BT Announce Plans to Phase Out ISDN By 2025
BT are switching off the PSTN and ISDN networks for good, starting with a cease of new supply by 2020 and moving to a full migration to IP before 2025. The BT ISDN switch off could affect thousands of businesses in the near future, especially those unaware of BT’s phasing out of ISDN technology.
If you work within the industry, the switch to IP technology makes perfect sense. Traditional phone lines are a legacy technology with high maintenance costs and alot of drawbacks. ISDN was originally designed to allow both voice and data services to be delivered simultaneously however, just as we have moved on from the limited functionality of brick sized mobile phones, the introduction of high speed internet access means ISDN technology is no longer relevant in the average work place.
How do we prepare for the BT ISDN Switch Off?
In Short, by 2020 you will no longer be able to order ISDN services and in real terms you have two options to consider.
- SIP Telephone Lines (A SIP Trunk)
- A Hosted Telephone System (Cloud Telephony)
If you currently have a traditional ISDN/PSTN telephone system then is is good practice to look into an alternative. Plan ahead and you may actually find you want to migrate sooner rather than later.
Bear in Mind: Businesses will be unable to buy new phone systems that use ISDN and PSTN after 2020 and upgrading your current system to support these technologies is probably going to be a waste of money.
Hosted Phone SystemPer Month / Per User£15.00
- 5,000 FREE UK 01/02/03 Minutes
- 2,000 FREE Mobile Minutes
- FREE Yealink T46s VoIP Handset
- Add or Remove Users Quickly
- Keep your Existing Phone Numbers
- Scalable from 1 User to 1000 users
- Uses your Internet Connection
Future Proof with a Hosted Telephone System
A Hosted Telephone System replaces your existing on premise equipment and works via your internet connection.
A Cloud Hosted Telephone System replaces your traditional on-site Telephone System and removes the requirement for any telephone lines. There are no limitations to the number of incoming or outgoing calls you can receive / make and each user comes at a fixed monthly cost which includes your UK 01, 02, 07 and 03 telephone calls at no additional cost.
A Hosted Telephone System can be “pre-configured” and can be installed “plug and play” with minimal fuss.
- Only £15.00 + VAT Per Hosted Extension
- Scalable from 1 extension to 1000 extensions
- Includes FREE UK 01, 02, 03 & 07 Calls
- Secure and extremely reliable
- Compatible with all major SIP Telephones
- Excellent solution for small businesses
Future Proof with SIP Telephone Lines
SIP Telephone Lines are virtual telephone lines, created over your internet connection.
Through your internet connection, SIP Telephone Lines work with a traditional Telephone System to replace analogue or ISDN telephone lines. In most cases, SIP Telephone Lines are most cost effective way to upgrade from ISDN or PSTN technology and also include your UK 01, 02, 07 and 03 telephone calls at no additional cost.
Our SIP telephone lines can be instantly scaled up or down in line with demand and without the need for additional physical line installation.
- Only £12.50 + VAT Per SIP Channel
- Scalable to an infinite number of channels
- Includes FREE UK 01, 02, 03 & 07 Calls
- Secure and extremely reliable
- Compatible with all major telephone systems
- A great replacement for ISDN
On Premises Phone System with SIP
Our Panasonic Phone Systems are deployed on your premises using digital or IP Telephones.
ISDN or Analogue Lines are replaced with SIP Telephone Lines (a SIP Trunk) that uses your internet connection to make and receive calls. Our SIP Telephone Lines cost less than ISDN 2e channels and also include your UK Local, UK National and UK Mobile Calls.
Cloud Hosted Telephone Systems
Our UC Cloud – Hosted Telephone System is deployed in the cloud. Your staff have a desk phone or soft phone that connects back to your internet connection and our cloud based telephone system handles all of your calls and features.
UC Cloud is based on Broadsoft technology, is charged “per user” and includes your UK Local, UK National and UK Mobile Calls.
3CX Cloud Hosted or On Premises PBX
3CX sits in between a traditional phone system and a cloud hosted pbx. It is a software based solution that can be deployed either in the cloud or on premises offering excellent value for money.
The flexibility of 3CX allows you to choose your handsets from a number of suppliers and includes FREE UK Local, UK National and UK Mobile Calls at no additional cost via our SIP Telephone Lines.
Reduce your Costs when you Upgrade to IP Telephony
In addition to the many features built to boost productivity, enhance customer service and increase efficiency, our IP Telephone Systems will also cut your telcom costs in half with IP communications and SIP Telephone Lines.
With an IP telephony system your phone bill will be slashed, and so will the cost of buying, expanding and maintaining your VoIP phone system. If you decide to host in the cloud, your maintenance costs will also be reduced cutting costs further.
Both our SIP Telephone Lines and Hosted Telephone Systems cost less than ISDN channels and also include your UK Local, UK National and UK Mobile Calls.
What steps should you take next?
Ultimately businesses will no longer be able to buy any systems that use PSTN or ISDN by 2020. By 2025 ISDN and PSTN services will become obsolete so it is essential your business plans ahead.
While 2025 may seem a long way off, 2020 is only just over two years away. If your current traditional telephone contract is up for renewal within the next couple of years, now is the time to start exploring the benefits of IP and SIP technologies.
Birmingham Telecom can help by providing you with the options and costs associated with upgrading from ISDN or PSTN lines. In Most cases upgrading to SIP will be a cost saving exercise and will lead to many other benefits to your business. Don’t be afraid to embrace the changes that are forthcoming!
Is our Internet connection good enough to deliver VoIP?
You must ensure you have enough bandwidth to deliver voice traffic over your internet connection (on top of everything else your office does). Bottom line: if you don’t have enough bandwidth you could experience poor audio quality or intermittent service which is not acceptable for most companies.
Typically, an FTTC or Dedicated Leased Line are both good products for VoIP Services to run over however, there are circumstances where you can run VoIP over a standard ADSL Connection.
- Our FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) connections run VoIP perfectly
- Leased Lines are often used in business with a higher demand on internet bandwidth
- A Poor Quality Internet connection will lead to problems with speech quality on VoIP
Does your existing telephone system support VoIP?
Most modern office phone systems already support VoIP, but if yours doesn’t, you can easily replace your existing phone system. Our solutions start from as little as £30 + VAT per month and the saving you will make against your existing telephone bills is normally more than enough to cover any technology upgrade you need to make. If you are not sure what system you have or whether it even supports IP technology, please give us a call and will point you in the right direction.
- Most modern Telephone Systems already support IP telephony
- Upgrading an incompatible Telephone System costs as little as £30 + VAT per month
- Most of our customers save 50% or more when comparing us to their existing telephone provider
Putting our Customers First
Over 17,000 businesses have trusted Birmingham Telecom to be their business phone system provider.
Our focus on putting the customer first is what sets us above the competition. We go above and beyond what a normal telephone provider would offer. This is to ensure that you receive the best products, call rates and the best customer experience we can give.
At Birmingham Telecom we are in a great position to help your business. We are experts in SIP and IP Telephony and have a solution to fit each and every one of our clients.
Why Birmingham Telecom?
- Experts in SIP & IP Telephony
- Over 17,000 existing business customers
- Proven to save your business money
- Ensure you get the best solution, first time!
- An established UK telecom supplier
- Solutions for businesses of all sizes
- Genuine experts in what we do
- Dedicated account management
- Panasonic Accredited Solutions Partner
- Own in house engineering team
