Education
Helping schools, colleges and universities prepare for the ISDN switch off and connect, communicate and collaborate.
There's a major change in communications that schools must plan ahead for: The Switch Off.
BT will switch off its PSTN and ISDN networks in 2025, meaning that all organisations currently using traditional phone lines will need to migrate to a VOIP or hosted solution.
Whether learning takes place at school or at home, your organisation's phone system is a crucial part of day-to-day running. With a hosted or VOIP communication solution in place, you'll benefit from features and functionality that will enhance both teacher and student safety, enable more efficient communications to parents or students, and encourage effective collaboration between teaching staff.
Technology challenges in education
Schools have a unique set of challenges to overcome when considering investment in communications and technology
• Demand for collaboration and teachers being able to 'work from anywhere'
• Seasonal fluctuations in communication traffic between term-time and holidays
• Parents and students expecting flexibility and instant communication
from teaching staff
• Smaller budgets and a continued expectation to invest in
digital transformation
• Allowing parents to easily report student sickness or absence
• Increased scrutiny on safeguarding for both students and teachers
• Reporting on major events, such as school closures
How to prepare your school for the switch off
What is the Switch Off?
At the end of December 2025, the network that supports traditional telephone lines will be switched off and withdrawn from service.
Why is the Switch Off happening?
As broadband services have increased in quality and reliability over the past decade, the network that supports traditional phone lines has become almost completely digital. In fact, there are already some areas where you can't buy traditional phone lines, so you'll need to consider moving to a hosted or VolP solution soon.
