AN IT firm is holding a free event this month to prepare Cumbrian businesses for the 2025 switch off of the UK’s landline phone network.

Carlisle-based Integrity IT Solutions is hosting the event at The Crown Hotel at Wetheral, near Carlisle, on Thursday, May 18 to help ensure businesses are ready for the major changes ahead.

The event, which runs from 9am to 11.30am, will include experts from BT and Sophos as well as insights from the Integrity IT Solutions’ team, which works with businesses across Cumbria.

Colin Hewitt, who is a BT Product Specialist at Integrity IT Solutions, said: “The switch off is taking place to ensure that the UK’s communication network meets the demands of the 21st century.

"The way we live and work has changed dramatically over the past two decades - and we need a network which will meet and exceed our expectations.

“For businesses, this means taking steps sooner rather than later to ensure they are prepared.

“The event on May 18 will provide businesses with the information they need about how switching to all-digital communication systems will deliver cost savings and better connectivity.”

The UK’s existing copper PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) network will be switched off by December 31, 2025. 

The process of moving to an all-digital system has already begun, with some areas transferred, or in the process of being transferred. Two test sites in Salisbury in Wiltshire and Mildenhall in Suffolk are due to have analogue services withdrawn in October this year.

And as part of the transition, Openreach will stop providing new analogue phone lines to UK customers from September.

Mr Hewitt said: "Effectively the switch over means that calls will instead be routed over a cloud-based phone system, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which is faster, more reliable and more cost effective for users than the old analogue system.

“If an office, factory or workplace currently relies on a traditional landline connection then they should be looking at digital phone and broadband alternatives now. 

“The benefits to moving to a digital phone system can be instant, including reduced ongoing costs, easier maintenance, more flexibility and better security.”