PSTN switch-off

What replaces the old phone network?

Three things, depending on your building and what you actually need. None of them are as complicated as the acronyms make them sound.

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SOGEABROADBAND, NO PHONE LINE

FTTPFULL FIBRE TO THE BUILDING

Hosted VoIPVOICE OVER THE INTERNET

The replacements

Two things change: how the data arrives, and how the voice works.

People conflate these, which is where the confusion starts. Your connection and your phone service are separate decisions, and the switch-off affects both.

Connection

SOGEA

Single Order Generic Ethernet Access. In plain terms, it is the broadband you already have without the phone line underneath it. Same fibre-to-the-cabinet technology, same speeds, but you stop paying for a voice line you no longer use. For many businesses this is the simplest like-for-like move.

Connection

Full fibre (FTTP)

Fibre all the way into the building rather than stopping at a street cabinet. Faster, more reliable, and increasingly the only thing being installed. If it is available at your address it is usually the right answer, and often costs little more than what you pay now.

Voice

Hosted VoIP

Your phone system moves to the cloud. Calls travel over your internet connection, the number is no longer tied to a physical line, and it rings wherever you tell it to: a desk phone, a laptop, a mobile app, or all three.

Close-up of a fibre optic bundle with light travelling through the strands — Connection and voice are two separate decisions. Getting the connection right first is what makes the phone system straightforward.

What actually improves

This is an upgrade being sold as a deadline.

It is easy to treat the switch-off as a chore. In practice most businesses end up with something considerably better than what they had, and often pay less.

Your number stops being tied to a building, so you keep it if you move
Calls follow people rather than desks, which suits how most teams now work
You stop paying line rental for lines you do not make calls on
Adding or removing a user is a setting, not an engineer visit
Call handling, reporting and voicemail-to-email come as standard rather than as extras

A business desk phone and laptop on a desk — A hosted handset looks the same on the desk. What changes is where the call is actually handled.

Keep your numberPorted across, not replaced. Never cancel first.

One connectionVoice and data over the same line, properly configured

No exchange dependencyAn 0151 number can ring anywhere in the country

The catch

Two things analogue did that IP does not, unless you plan for them.

PowerAnalogue lines were powered from the exchange, so a phone worked in a power cut. IP equipment needs mains power. Where a line must survive an outage, that means battery backup or a mobile-based service.

Devices that dial outAlarms, lift lines, telecare and older card terminals were built for analogue. Some work over IP, some need replacing, and some need a different solution entirely. Each one needs checking individually.

Neither is a reason to delay. Both are reasons to start early enough that you are not solving them in January 2027.

Common questions

Answered.

What is SOGEA in plain English?

Broadband without a phone line underneath it. Traditionally your broadband rode on top of an analogue phone line and you paid for both. SOGEA delivers the same connection without the voice line, so you stop paying line rental for something you no longer use.

Is SOGEA the same speed as what I have now?

Generally yes. SOGEA uses the same fibre-to-the-cabinet infrastructure as standard business broadband, so the speed is comparable. The difference is billing and the absence of the analogue line, not performance.

Should I go straight to full fibre instead?

If it is available at your address, usually yes. Full fibre is faster, more reliable and increasingly the only product being installed, and the price gap has narrowed considerably. The first step is finding out what genuinely reaches your premises.

Will VoIP work if my broadband is slow?

Voice needs surprisingly little bandwidth but it does need a stable connection. A poor line shows up as choppy calls rather than slow ones. We test the connection before recommending a move, and where the line is not up to it we say so rather than selling you a system that will disappoint.

What happens to my phones in a power cut?

IP phones need mains power, unlike analogue phones which drew power from the exchange. Options are battery backup on the router and phones, or routing calls automatically to mobiles when the power or the connection fails. For lift lines and alarms this needs specific attention.

Not sure which applies to you?

Give us your postcode and we will tell you what is genuinely available at your premises, from every network we can reach.

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