About the author David Furtado

Moving to Full Fibre to meet your businesses demands

Moving to Full Fibre to meet your businesses demands

More and more of our daily business functions are reliant on Internet connectivity, most businesses can relate to :

Streaming and Storing video, Cloud data backups, Access Control, Security cameras & Alarms, CRM, Email and Smart devices.

Add into the mix the growth of the number of devices using the bandwidth, it get’s you thinking – when will traditional copper based broadband services reach their limit?

On the subject of the growing number of devices – In 2021, IoT Analytics (iot-analytics.com) confirmed the global number of connected IoT devices to grew 9%, to 12.3 billion active endpoints. By 2025, there will likely be more than 27 billion IoT connections. As the semiconductor and chip shortage begins to ease, this will undoubtedly grow by a much higher percentage.

With more and more devices needing internet – how will the UK infrastructure grow? 

With the rapid roll out across the UK of full fibre to the premise broadband services, this offers  businesses the possibility of affordable, high bandwidth fibre circuits with speeds up to 1Gbps  that can easily deal with everything you can throw at it, including real-time applications such as video calls on Zoom, Teams as well a VoIP telephone systems.  The big switch off from Openreach in 2025 means that traditional voice services via copper lines are being phased out, and homes and business will need to migrate to a VoIP platform before this happens, a significant technology jump for many companies.  Juice can help you make the move to VoIP with our intelligent cloud based phone systems, which include fraud protection at no extra cost, protecting our customers against bill shock.  (Please read our guide on the migration to VoIP here)

The Anatomy of a Full Fibre Broadband Connection

Many customers we speak to already believe they already have a fibre broadband service, as this is how they have been marketed for many years.  The truth is that these ‘Fibre’ services are actually still delivered on copper over the final portion to the premises, the fibre part of the service is only from the street furniture (green roadside cabinets) back to the exchange.  From there each exchange is fibre connected back to Internet break out locations such as TeleHouse in London.  These services are FTTC or Fibre to the cabinet.  Where FTTC is still unavailable, copper ADSL services are typically delivered, up to 20Mb maximum download speeds, although the real limitation with ADSL is the very low upload, typically 800kbps or less.

Full Fibre services are delivered either by overhead telegraph poles where these exist, or via ‘Toby Boxes’ often in the pavements just outside the office or home frontage.  A discreet external box is fitted on an external wall, with an internal, wall mounted ‘ONT’ Fibre termination point inside the building.  This ONT requires a 13 amp power socket and is usually the place where your Fibre router will be located, also needing a mains power socket.  Typical Full Fibre speeds will range between 100, 200, 300, 500 up to 900Mbps, with 900Mbps often referred to as Gigabit Speed.

Considering Your Full Fibre Provider

Many of the household names will offer very attractive upfront offers, but make sure you make note of what you are actually getting.  Some are bundled with 4G mobile back up services, but these are not always delivered with your Fibre router and are often only shipped if you have a service outage of a specific length of time.  You should also consider any price increases during the term you are signing up for, as these can add up to actually be more expensive over the term.

Why Juice Broadband?

At Juice Broadband, we receive many enquiries from customers confused by the myriad of options available, one of our unique selling points is our ability to fully investigate all options available and provide the best option to the customer.

Our network is proactively monitored with multiple levels of resilience built in, we pride ourselves on the level of customer service we deliver on a daily basis.  We have built strong relationships with multiple tier 1 carriers including CityFibre in the BCP area.  For example Our Business CityFibre FTTP+ circuits represent excellent value as they come with a Service Level Agreement with a 7 business hour target fix, this product fills a gap in the market especially for businesses that have outgrown their broadband connection, but not quite able to commit to the step up in price for a leased line.

Our Google reviews reflect our excellent customer service and show our desire to ensure a positive customer experience while you are with us, which most of our customers are for many years.  We can also advise you on improving Wi-Fi coverage and VoIP telephone systems which will operate over your new Full Fibre connection.

If you have any questions at all, we would love to help and advise you on what service best meets your needs, not everyone needs a 900Mbps connection!  Speak to our local, friendly  team on 01202332331

The Big Telephone Switch Off – Your free guide from Juice Broadband

The Big Telephone Switch Off – Your free guide from Juice Broadband

The Big Telephone Switch off in 2025– What you need to know and how Juice Broadband can help. Want to jump straight to a comms review? Please contact our experts at hello@juicebroadband.co.uk for a chat about how we can help you navigate through these changes.

 

Telephony for both business and residential users in the UK is about to change forever as the old legacy infrastructure that has served the nation for decades ceases and moves to a fully digital network using digital Voice (VoIP)

It’s a huge change in technologies for the better, as VoIP brings numerous benefits over the existing infrastructure, and paves a way for a much more flexible and collaborative way of communicating.

2025 is when the switch off  will happen, so it is wise to start looking into the available options to make the switch to Digital Voice. There is likely to be a huge demand and last minute rush for Digital Voice  services leading up to the switch off date which could cause unnecessary stress on you and your business. The good news is that Juice Broadband have the Digital Voice solution in place for you, for both single lines and Full Cloud PBX telephone systems for offices and homeworkers.

