By now, most of you will have heard about the UK’s biggest shake-up of telecoms in over 150 years. The end is near for the old copper broadband and telephone line network as it prepares to bow out to its full fibre successor.
So, where is Northern Ireland on its journey to a full fibre future?
With telecom companies in the process of switching off the approximately 14 million copper-based phone lines across the UK, many regions in Northern Ireland have already made the switch or are scheduled to do so very soon.
More and more areas here are seeing older copper wires being made redundant with faster Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) connections being installed.
In tandem with the roll-out of gigabit-capable FTTP lines, is the national ‘stop sell’ on all analogue phone services. The ‘stop sell’ on sales and installations of phone systems and products that rely on copper lines is triggered when a majority of premises connected to an exchange can get ultrafast full fibre.
Only once an area has qualified by having more than 75% FTTP coverage in an exchange area can the copper-based products really be switched off.
Earlier this month, Openreach announced a further 84 exchanges where it plans to stop selling copper-based services. Among these were Antrim, Craigavon and Saintfield.
Those who still depend on a copper line for broadband or for telephone may be left vulnerable by the copper switch off when it happens. Beyond telephone systems, other technology that may be impacted includes fire and security alarms, boiler controls, telecare alarms, POS terminals and building management systems.
The good news is that if your business has already switched to using a fibre service, then the copper switch off shouldn’t impact you much, if at all.
If you have made the switch, you will also already know that the plus points far outweigh any concerns about changing over. The new full fibre includes many features not found on old landline services, such as superfast gigabit broadband speed, multi-call, three-way calling for conference calls, lifelike video conferencing and call diversion to any other phone number including mobile phones.
Call quality is also much improved with digital voice compared to the old copper network.
Full fibre broadband enables businesses to unlock the power of cloud computing for cloud-based solutions such as SaaS (Software as a Service), enterprise storage and VOIP systems. Ultrafast broadband speeds can make backing up data a smoother process and enhance cloud security.
As full fibre is rolled out, the old copper network will be fully switched off by the end of 2025. The upgrade to FTTP is something that all households and businesses will have to do.
Making the switch enables businesses to stay connected and productive. In today’s fast-paced business environment, a reliable, high-speed internet connection isn’t just a luxury – it’s a necessity.
As the great switch off approaches, many organisations are finally switching up a gear to future-proof their business and communications capabilities.
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. At the very least, you could face disruption that may prove bothersome if not costly.
- David Armstrong is chief executive at b4b Group