Many European providers decided to end a commonly used phone service called ISDN, and replace it with another service called SIP. SIP services are actually better. But this doesn't make the switch any less painful. Especially for business owners with long contracts for their ISDN telephone system. With some providers already ending service, it is important to keep informed.
When your system will be affected
Swisscom already has three-quarters of it's customers using the new SIP based system. By the end of 2018, they plan to switch the remaining ISDN customers to SIP.
Deutsche Telekom scheduled 2018 as the deadline to end ISDN in Germany. Though many customer are still using ISDN services, quite a few receive letters last year warning them of the imminent switch.
Orange plans to end ISDN services in 2020 and plans to stop providing new ISDN services to customers in 2018.
Even the British will be affected in 2025. BT will stop providing new ISDN contracts in 2020, and plans to end all current ISDN services in 2025.
What this means
When ISDN services are no longer available, your ISDN telephone system will not be compatible with the new service. Switching providers may be an option, but the quality of ISDN services may begin to deteriorate as fewer providers work to maintain them. Therefore it is not recommended to fix the problem by finding another ISDN provider. Even so, you can still keep your ISDN telephone system.
Using a VoIP Gateway, you can connect your ISDN telephone system with the new SIP services provided by your provider. This can be done without changing any settings in your ISDN telephone system.
Your next steps
Stay informed. Even though BT announced the change in 2015, many of its customers are still unaware that a change is about to happen.
One quarter of UK businesses are unaware of the upcoming switch off of ISDN, according to a survey by TalkTalk Business, but 96% of those who have switched hosted voice or SIP trunking have seen savings. - James Pearce, GTB
Once you know if and when a change needs to be made, review the
. This will ensure that the switch doesn't negatively affect your business. If you want to learn more about the end of ISDN - download our All-IP white paper.
