PSTN Switch-off 2025 game

We will help you to identify all the legacy systems and devices that will stop working in 2025 and guide you on what action to take.
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90 SECONDS

TO SAVE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS

The PSTN Switch-off is an existential threat to unwary businesses. Think we’re overdramatising? Our 90-second PSTN Switch-off Game will help to ensure you’ve spotted every single threat to your communications infrastructure, and know exactly what action to take.

Losing voice calls could be just the start of your troubles…

  • days until December 2025
  • Hours
  • Minutes
  • Seconds
The clock is ticking towards the demise of the PSTN. If you don’t have an alternative fully in place by December 2025 (or sooner), your phones will stop ringing, your lifts and other vital facilities may cease to work, your broadband connection could die and your customers might be cut off from contacting you.

Why? Because the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) includes conventional phonelines, ISDN, ASDL2 and other types of connection that together power all kinds of business-critical technology. For the full picture, play our game below.

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW.

Luckily, the successor technologies are readily available, in the form of “IP-only” connections accessed via Openreach’s fibre network or our partners at Gamma. Better still, if deployed correctly, these can offer cost advantages and greater operational flexibility while also future-proofing your communications.

From SIP Trunking (through your existing PBX or an Audiocodes converter) to a more comprehensive Unified Communications solution, Daisy can help you implement the right VoIP solution for your business, with truly transformative results. We can also supply Single Order Generic Ethernet (SOGEA) access to safeguard your broadband connectivity and support your communications upgrade.

THINK YOU’VE GOT IT COVERED?

Prove it to yourself (or set your mind at rest) in just 90 seconds…

Our interactive game lets you test your awareness (and your potential readiness) with a whistle-stop tour of a modern business environment. Can you identify all the systems and devices that will stop working when PSTN waves goodbye? Spoiler: it’s harder than most players think.
At the end, you’ll have a chance to explore the areas you identified (plus any you missed) in greater detail, while identifying the best alternative technology.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Use our ultimate PSTN step-by-step decision tool to audit your existing tech and plan the perfect migration path.

Act now to ensure your smooth transition away legacy technology

Your questions answered…

Download our guide to find out all the information you’ll need to navigate this landmark change in technology. (In a nutshell, it means you won’t be able to order new ISDN or PSTN services in the UK come 2023, and in 2025 Openreach will cease to provide dial tones or power to the lines which all equals: No. More. Calls.) We are working with Ofcom, communications providers, the Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator (OTA), the Network Interoperability Consultative Committee (NICC) and trade bodies, to ensure where possible you experience a smooth migration.
If you use any of the following solutions, you need to start planning to include these in your migration: card machines, emergency alarms, lift-lines and help point systems, door entry systems, fax machines, remote monitoring equipment. Taking the time now to plan for the future and ensure voice and other phone dependent services are secure for the digital-first era will be vital to your business success.
Essentially, you need to start thinking of alternatives and changing the way your organisation communicates. There are options already available such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which uses data networks to provide you with the same voice service but delivered in a slightly more modern way. It also means you can take advantage of more up to date collaboration tools.
Well, in the same way you probably wouldn’t rely on a car made over 30 years ago to get you to and from work every day, that’s pretty much what your voice traffic has been doing. Everything else has moved on – and now it is time for telecoms to catch up.
Not in the slightest. Daisy has been deploying VoIP services for more than 10 years now (we said it is time for telecoms to catch up). So trust us when we say that the sooner you start considering your options, the easier the transition will be for your business to start taking advantage of the opportunities that solutions such as VoIP can bring.

We know every organisation is different, that’s why we’ll ensure you get the support you and your business need to make an informed decision about your future – be that with an on-premise communications platform, deploying Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) connectivity or going the whole hog and moving to a fully-hosted cloud infrastructure.

Daisy offers an entire range of business-grade broadband and fibre options, alongside dedicated connectivity using Ethernet technology. We will work with you to provide the best option based on your business requirements. Take a look here.

