Copper landline connections in UK to be killed off – In The News
Twenty-one years ago, as we entered into a new millennium, the traditional landline was a staple fixture in almost every house in the UK. Landline phones work on a system called the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) which connects people’s devices together through a complex network of copper cables connected to intermediary exchange points.
And when dial-up Internet hit households everywhere, those copper cable networks became very busy indeed, keeping people communicating over the phone as well as keeping them online.
But then broadband came along and the PSTN network found itself in a very lonely place.
Not only did broadband Internet utilize different cables, technologies and exchange points, but mobile phones and apps that could allow you to place phone calls over the Internet were becoming increasingly popular, meaning less and less people were using their landlines.
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And now today, 40% of people in the UK are reportedly not even using landline at all.
That’s partly why BT OpenReach, the organisation responsible for maintaining the UKs network of phone and Internet cables, has announced that the archaic PSTN network used for so long to keep us connected with each other will soon be a thing of the past, and has been planned to be phased out by 2025.
That doesn’t mean landlines will be a thing of the past, however. They can still be used in the same way they’re used now for those that would prefer to keep them, and you’ll be able to keep the same number. Though for some households this will mean plugging them into a different socket. And that’s because they’ll all be switching over to digital.
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So how will landlines become digital? Instead of using the current analogue connection through copper wires, landlines will soon be plugged into cyberspace.
They will utilise a well-used technology called VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) which is how apps like WhatsApp and Messenger allow users to place phone calls utilising 4/5G data networks or a local Wi-Fi connection.
The benefits of this are better quality phone calls, and removing the need to maintain the expensive and aging PSTN.
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But there are some obvious drawbacks here. Namely, you will need an Internet connection for your landline to work, and it’s estimated in the UK over a million households are still not online. As such there will likely be a drive to get these households connected to the World Wide Web, though exactly how that will be done is not clear as present.
This switchover is being driven by telecom companies and is expecting to be complete by 2025, so you still have around 4 years left of those copper wired phone calls before it all goes a way for good.
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