Three years and counting: The UK’s switch to telephone cloud is coming

Analogue telephone lines are being phased out during 2025 across the UK – here’s what you need to know about it and how the changes could benefit you 

From New Year’s Day there will be little more than 1,000 days to go until January 2025 – and what is potentially the biggest shake-up to the UK telecoms network for decades.

In 2025, the Government and telecoms industry leaders will be turning off the telephone system as we know it. This means that analogue (PSTN – Public Switch Telephone Network) and ISDN lines will stop working, as the UK moves to new SOGEA lines and full-fibre solutions.

At present, people can make voice telephone calls on the same line as broadband – but this is being phased out. This means there will be no voice provision on the line and it will become broadband only.

Instead, people will use the new SOGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access) line – broadband which doesn’t require a telephone line connection, or full-fibre solutions. New build properties are already being introduced without analogue lines and will have an internet-based connection.

The Big Switch aims to increase the capacity across the country for broadband to speed up internet services, while at the same time moving phone calls to the internet or cloud.

Alastair Bates, Managing Director of TelephoneSystems.Cloud, said: “We want to raise awareness of this huge change that will affect homes and businesses across the country. 

“Change is coming – it is not optional – but there are big benefits coming for consumers and businesses. For businesses, this Big Switch, moving telephone services to the cloud and the internet – promises to deliver quicker broadband, cheaper phone services and more flexibility to give and receive calls and do so much more on your phone than you might already be able to do.

“People don’t need to worry about this change, but by acting now, they can make the change well in advance of the deadline in 2025 and enjoy the benefits of switching early.”

People will increasingly start to see SOGEA services being offered at a cheaper rate than their existing landline, and deals may come with a VOiP package as well. People can either decide to have a router upgrade and plug their phone into it, or opt for cloud based technology and have their landline connected to their mobile. Others still may decide to get rid of their existing landline altogether.

Alastair said: “People may have some concerns when they think about VOiP. Older versions of VOiP were low quality, and associated with poor telecoms and internationally based call centre services providing a poor quality service. New VOiP is high definition – it delivers a quality similar to using a landline, so it is much better and people can have confidence in this.

“There are huge benefits to using VOiP or telephone cloud technology. It offers true flexibility. People can be at home working remotely, and are able to see who is on a call in the office, pick up a call, transfer it to another colleague who is free, and I can do all of this from anywhere in the world.

“The long term financial savings of cloud-based telecoms are phenomenal. Most people have got a piece of telephone equipment in a cupboard in their home and paying maintenance on it. The telephone systems of tomorrow will be almost like streaming services for films. You won’t need the kit, you won’t need the phone lines and you only pay for what you use. There are huge benefits in prospect for everyone – and we want to help raise awareness of what is coming.”

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