The Big Digital Switchover You Might Not Know About…

All over the UK there’s a focus from ISP’s and customers alike to get faster and faster network speeds and more bang for their buck on their fibre and standard broadband packages. With most UK households now having an array of internet connected devices, and the vast majority having more than one TV (we’ll omit the term ‘smart’ here, as it’s actually become very difficult to buy a TV that doesn’t run an operating system), as well as other entertainment devices, like games consoles, PC’s, and systems like Alexa or Google Dot, demand for network services is at an all-time high, and only looking to increase.

More devices being used at the same time mean those devices will be using more bandwidth, hence more total demand on the line, and the need for ‘faster’ or higher bandwidth broadband supply.

Supply, Demand, and Broadband

With demand ever-increasing, you’re eventually going to find an obstacle to supply, and in this case it’s the good ol’ laws of physics, as there is a limit to what can be done on the, now rather antiquated, copper bearer lines that have been the backbone of the UK’s telecommunications network for decades.

This means that two things need to happen. Firstly, it means investment in new infrastructure, and that comes in the form of full-fibre networking, to get the fastest speeds possible, as efficiently as possible. This rollout has been ongoing in the UK (albeit slowly) for many years and looks set to take a few more years yet before the project can be signed off by the UK government. Even then, there will be areas of the UK (streets, roads, and lanes too remote to access, or with too much groundwork to do to fully replace copper with fibre) where a physical change to fibre-optic lines will be impractical or too expensive to be covered under the plan, which means that, secondly, any older copper infrastructure that stays will need to be cleared of any unnecessary baggage to maximise its effectiveness.

This means that the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) analogue signals, which have been directed along the copper infrastructure since the UK telephone exchange was invented, will stop.

Analogue vs Digital

Working with analogue signals is markedly different from digital signals. Transmitting and receiving data via analogue methods uses an electromagnetic signal (also known as a waveform) that varies in its wavelength (how far apart the peaks of the signal wave are) and amplitude (how high the peaks of the signal wave are). This is generally more variable, and more accurate than digital signals, which are just made up of a series of ones and zeroes, or on-off states. Digital signals can carry information faster though, and that’s more important in the modern age. It’s also significantly easier to encode and decode digital signals accurately, and ensure lossless delivery of information.

Switching analogue services to digital is nothing new in the UK; television went the same way, with all analogue signals being switched off on 24th October 2012, marking a switch to fully digital terrestrial television services. And so it will be with phone-lines, with a switch to digital lines being in place before the end of 2025.

Retiring the analogue service for phone lines means that those maintaining the analogue equipment don’t have to devote time and money to ensure ageing infrastructure carries both analogue and digital signals. Analogue equipment is rare, expensive, and hard to maintain when compared to digital equivalents, and all the innovation in electronic communications is taking place in the digital format.

What does an analogue shutoff mean for businesses owners?

It’s highly likely that you’re using digital lines for much of your business function, but in many cases, business owners are running more than just phones over their phone lines; Intruder and Fire Alarms, Point of Sale and Card Payment systems, CCTV, Access Control systems, secondary data lines for emergency internet access – the list of possible services being carried by your analogue line could be quite long. Obviously, if these services are not switched over to a digital subscriber line before the analogue shutdown, they will cease to work when that analogue line is switched off.

The good news is that all these services function much more effectively over a digital line, and if you are still using an analogue phone instead of digital VoIP services, you’re missing out on all of the great things that digital phones bring to the table.

In short, moving from analogue to digital will allow our national network infrastructure to work smarter, harder, and faster. If you need to check if you’re ready for the switchover, or you’d like to see about updating your network, telecoms equipment, or you’re interested in making your business more resilient or more effective, then get in touch with Pearce IT today. Call us on 01453 222 000 or use the contact form on this site.