It’s no secret that ISDN services are reaching the end of their useful life, and the big ISDN ‘switch off’ has already begun in countries all over the world.
In the UK, BT is due to turn off all of its ISDN lines in 2025, but customers will not be able to order some new services from this year onwards.
Dating back to the late 1980s, integrated service digital network (ISDN) technology allowed voice and data to be transmitted simultaneously over a digital line.
When it was launched, a BT ISDN line was the ideal solution for many businesses in the UK, as it was able to support early low-resolution video-call systems as well as maintaining an analogue phone line without the line becoming engaged.
It also offered the fastest internet speeds available at the time – a blistering 128 kbps.
But since an ISDN line is obviously no longer the best solution for fast internet connections, video-conferencing or VOIP (Voice Over IP) calls, its status and usefulness has quickly been eroded.
And the big ISDN shutdown is almost upon us.
However, many organisations have clung to the technology despite advances in broadband and VOIP.
From 2023 you will no longer be able to order any new BT ISDN services in the UK, so if your business needs to relocate premises or perhaps add additional capacity, this just won’t be possible using ISDN.
And it’s not just that – some analogue services will also be affected by the ISDN line shutdown too.
So think about your fax lines, PDQ machines, franking machines, alarm lines, security and lift lines – all of these could be affected by ISDN’s demise.
For BT to achieve their ISDN shutdown target of 2025, they must migrate tens of thousands of lines each and every week until 2025 – which is a mammoth task.
There could be significant disruption and the possibility of a huge backlog of upgrades building up.
Those who leave their migration to a cloud PBX (an IP-based phone system that’s accessed completely through the internet) until 2024 or 2025 leave themselves open to last-minute service restrictions and potential additional costs.
Some may even face missing the migration date altogether, leaving their business stranded.
If your business still relies on a BT ISDN line, then you must start your planning to migrate to SiP trunking, VOIP or cloud telephony.
This is now an established technology that uses the internet to deliver voice calls at lower prices, with higher speed and greater functionality than a BT ISDN line.
If you would like to learn more about cloud telephony, SiP trunking and VOIP calling, Time Communications would be happy to talk you through the migration process and the options available to you. Contact Time Communications’ expert team on 0113 2059640, you can request a callback on our home page, email at [email protected] or message us here.