Are your peers prepared?
We surveyed hundreds of IT leaders from across the public sector to understand how ready it is for the upcoming changes
Regarding the Switch Off, we asked public sector IT Leaders if retiring PSTN, its copper infrastructure, and all ISDN lines by the end of 2025 was achievable. The majority (46%) agreed the transition was possible but not within the given timeframe. A quarter (25%) felt confident the upgrade would be completed ahead of the 2025 deadline, while 16% didn’t think the transition was achievable at all. The initial deadline has since shifted to 2027, suggesting the Government is as uncertain as the wider public sector community.
The majority [of IT leaders] agreed that the transition away from PSTN & ISDN is possible, but not before the initial deadline of 2025.
Copper phone lines impact more than simply telephone systems, and organisations may have to evaluate parts of their operation - such as security systems, lift communications, broadband and digital subscriber lines (DSL) - before the planned switch off. With this in mind, we asked hundreds of public sector employees: how prepared are organisations for the Copper Switch Off?
According to our participants, just 7% have made the transition to fibre networks, while 46% have either ‘begun to develop a strategy’ (29%) or have a ‘fully defined strategy’ in place (17%). The remainder (also 46%) have either yet to implement a strategy (10%), were unaware of the implications for their organisation (4%) or were unsure if steps had been taken to smooth the transition (32%).
Many survey recipients identified that working from home could be the cause of additional disruption. One respondent concluded: “We have little idea as to when our staff will be affected, how they will be affected, or for how long, so we cannot plan."
We also asked participants if the Switch Off had accelerated their organisation’s implementation of VoIP for internal and external communications. While 23% had already implemented VoIP, 35% said that the transition had ‘somewhat accelerated’ (26%) or ‘greatly accelerated’ (9%) their plans. Some public sector IT leaders are moving towards Digital Voice solutions at a fast speed - but not all.
Clearly, participants were right to be sceptical about the 2025 deadline, which the Government has delayed to 2027. The delay confirms that the true impact of the Switch Off has been underestimated. Decommissioning will affect everything from telephone lines to alarm systems and lift communications. The risk to public services is very real. If you are not ready to move to Digital Voice, TalkTalk Business can support with our unique ability to offer voice services via MPF, using existing copper wires from our equipment in Openreach exchanges, to your premises. The last section of this document explains more.
