The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) switch-off in the UK, initially planned for 2025, has been officially delayed until January 2027. This gives businesses additional time to plan and transition to alternative solutions like VoIP and Fibre broadband services. What is the PSTN Switch-Off? The PSTN network, used for traditional telephone lines and broadband services, will be discontinued across the UK by January 2027. The switch-off means traditional landlines and ADSL broadband will cease to function, and businesses will need to migrate to digital alternatives. Why is this Important? Businesses reliant on traditional phone and broadband services must plan their transition carefully to avoid disruption to their operations. Waiting until the last minute could result in downtime, loss of service, or increased costs. What Should Businesses Do? Assess your current telecom services: Identify your reliance on PSTN services and equipment. Consider VoIP Solutions: Transitioning to VoIP telephony provides flexibility, improved call quality, and typically lowers ongoing costs. Upgrade to Fibre Broadband: FTTP (Fibre-to-the-Premises) broadband provides faster speeds, better reliability, and ensures future-proof connectivity. Consult with experts: Engaging telecom specialists like SA1 Telecoms ensures a seamless transition tailored to your business’s needs. Helpful Resources Ofcom Official PSTN Switch-Off Guidance Openreach Guide on the Digital Upgrade SA1 Telecoms: Here to Help At SA1 Telecoms, we understand the importance of a smooth transition. Our team is here to guide your business through every step of the migration to modern, digital telecom solutions. Contact us today to discuss your business requirements and plan your PSTN transition with confidence.

By 2025, the biggest change in modern UK telecommunications will be rolled out across the whole country – the switch-off of PSTN phone networks which Brits have relied on for over a century. The deadline of December 21st 2025 has been set, and after this date all home and business phones in Britain will only work if they are connected to the internet, running on VoIP service. At the moment, most are still connected with copper wiring which links into the Public Switched Telephone Network. This is a mammoth task for the thousands of engineers in Openreach to reconnect the entirety of the UK in just a few years, with approximately 14 million phone lines to be affected. “The copper network is still the bread and butter of the UK right now. It served us well during the pandemic, we kept everyone connected on that network,” says James Lilley, director of managed customer migrations at Openreach. “It’s not falling over, but it takes more time and effort to keep it at that standard.” This need to overhaul the UK’s telecommunication system stems from the increasing difficulty engineers have found in maintaining and extending the current network, with many of the key components and hardware no longer being manufactured. Along with this, the skills required to maintain a copper wire network are no longer commonly taught, due to the method being largely out of date in the modern world. This sentence alone expresses the fact that the UK needs to get on track with other leading world countries and update our communications to fall in line with the expected standard. This adjustment will not go without its hitches, and these are some of the predicted issues that could arise during and after the PSTN switch-off in the UK. Emergency Services Although the emergency services itself will be largely unaffected, the efficiency of connection could be impacted in the event of the caller having a power cut or broadband outage. In this instance, PSTN phones would still connect to emergency services, but VoIP would lose connection all together and would mean some people may be unable to call for help in an emergency situation. This has led Ofcom to publish guidance to VoIP service providers, stating: “Providers should have at least one solution that enables access to emergency organisations for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power outage in the premises.” It will be interesting to see what measures are put in place over the coming years to ensure this standard is met. Broadband accessibility Once the switch-off has happened, everyone will need to have a broadband connection, even if they do not want or need one. For example, many elderly people do not browse the internet at all, yet they would need to pay for a broadband service and use it through there. Also, some remote areas of the UK such as Shetland Islands, West Devon and the Orkney Islands have such poor broadband connectivity that they would struggle to make a quality call once VoIP goes mainstream. To keep these areas connected, significant investment will need to be put into improving broadband quality for all. Some common business, infrastructure and public systems rely on PSTN PSTN does not just connect phones but many other integral systems, so there will be many different types of technology which will need to be updated. Security systems, point-of-sale card readers, building telecoms, alarm buttons for elderly assistance, phones at railway crossings, emergency phones in elevators, traffic lights and motorway signals are just some of the common services that often rely on PSTN. Each and every one of these across the country will need to be adjusted to work on VoIP – anything forgotten about will simply stop working on January 1st 2026. We can all play our part in making the switch over to VoIP as smooth as possible, by beginning to look at how our own communication and business systems work and make the necessary changes before the deadline looms ever closer. SA1 Telecoms can support your business in making the switch to VoIP services with our cost-effective, bespoke office phone systems using modern technology and hardware to suit any businesses needs.