Here is a guide to help you make the right decisions and understand what is needed to get you ready for this.

Why are Openreach implementing the big switch off?

In a nutshell, the legacy systems are out of date in terms of modern technology, they are struggling to meet demand and hardware for these systems is becoming harder and more expensive to procure and maintain.   The copper network has been under invested and simply patched up over the years. The huge uptake in web services, Internet of things, cloud computing and smart homes means that from both a cost and efficiency angle, it can no longer compete with the rapid paced IP world and it’s time to retire the PSTN network and its associated technologies.

 

 

 

The end of PSTN and ISDN Services, but what are these?

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is the landline telephone system – the system you call your phone line. It was set up for making voice calls using copper wires to transmit analogue voice data.

 

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a later addition. It allows for the simultaneous transmission of voice, video and other services digitally, using the traditional PSTN network. A few years ago ISDN was the go-to solution for internet connectivity. Now its popularity is waning due to the introduction of cloud communications. Typically, small to large telephone systems were connected via multiple ISDN2e circuits or ISDN 30. All ISDN services will also be stopped following the switch off.

 

So when does this all start?

 

It’s already started being gradually phased out, and Openreach  has announced a ‘Stop Sell’ date of September 2023, meaning that you will no longer be able to order any PSTN & ISDN services in the UK after this time.

 

Who does this affect?

Any and all residential users businesses currently using ISDN or PSTN services. Please note that this does not just affect voice services, but also legacy CCTV, door entry, burglar alarms, fax machines, Redcare, card reader & PDQ machines, tills, franking machines, modems and basically anything that connects to a traditional phone line, including your broadband, so you really do need to give this some thought.

How can I get help and advice on the swich off?

Well, you’ve made a great start with reading this informative blog, Juice are offering free of charge communications reviews. We’ll take a comprehensive look at your current systems and advise you on how we can switch you over to the new infrastructure. The good news is that more often than not, we can also save you money following analysis of your existing bills and charges.

How will a new VoIP system differ from my existing telephone system?

If you have a legacy system connected to ISDN lines or analogue PSTN, you may have a main phone number and a range of DDI numbers (Direct Dial Inbound) used for department or individual direct phone numbers.   We can still retain your telephone numbers and we can port these into the VoIP environment if you need to retain them, (rental and porting charges will apply).

We can design your VoIP phone system to be as simple or as complex as you need it, by using applications like Auto Attendants, Voicemail to your email, Home working, Softphones on your laptop or mobile, disaster recover failover to mobiles, call recording, hunt groups, call queuing and full blown call centre environments. There’s nothing that a VoIP system cannot do that a PSTN legacy system can. We even offer protection against phone hacking to ensure you never rack up huge phone bills if your system becomes compromised by a hacker.

 

 

 

What about my home Landline & Broadband?

You are probably aware of FTTC (Fibre to the cabinet) broadband which uses copper phone lines to your house  from the cabinet in the street, then via Fibre back to your local Openreach exchange. FTTC comes with a phone line service which again will be affected by the Switch Off. The new service is broadband product called SOGEA, similar to FTTC but without the ability to provide a dial tone or phone number. This means that if you need a landline at home, this will need to be a Digital Voice service running over your broadband. Luckily the broadband routers we supply include a port for an analogue cordless or home phone and we can retain your existing telephone number for you by porting them into our network.

FAQ

·        What if I am in a contract that ends after 2025? We suggest getting in touch with us or your current supplier to discuss contractual arrangements for your new VoIP system

·        What if I don’t want to change to Digital Voice? Unfortunately after the big switch off, you will no longer have a choice, so best to reach out to us to begin your Digital Voice project.

·        Will I lose my number? No we can retain your business numbers to be used on your new Digital Voice system.

·        Will there be any down time when you switch? We’ll work with you and formulate a plan to ensure there is no impact on your ability to make and receive calls.

·        Surely I will be automatically switched over and things will carry on? Unfortunately not, when Openreach finally switch off the old technology it will no longer operate, so any platform that you may get moved to by default may not be good value, or anything resembling a tailored system for your business. We recommend you begin talks to move to the new technology sooner rather than later to ensure you receive the best fit and value for your business or home. There could well be a surge in requirements when the time to make the final switch approaches, which may cause delays in some services, a well thought out, proactive strategy is by far the best approach to this shift in technologies.

In Summary

Start thinking about what services could be affected by this historic technology change by BT. Engage with our experts at Juice who will run you through the process and provide you with everything you need to negotiate a smooth transition to the new network, and understand the benefits it can bring to your business. As part of our service, we’ll manage the whole process free of charge with your current supplier so you only ever need to speak with our team in Poole, who are always here to help answer any questions you have.

 

To book a free, no obligation comms review and make the first steps please email hello@juicebroadband.co.uk with Comms Review in the subject line.