Stop-sell applies at a premises level where that premise has access to an available FTTP product. Where a premise has access to FTTP there will be no new supply of other products, CP transfers, working line takeovers, addition of broadband to voice lines, or bandwidth modifications.

  • If a premise has GEA-FTTP available to order, then only GEA-FTTP is available to that premise and instantly become within the scope of stop-sell.
  • If a premise does not have GEA-FTTP available, SOGFAST, SOGEA, GEA-FTTC, SOTAP (where no fibre is available), MPF and WLR (only until September 2023) will be available.

The same stop-sell principles will apply for the fibre exchanges in Salisbury and Mildenhall. Openreach plans to modernise its network to support the delivery of telephone services using Internet protocol (IP) technology, and to upgrade its copper lines
to fibre. As part of this, it will undertake two trials:

The Salisbury trial (Dec 2020) will test the processes for migrating customers to fibre services and, ultimately, withdrawing legacy copper services.

The Mildenhall trial (May 2021) will test the processes for withdrawing Wholesale Line Rental (WLR), and migrating customers from legacy copper services to fibre – which will support the delivery of telephone services over broadband connections. MPF and SOTAP will be available in a fibre area if there is no spare fibre capacity.

Order journeys
• Existing product at a
premise
• New premise 		If the premise
Is ENABLED for
FTTP 		If the premise is
NOT ENABLED
for FTTP
WLR/ MPF and SLU MPF
Provision including new supply,
transfers and working line take
over etc. 		Restricted No change –
this will follow
nationwide
Stop Sell in
September
2023.

If the premise
has availability
for Single Order
products such
as SOGEA.
This should be
chosen over
WLR and FTTC.

WLR/ MPF and SLU MPF
Modify that increase the asset
base (including increase and
decrease of channels) 		Restricted
LLU-SMPF, SLU-SMPF and
FTTC Provision and Modify 		Restricted
SOTAP and MPF Provision,
Speed Upgrade and Modify 		Restricted
Non Standard Lines (non-served
premises, short duration lines
and hot sites) 		No change until
available on FTTP
As part of the FTTP exchange upgrade programme, any premises enabled for FTTP should have migrated to an FTTP solution, this also includes any premises connected to SOGEA.
Yes. Openreach has confirmed that this will most likely become a continual advancement as more and more FTTP is rolled out and are expected to release these details on a quarterly basis.
The PSTN supports a number of Openreach products: WLR3 analogue, ISDN2, ISDN30, LLU SMPF, SLU SMPF, Narrowband Line Share and Classic products. These products are generically referred to, as part of the industry programme, as WLR products. When the analogue network closes in 2025 these products will no longer be available.
In some circumstances where the customer is not in an exchange area that is impacted by the FTTP Exchange Upgrade stop-sell, they can migrate to LLU MPF (only where there is no FTTP availability).

You can migrate over to a Single Order broadband product. The voice service will stop working and effectively becomes redundant in this instance. Voice service will become an optional add-on to your broadband service.
Download our quick-read, all-you-need-to-know guide about SOGEA >>

