SWITCH OFF
A Decade in the ISDN? With rumour rife of an extension to the PSTN switch-off scheduled for December 2025, Andrew Cooper, Head of Nimans Connect talks us through the state of the market.
In 2017 Openreach announced that it would be ‘Switching off’ the analogue telephone network, suggesting instead IP Telephony would be better. Given the state of the broadband network at the time, some may have criticised the decision, for example, anyone who I was beating on FIFA just had to call my landline and my online world would come crashing down. Since that time, connectivity throughout the country has gotten better. The change therefore does suit the UK as the vast majority of calls are made using a mobile but, as far away as 2020, three-quarters of the UK had a landline that they used to make and receive calls on. But as we quickly approach the year anniversary of the sale stop, concerns about the elderly potentially being cut off without knowing it have given rise to rumours of potentially a two-year extension to the December 2025 deadline. While nothing is confirmed, and the delay may only apply to those in vulnerable households, the topic of the PSTN Switch off has been a topic at the forefront of many minds, including that of Andrew Cooper, Head of Nimans Connect, who is expecting an uptick in the number of switches as we move closer to the deadline. “We’ve produced some surveys which back up other surveys that you kind of read that say that about 50% of the market are aware of the PSTN Switch off,” said Cooper. “I think a lot of people are aware but it’s whether they’re active is the key thing. “I think when you look at the numbers that carriers like Zen put through, you can see there’s been a shift but there’s still a long way to go. To effectively be on track to switch off in 2025, a circuit needs to be moved every four seconds, which is ridiculous. “But you can imagine there’s a real hockey stick effect that we’re expecting. I think there are probably still some people out there who think it will get delayed again because it’s been
delayed so many times before, and then there will also be partners who are organised and will have their customers make the transition as part of the natural resigning process.” Opportunity While interest in the Switch Off will change depending on who you speak to, the interest from businesses still leaves a lot to be desired. Just before the turn of the year, research from the Centre for Economics Business Research found only 54 per cent of businesses that will be impacted by the Switch-Off, are aware of discontinuation. According to the research at the time, 74 per cent of businesses were yet to complete essential migration tasks. Around half of the businesses surveyed hadn’t researched alternatives or formed a migration plan to ensure a seamless transition. However, the report also showed a significant disparity in awareness across different regions and industries. Businesses in Northern Ireland had the lowest rate of awareness, followed by businesses in Southeast England where the figure was less than 50 per cent of businesses. Although these numbers may seem daunting a year away from a deadline, Cooper says the approach from Nimans is to focus on the opportunity for partners. “The core message to partners is that we’ve lived through lots of change and any change brings opportunity,” said Cooper. “If you stay in an industry for a long time you live through lots of change in different forms, this is another one. “Any change gives you an opportunity to go and talk to customers, and it may be that that conversation around upgrading their connectivity leads to a bigger conversation about upgrading some of their existing technology. “From our point of view, we want our partners to use the Switch off as a positive and as an opportunity rather than seeing it as a negative.”
Andrew Cooper, Head of Nimans Connect
nimans.net
To effectively be on track to switch off in 2025, a circuit needs to be moved every four seconds, which is ridiculous.
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