The half term holidays are upon us and all working parents are frantically trying to create that work life balance. Desperate to entertain the kids, but also finish that board meeting presentation. With schools closed, who will look after the kids while you’re in the office? Who will run them to their activities? What about spending some quality time with them? These are all thoughts that every parent thinks of in the run up to a school holiday, and organisations are realising that keeping employees like these happy, ensures greater positivity. So, does your business have the communication channels in place to allow for remote working? Forbes recently shared the findings of a study completed in 2020 that found that the majority of workers favoured remote working and wanted it to continue post-pandemic. 74% of professionals now expect remote working to become a standard. So, does your business telecommunications allow for you to support this trend? So how does SA1 Telecoms VoIP fit into this? Voice over Internet Protocol is basically a telephone line delivered through the internet. As long as your employee has a device to dial from (e.g. mobile phone, house phone, laptop etc) and an internet connection they can connect to the business’s communications. So that Account Manager, she can now leave early to pick her child up from activity club, take them home and still make customer calls this afternoon through your telecommunications system. Her calls will still be tracked, logged, and recorded. Your Sales Manager, who wants take a long weekend with his family, can still log into the platform from his holiday cottage and track his sales teams outbound and inbound calls. So why SA1? Our sister organisation SA1 Solutions saw a gap in the market for a reliable telecom’s provider, and that’s where the idea of SA1 Telecoms derived from. Unlike many providers of VoIP, we don’t white label and sell you someone else’s software, our VoIP platform is built by our engineers. We monitor, maintain, and test the platform regularly, if we run our business from it, why can’t our customers? With it being our own platform, we have complete control and ultimate flexibility, each solution is tailored to a customer’s exact requirements. As a customer you can have access and training, allowing you to make changes you require. Remember that Sales Manager on holiday? He’s just remembered that the office IVR hasn’t been updated to show the Easter opening hours. He doesn’t panic, he rings the Account Manager, she records a message on her phone of the bank holiday opening hours, WhatsApp’s the recording across to him and he uploads it to the platform. Its seriously as simple as that, all while remote from the office. Want to know more? Contact SA1 Telecoms today and see how easy we make your business communications. info@sa1telecoms.com

The cultural shift from a traditional working environment to a modern workplace has accelerated over the past two years. This is primarily believed to be as a direct result of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and consequential lockdowns. To support workers and build this modern approach to working most effectively, it’s important to have an open mind to new ideas and explore a hybrid of old and new methods. In this article, we’ll explain how to create a successful modern workplace, and how a VoIP telecom system can help achieve this more effectively. Old vs New Firstly, in order to support this new shift in workplace environment, it’s important to understand exactly what a modern workplace is and how it is different from a previous typical working environment. Before, workers would follow a regimented workplace structure – coming into the office every day and regularly using technologies such as computers, printers and servers. The environment was typically results-driven, with companies focused on producing maximum output. However, the modern workplace shows the evolution of technology facilitating a more integrated and communicative environment, suited to the needs and skillsets of employees. This new way of operations supports a hybrid working style, online support and digital workspaces. In short, employers are now recognising the need to support employees with the right resources and environment in order to achieve the most successful workplace possible. As a result, this will lead to the most profitable results for the company as a whole. Why has the working environment changed? Technological advancements have undoubtedly affected the world of work, but there have also been culture, communication and mindset shifts that have influenced employers and their workers. On one hand, you could argue this is predominantly down to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has separated the idea of a traditional office from the place where employees actually work. The move towards utilizing online technologies has been inspired by the consequences of the pandemic, where organisations were forced to move online but quickly saw the technological benefits. The move online empowered employees with greater independence and more flexibility over their schedules. Furthermore, working online uncovered value in different areas – companies were able to use a variety of resources and technologies to supply different needs, reaching more people and achieving goals more productively. On top of this, in many cases, you could argue this maximized efficiency by reducing the time employees would spend commuting or socializing in the office. On the other hand, it is debatable that this shift towards a modern workplace was entirely due