Is This The End Of The Landline Phone As We Know It?

It is fair to say that many of us have come to rely on the internet to complete everyday tasks. From ordering our shopping from the supermarket to checking our Bank balance, the internet has become woven into the fabric of our lives.

Over the coming years, the way that internet connections are delivered across the UK is changing. Between now and 2025, Open Reach (the network division of British Telecom) will be upgrading its entire UK broadband network to move it from the traditional copper-based wiring to a more modern, faster network based on fibre optics.

The UK government and BT recognise that the current infrastructure in place will not be suitable for the increasing reliance that we all have on the internet. The growing popularity of stream on-demand video services, like YouTube and Netflix, coupled with the increase in flexible' home working' that has been adopted since the start of the global COVID pandemic, means that it is now more financially prudent to replace the entire network than it is to continue to maintain and update the existing network.

This is excellent news for everybody – more reliable internet connections with increased download speeds. However, most people do not realise that the traditional phone line will be eliminated, and every household and business will need to look for an alternative.

Why is this?

Today when you order Broadband, you need a phone line for the Broadband signal to be delivered over. As Openreach switches off the standard analogue phone lines currently used for providing Broadband and moves to the newer fibre-based connections, you will no longer need a telephone line to carry Broadband.

For millions of households and businesses, it will mean that there will be a choice to make; either get rid of their landline service altogether or move to an alternative solution.

What are the alternatives?

Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP offers a flexible phone service solution connected via your internet connection.

VoIP isn't a new technology, it has been around since the '90s, but it is the first time domestic households have needed to rely on the technology to deliver phone calls.

There are some positives about VoIP over the traditional analogue service, such as better-quality sound and the opportunity to lower costs.

But there are also some negatives.

One negative is that you will be reliant on your broadband service to make and receive telephone calls – if your Broadband fails for any reason, you will not be able to make or receive telephone calls.

Another concern that many people have is what happens in the event of a power failure? If you do suffer from a power failure when using a VoIP telephone system, you will need to ensure that you have a power supply back up that will power your Broadband router. Without a power supply backup, you will be left without the means to make or receive phone calls – not significant in the event of an emergency!

Are there any other alternatives?

Another alternative to having a VoIP telephone solution is to switch to a fully mobile service. While this works for some people, many of us still want the option of having a traditional 01 or 02 telephone number associated with our service:

• It may be a number you have had for many years and a number that family and friends know to contact you.
• A 01 or 02 telephone number gives us a local identity as landline numbers are based on a geographic area.
• A local telephone number is desirable to small businesses that only operate in a specific geographical area.

However, it is also becoming increasingly important to have a mobile number:

• Flexible and portable - not tied to a single location
• The ability to send and receive SMS messages is becoming increasingly important:
  • Banks and other organisations use SMS to send you codes for online banking
  • Specific applications such as WhatsApp and Uber require a mobile number for their service to be registered

Is it possible to combine your landline and mobile service?

Yes. Let's look at how combining your landline and mobile services can benefit both home and business users.

Number Flexibility

The SIM Works has introduced a mobile service that can operate on traditional 'landline' numbers that begin with 01, 02 or 03. You can port or transfer your existing number to the service or chose a new number. You can even choose a number that is outside of your traditional area code.

Lower Costs

Combining your landline and mobile services will ultimately reduce your costs as there is only one service subscription to be paid instead of two. Additionally, all Cloud Bright subscriptions for voice service include free calls to UK landline and UK mobile numbers in with the cost of the service subscription.

Additional Features

The SIM Works offers several additional features that are very useful:

• The SIM Works Call Filtering Services – you can control who can and who cannot call you. The Call Filtering service has several levels that can be applied to individuals or groups and some advanced Filtering Services that use AI to spot suspicious or unwanted calls.
• Centralised Voice Mail – use the same voice mail service for your landline and mobile numbers.
• The SIM Works Call Recording services. Typically Call Recording has been associated with large businesses, but The SIM Works is making this service available to all its customers. Individual users can now subscribe to a call recording service.
• Multi Number Service. Assign multiple landline or mobile numbers to a single service.
• Advanced Number Presentation Services. Calls to your landline number and your mobile number are delivered to the same device. When you make an outgoing call, you can choose if the person you are calling will see your landline number or your mobile number.
• Advanced PBX Features for Businesses. Moving all of your telephony services to a mobile service does not mean that you have to lose traditional PBX features such as Welcome Messages, Auto Attendant, ACD, Music-on-Hold, and many more.

Mobility & Flexibility

If the COVID pandemic has taught us anything, we need to be flexible in using our communication devices. Business users need to have the ability to change how they work very quickly. Employees may be working from a fixed office one day, but they may need to work from remote or home locations the next day. A flexible, seamless, and consistent way of making and receiving telephone calls is essential to maintaining professional business communications.

Scalability

Moving away from traditional fixed-line services to cloud-based services allows business users to scale up and scale down as they need to for their business. As your business grows, you simply add new subscribers without the need to worry about costly upgrades to infrastructure, processing power or connectivity.

Future Proof

Cloud-Based solutions mean that you are always using the latest technology available as cloud vendors can quickly roll out new features and new technology to everybody very quickly.