SWITCH-OFF
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“This switch is here and now but it feels a little bit like the switch from analogue to digital television, where it was talked about for years and years but at the end of it there was a mad panic rush. “We’re at that cusp now, where we’ve been talking about this for donkey’s years frankly, but the stop sell [has] happened in September, and there’s something like 6 million businesses in the UK that have got to move on. “That presents something in the region of about 14 million users that we expect will need to find a home in this space from now until the switch is flipped in December 2025. That is a huge opportunity.” Bringing people over With over six million businesses yet to switch, resellers may well be rubbing their hand together. But how do you broach the subject? An opportunity is only so if it is realised after all. Luckily, Warburton has a three-step program to get the worms to turn! “In my view, the first step is to understand the data. Ask what your customer base looks like, what services you provide to those customers, and then map across what services they are going to go to when they move, and the implications of those moves. “I certainly encourage resellers to think about FTTP availability. I’ve seen a couple of situations where a company has moved circuits over to SOGEA, only to find them looking at FTTP. That means a double migration, more disruption, and more cost for the customer. So if resellers can jump straight to FTTP, I’d highly recommend it to save some Time to act The impending PSTN switch-off in 2025 is a critical milestone for the telecommunications industry, and it’s clear that there is still work to be done to ensure a smooth transition. While progress has been slower than expected, various factors, including the challenges posed by COVID-19 and changing economic conditions, have played a role in this. However, the silver lining is that this transition presents a significant opportunity for connectivity providers and resellers.
costs and save some disruption. “I think the second step is around how you go about moving customers. Try to voluntarily move them at first, every month we are going to our customers saying you can get FTTP here, and we’ve seen about 500 customers a month voluntarily upgrading to FTTP themselves through regular communications and record follow-up from sales teams.” Pressing the Issue While the immediacy of the issue is known to businesses within the communications industry, convincing businesses to invest in a problem that is over two years away may be tricky. You only have to look at the exhausting way cyber security is viewed outside large businesses to see that, unless there is an immediate payoff, the budget for such expenditures is hard to get. Warburton went on to say that a managed migration plan may help those reluctant businesses adding that taking into consideration the technology a business already has can make switching more appealing. “The second route resellers can take, which we have started to instigate this year, is managed migrations,” said Warburton. “We’ve started with those customers where we don’t need to change the CPE, it’s quite straightforward, it’s just simply transfer. “We’ve been doing upwards of 3,000 a week, and we see very little issues. We may come in the next day with a handful of circuits with a couple of issues, but generally speaking, those migrations go smoothly.” The key takeaway is that businesses need to act now to prepare for the switch-off. With millions of businesses yet to make the transition, there is both a challenge and a substantial opportunity to help them migrate to all-IP solutions. It’s essential to understand the data, evaluate the services your customers require, and consider options like FTTP to minimise disruption and costs. Moreover, proactive communication with customers about the benefits of the transition can encourage voluntary upgrades and ease the migration process.
Nick Birtwistle CEO
boom.limited
44
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