What UK Businesses Should Do to Prepare for the PSTN Switch-Off

You are already being financially penalised for staying on PSTN. Over 2,600 major PSTN incidents were recorded in 2024/25 — a 45% year-on-year increase as ageing copper infrastructure crumbles. Every month you delay, you are paying a premium to stay on a network that is failing.

1

Audit Everything Connected to Your Phone Lines

Before anything else, you need to know what you have. Most businesses are surprised by how many systems quietly rely on a phone line beyond the obvious desk phones. Walk through your premises and check for:

Your communications provider will not automatically know what devices you have. That responsibility sits with you — and it needs to happen before you migrate, not during.

2

Check Your Broadband Is Ready

VoIP calls travel over your internet connection, so your broadband needs to be stable and fast enough to handle voice traffic alongside normal business usage. Ask your provider:

Questions to ask your provider

If you are still on FTTC or ADSL, now is the right time to upgrade to full-fibre broadband. This delivers faster speeds, lower latency, and a far more reliable foundation for your new phone system — benefiting your entire business, not just your calls.

3

Get a Migration Plan From a VoIP Specialist

Do not wait to be contacted by your current provider. The businesses that move earliest have the most options — on timing, on pricing, and on the solution that best fits how they work. When speaking to a specialist, ask directly:

Questions to ask a specialist

Companies like The VoIP Shop offer free business migration assessments that map your existing setup and recommend the cleanest path to digital — handling number porting, device compatibility, and ongoing support.

⚠ Availability is tightening. Engineer slots and number porting availability will reduce significantly as January 2027 approaches. Businesses booking migrations now are choosing from a full menu. By autumn 2026, that menu will be considerably shorter.

4

Upgrade Your Non-Phone Devices in Parallel

Phone lines are straightforward to migrate. The devices that use them quietly in the background are where delays happen — and where businesses get caught closest to the deadline. s

🔥 Fire & intruder alarms

Your monitoring company needs to upgrade the communicator unit. Some older systems need full replacement. Procurement and installation take time. Start now.

🛗 Lift phones

Your lift maintenance contractor handles this, but they are facing a surge in demand nationally. Book early to secure a slot.

💳 Card payment terminals

Most modern PDQ machines already support 4G or IP connectivity. Contact your payment processor to switch the connection method — it may be a five-minute call.

📷 CCTV & door entry systems

Your installer can advise on IP-based alternatives. In many cases this is a configuration change rather than a full hardware replacement.

Getting these upgraded before your phone line migration means a clean, planned switchover — not a scramble.

5

Choose the Right Solution for Your Business

There is no single answer that fits every business. The right solution depends on your setup, your team size, and how you work.s

Hosted VoIP / Cloud PBX

Right for most SMEs. Your phone system lives in the cloud. Calls travel over your broadband. You keep your existing numbers. Setup is fast, costs are lower, and the system scales with you — no engineer visits to add or remove lines.

Full-Fibre (FTTP) Broadband

Should accompany your VoIP migration wherever possible. Provides the bandwidth and reliability to support VoIP calls — and delivers faster internet for your entire business.

 SIP Trunking

Suits businesses with an existing PBX investment to preserve. You replace the PSTN connection with a digital IP alternative while keeping your current hardware.

Whichever route you take, make sure your provider offers genuine business continuity planning — including what happens to your calls during a broadband outage or power cut, since digital lines require power at your premises to function.

6

Switch Early — Before the Deadline, Not Because of It

The businesses that switched early did so on their own terms — with time to test, time to train staff, and time to resolve any issues without pressure. Residential PSTN customers dropped from 5.2 million to 3.2 million in a single year between 2024 and 2025. Those that moved early chose their timing. Those that left it late did not.

Businesses that wait until the final weeks of January 2027 will be competing for engineer time, scrambling to port numbers, and hoping nothing goes wrong. Some will experience outages. Some will have payment terminals that stop working. Some will discover their fire alarm monitoring went silent without anyone noticing. All of that is entirely avoidable — if you act now.

1 April 2026

+20%

Legacy WLR line rental rises by 20%

1 July 2026

+40%

A further 40% increase on legacy lines

1 October 2026

+40%

A final 40% hike before switch-off

Lower Monthly Costs

VoIP calls cost significantly less per minute. Cloud-based systems eliminate expensive on-site PBX hardware and maintenance contracts.

Work From Anywhere

Calls route to any device — desk phone, laptop, or mobile — on the same number with the same professional setup.

Scale on Demand

Add or remove lines instantly as a software change, not an engineer visit. No delays, no penalty charges.

Features as Standard

Call recording, auto-attendant, voicemail to email, CRM integration — standard inclusions, not premium add-ons.

Faster, More Reliable Broadband

Upgrading to FTTP benefits everyone in your business — not just your phones. Faster speeds, lower latency, better reliability.