to the recent pandemic, as there are many factors that have facilitated this change. Firstly, the changing workplace demographic has undoubtedly needed companies to provide more flexibility. In these instances, technology can be used to support employees’ health, skillset and needs. Secondly, another aspect that has required a more technological workplace is the vast acceleration of pace. When organisations pushed for optimum results, the pressure was put on employees to improve their performance goals and increase their workload. However, in recent years due to a huge societal shift recognising the importance of mental health, the wellbeing of employees became more important. Finally, a recent study showed 65.2% of UK employees say they feel overloaded with the high amount of information and data they process. A variety of technologies can therefore be used to manage data, create storage and help categorise by relevance. How a VoIP Telecoms System can help To create a successful modern workspace, the optimisation and advancements of current systems in an organisation are paramount. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology that facilitates phone calls over the Internet, rather than a mobile network or landline. There are many benefits – most importantly, it is a lot cheaper to call using a VoIP than a normal phone line. For an organisation, a VoIP system can also facilitate further communication and technological solutions. With a computer or smartphone, there are many programs and apps that enable free calling via the Internet. These services can also be used by organisations in a modern workplace, for example: Teams. Zoom, Skype, FaceTime and Google Talk. Therefore, day-to-day activities such as meetings or interviews can take place online, creating a modern, virtual workspace better suited to a more flexible environment for employees. If you want to set up a modern, more technologically driven workspace, we can help. Don’t hesitate to contact us on 01792 439087 with any questions or click here.

We’re delighted to announce that all our engineers have completed training, passed their exams, and are accredited Wildix Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) Gold Partners. We are one of only four such accredited Gold Partners in Wales, and this means we are fully qualified to help our customers with Wildix applications, furthering the options we can provide for businesses seeking the best communications solutions. What is Wildix? Wildix is the first cloud browser-based unified communications solution able to boost efficiency, guarantee an increase in sales, and provide a complete business collaboration platform that is entirely secure by design – with no VPNs or external SBCs required. The product allows you to collaborate with colleagues and interact with customers more easily than ever before. Amongst other things, it is designed to boost business, with up to 52% more sales via the internet. It does this by enabling you to turn your website into a sales centre, even if you don’t have any e-commerce. Wildix is the only Private Branch Exchange (PBX) system that allows web visitors to call you, start a text or video chat, share documents, and more, directly from your website. Using WebRTC Kite by Wildix, you can integrate your PBX with your website, ensuring your business will never miss a call. The Wildix system can also improve daily operations efficiency by up to 25%. It does this by streamlining employees’ daily processes by managing waiting calls, avoiding clogged lines, allowing easy sharing of documents, and starting video calls – with each employee’s availability status always visible. It is the first totally web-based solution and is also designed to work ‘mobile-first’, with an app that works on any smartphone operating system supported by an internet connection. Wildix is also 100% secure with no further applications – VPNs or SBCs – required. Usually, you would need to add external SBC or VPN infrastructures as barriers to protect your system from cyber-attacks. Wildix does not need these external, third-party infrastructures, as security is designed into the system using native encryption. What is UCaaS? Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is a broad concept, which describes a collection of digital communication tools that are unified under one platform. In the case of Wildix with a single interface or point of access. Typically, this package will include making voice calls over the internet — meaning VoIP is usually included in any given UCaaS solution. But it will also mean features like video, instant messaging, screen sharing, file sharing and more. Also, as suggested by the term “as a service,” UCaaS is delivered on a month-to-month basis instead of as a one-off, permanently. This creates more flexibility in the solution, as businesses can pay for these tools as and when they need them. Why use the Wildix UCaaS? Such systems are becoming more and more necessary for businesses in order for them to keep pace with their competitors. With changes to work patterns and hours, the increase in remote and hybrid working, and also the requirement to be able to engage with customers across the globe whilst on the move, a UCaaS system is vital to helping businesses stay ahead of the curve, increase productivity, and position themselves at the forefront of the global marketplace. If you would like to find out more about how the Wildix system could benefit your business, get in touch with us here at SA1 Solutions. Click here to get real time interaction with our sales team and discuss your options.