What's happening?

We're moving all our customers from the old analogue public switched
telephone network (PSTN) to a fully digital network. We've already
started. We plan to have moved everyone over before Openreach stop the
PSTN (and ISDN) service in 2025. By then, every phone line in the UK
will be digital, routing calls over IP (Internet Protocol) rather than
the traditional PSTN.

When you say 'everyone...'?

Yes, we mean everyone. Business and home. And it's not just your phone
services you need to think about. It's everything else that currently
uses the old phone network, all your non-voice services connected to
PSTN or ISDN lines. Things like alarms, EPOS machines, door entry
systems, CCTV, and faxes.

Sounds a bit drastic. Why are you doing it?

PSTN has been the backbone of the UK's phone network for decades. But
we've all seen the dramatic changes in technology over the past few
years, especially recently. It's all around us: smartphones, apps, the
cloud, Zoom, Internet of Things, and so on.

What you probably don't notice so much is the infrastructure that
makes everything work. The telephone lines strung across the streets,
the web of copper cables buried beneath your feet, some of which have
been down there since the 19th century.

It's now time to leap forward from PSTN to embrace the boundless
possibilities of digital.

https://business.bt.com/insights/digital-transformation/uk-pstn-switch-off/

--
(Please remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)

***** Moderator's Note *****

I learned what "Planned Obsolescence" means back in college. It took
until this moment to realize that the planning included me.

Bill Horne
Moderator

Am Samstag, 21. Mai 2022, um 15:13:42 Uhr schrieb Bill Horne:

> What you probably don't notice so much is the infrastructure that
> makes everything work. The telephone lines strung across the streets,
> the web of copper cables buried beneath your feet, some of which have
> been down there since the 19th century.

That is not an argument, the same lines will still be used for ADSL and
VDSL.

> It's now time to leap forward from PSTN to embrace the boundless
> possibilities of digital.

There is just one problem: There are disadvantages.

VoIP is more complex and needs a modem and router at home that needs to
be powered all the time. This is not a good solution for fire alarm
systems, elevator phones etc.