30th September 2019, marks the end for traditional telephony in Australia. After a few false-starts and delays, today Telstra is officially starting to decommission ISDN services.

Shutdown of the ISDN (integrated services digital network) means the full disconnection of these services. This doesn’t only impact the phone lines, it also includes any phone numbers that haven’t yet been transitioned to Business VoIP. That means that any businesses caught out will face a situation where they not only are disconnected from making outbound calls until they find a replacement solution, but will also lose their phone numbers and their inbound calls – an unparalleled risk to Australian businesses that could cause significant impacts to revenue and customer relations for those caught out.

The ISDN has been the fixed line telephony option for businesses for decades, offering offices multiple simultaneous calls over a single connection. With the rise of SIP and Business VoIP services, organisations have instead been able to gain access to their phone services over the top (OTT) of existing internet and network connections – gaining flexibility and redundancy, while also being able to lower costs.What Is ISDN?

As a pioneer of converged voice and data solutions in Australia, Over the Wire (ASX:OTW) has been at the forefront of this trend for well over a decade, having seen the writing on the wall for ISDN for quite some time. With the rise of OTT voice services, sales of traditional on-premises phone systems have plummeted in favour of cloud hosted PBX phone systems. These offer centralisation of the system for all branches for seamless collaboration, high-availability for ultimate usability from anywhere, and ease of access to reports and dashboards to help provide additional insights previously out of reach for most businesses.

The enormous benefits to functionality and pricing made the mass exodus from ISDN (even before the shutdown was announced) no surprise to those in the industry. Even still, many companies still haven’t made the change, which is putting their business at risk.

Protecting Your Business

Preparation is key to surviving the ISDN shutdown, with a guide available to help businesses navigate the challenge. First and foremost, it is important to understand your risk exposure. The ISDN Shutdown Survival Guide will help you start planning, with Over the Wire available to help design and implement the best transition for you to keep your business connected. Speak to the expert team today[7] and make sure your business is prepared.

About Over the Wire

At Over the Wire (ASX:OTW) we simplify technology to empower business. We partner with our customers to tailor solutions leveraging our four main service pillars: Data Networks, Voice Solutions, Hosting Solutions, and Security & IT Support. Regardless of the solution design, our customers can trust our expert staff to support their needs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.