small to medium sized businesses.

What you need to consider when switching to VoIP

• Is your existing connection up to the job? Even for smaller offices, ideally you need a fibre (FTTC/FTTP) broadband connection as a minimum in order for VoIP to work successfully.
• Upgrading to an Ethernet-based solution will overcome the drawbacks of broadband, where bandwidth is significantly reduced at peak times.
• Switching to VoIP provides an ideal opportunity to switch to another service provider.

Switching to VoIP needs to be carefully considered since this area of the market has become a congested one and some offer a very different service from others.

A business will need to keep its existing telephone numbers, and a good VoIP supplier will be able to take care of the porting process for you.

Now is the time to switch from ISDN to IP, so your business doesn’t experience a loss of service when the switch off begins.

BT will have migrated everyone to an IP-based system by 2025, and while you could wait, switching earlier will give you time to get everything in place.

Speak to Fifteen Group today.

We’re experts in telecommunications and will only provide systems that are right for your business and its requirements.