You can keep your current phone number if you inform your service provider at point of sale or when the migration order is placed, but you will need to take out an OTT IP Voice service (to run parallel with your Single Order Broadband product) and indicate that you wish to port the number onto the new IP Voice service otherwise you will lose the number once the service migrates away from the existing WLR or MPF service.
The 2025 WLR withdrawal date is not something that can be pushed back, this was defined as a necessity due to the BT Group PSTN network infrastructure reaching its end of life. This also means it is crucial that the other key dates leading up to the 2025 withdrawal date also do not get pushed back. This will of course be continued to be monitored as per updates directly from Openreach and Ofcom.
Daisy Corporate Services will work alongside you to ensure all of your services migrate/are upgraded to the new solution. At present there is no bulk order option in place, but all orders can be placed.
ATA stands for Analogue Telephone Adaptor. They are used to
allow end users (EUs) to utilise their old hardware equipment.
New Technicolor broadband routers and all models will include
an ATA port later in 2020.
Yes, your ATA will convert your analogue signals to digital IP
Voice but, in order to use this, you must have an IP Voice product
over the top of your new Single Order broadband to transmit the
calls.
Yes, if you are already on an FTTC enabled router then it will be compatible as SOGEA is built upon the same foundations. We are also awaiting updates from Openreach, Ofcom and market leaders in router technological specifications to confirm what will still be compatible and what hardware will become redundant.
SOGEA and FTTP orders will need to have a voice order placed
alongside the migration order. These do not work like the
current SIM2 orders so an OTT (over the top) voice order will
need to be raised to run parallel with a significant amount
of notice, in order for the number to port over to the IP Voice
service.
It is imperative that you contact the vendor of these devices to
confirm whether they are IP-compatible or not. If they are not,
you will need to source new devices which are IP-compatible,
to allow you to continue operating as a business. Otherwise,
these devices will cease to work when moving to a Single Order
product. If you need advice, get in touch and we can discuss your
business requirements on 0344 863 3000.
Migrations between communications providers (CP) will still
be available but the destination product they are migrating to
will need to align with the stop-sell rules. Meaning that if the
end-user (EU) is in the FTTP footprint, then they can only migrate
over to FTTP.
Yes these features will be available until the stop-sell dates
however, we would encourage that you arrange to migrate over
to FTTP solutions with an OTT voice solution so that you are
prepared and ready for when the PSTN is switched off.

Alternative copper and fibre products

Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) is the fastest and most resilient all-fibre
product with broadband speeds of up to 1Gbps download and 220Mbps
upload and can be purchased on its own.

Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) is a form of fibre optic communication
delivery in which the optical fibre runs all the way from the exchange
to the street cabinet and uses the existing copper network to reach
the home or office. The remaining part of the access network from
the cabinet to the customer is usually copper wire but could use other
technologies such as wireless.

Single Order G.Fast (SOGFast) is a cutting-edge technology that
delivers ultrafast speeds over existing copper lines of up to 330Mbps
through a single order variant which forms part of the Openreach
developing product portfolio.

Single Order GEA (SOGEA) Delivering superfast in a single order,
speeds of up to 80Mbps will offer similar connectivity to FTTC without
the need for an underlying Voice Access product. Download our SOGEA guide >>

Single Order Transitional Access Product (SOTAP) Supporting
non-fibre areas with speeds of up to 17Mbps. This is a new product
that will deliver a copper path between your premises and the SOTAP
communication provider’s (CP) exchange infrastructure, over which the
SOTAP CP can provide broadband and IP Voice services. This is different
from a Metallic Path Facility (MPF) because it facilitates the use of
existing exchange infrastructure which currently supports LLU SMPF
and therefore provides a better experience when migrating away from
WLR products (with or without SMPF).

Ethernet offers a wide choice of high bandwidth, permanentlyconnected point-to-point services designed to help CPs extend their own
networks and deliver a range of high-quality services to their customers.
The Ethernet fibre network that underpins them offers unrivalled
geographic coverage of the UK, embracing many out-of-town locations
where manufacturing takes place and where many data centres of the
future will be located.

There are a number of options, including utilising the new
Single Order Transitional Access Product (SOTAP) which uses
broadband rather than voice as the primary service, as well as
mobile and Ethernet services.
There is no option to opt out of the FTTP trail exchanges. If
you have a working WLR or MPF asset in one of the exchanges
you will be impacted by the stop-sell principles and rules with
the expectation that the existing bases will be migrated onto
an all IP solution/alternative product by the end of the trials in
December 2022.
The withdrawal of PSTN copper services has a deadline of
Dec 2025. The change is happening, and you do not want to be
left behind. Both hosted voice and SIP are easily scalable for
any growth aspirations – Daisy Corporate Services can help
you migrate your services with minimum disruption to your
business. For all your voice and data solutions we can get you
connected.

Are You Switched On To The PSTN Switch-off?

Click here to download the FAQs >

Don’t put it off… TAKE THE FIRST STEP

Whatever stage you’re currently at, Daisy’s specialist team can help you assess your needs and manage a seamless migration that works for you and your customers.