Impact of PSTN switch off on sales & call centres

How reacting to the forthcoming ISDN change can make your sales teams and call centres more efficient – overnight.

In a fast-paced and competitive business world, maximising productivity is essential to the success of sales teams and call centres. And with the rise of remote work and virtual teams, leveraging cutting-edge technology can be a real game changer in this field.

Utilising cloud-based tools that allow for seamless collaboration and communication can also greatly increase productivity. But in order to roll these out, the right tech needs to be in place to support them.

Embrace change

From December 2025,BT Openreach is closing down all ISDN lines – which will basically mean an end to landlines in the UK and the lines most commonly used to make phone calls across the world.

It’s happening as part of a move to shut down thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) – which ISDN is a part of – because it’s become outdated and been overtaken by newer technologies, such as fibre broadband.

How will The Great Switch Off impact sales and call centres?

The benefits of this shift are numerous and are essentially down to the fact that once the shutdown is complete, a fully digital network will take its place.

Benefits include:

• Improved video conferencing, file sharing and cloud-based working.

• The ability to scale without adding new costly landlines, allowing for remote answering, greater automation and tracking.

• Better call quality and faster networks. This will in turn improve innovation, increase productivity and keep teams tight via hyperconnectivity.

• Reduced office costs owing to the fact that you’ll be saying goodbye to costly, old-fashioned analogue phone lines in your offices.

• The move towards more flexible and inclusive hybrid experiences will also be bolstered and future-ready operations and intelligent workspaces will be better enabled.

  
  
  

Why you should act now

While the switch off won’t take place until December 2025, it could pay dividends to ensure that your sales teams and call centres – and the rest of your business for that matter – are ahead of the game. This is not only because you’ll be leaving legacy systems behind, but you’ll also be keeping pace with peers who are already embracing this new tech and making waves with it.

Sales teams and call centres still using ISDN might feel the effects ahead of the switch off, too, resulting in poor quality calls and unreliable services. This is because less ISDN-trained engineers will be available to fix faults, and availability of parts will decline.

Similarly, a lack of investment in the ISDN infrastructure and fewer resources means that any issues that arise won’t be resolved at speed.

The longer you stick with ISDN, the more your ability to scale will be restricted, too. This is because since 2020, ISDN customers haven’t been able to add new lines. This will limit your ability to expand or scale back your telecommunications service.

There are several great partners out there who can support with your migration. Be sure to research your options and look for a company who can help make this process a smooth and successful one – readying your business for the future.

For more support, guidance and free 1-2-1 business advice, you can also speak to one of our V-Hub Digital Advisers