I’m delighted to announce 8x8 has joined the Fit to Switch campaign as National Champions. Our aim at 8x8 is to ensure that British businesses—and the British economy—have no downtime as BT gets ready to switch off the PSTN copper network that has kept the country connected since 1876.

The switch off will be sooner than you think

While many people may think that there is still a long way to go, December 2025 is sooner than you might think. For many businesses, this isn’t something that can be done in one phone call or over one day. It will require checking existing assets, and discovering what systems and processes are still using PSTN. It’s not just phone lines that rely on it, as it is also used by alarm systems, disaster recovery plans, and CCTV as well as many other systems. Once the systems and processes using PSTN are catalogued, the goal is then working out what the future needs of the business are. Once business owners and IT managers have all the facts, they will be able to research their options and select new systems that are fit for purpose.

On the one hand, this is a legacy tech/digital transformation issue and should be treated as such. On the other hand, this is the most vital project businesses can be involved in, because if they can’t communicate with each other and customers, then where is the revenue coming from?

For most, there’s no need to panic—but there is a need to plan.

The cost of doing nothing—or doing something too late

At 8x8, we’ve often spoken about the cost of doing nothing. When companies don’t do something or leave it to the last minute, then they can be racking up huge costs with regards to supporting legacy technology or inefficient ways of working. With the switch-off, there is another danger: the cost of doing something too late.

Picture the scenario:

It’s a few weeks before the switch-off takes place and, for whatever reason, there’s been little investigation into communication and engagement solutions for 2026 onwards. In a panic, and to ensure they can keep operating, the company signs up for the first offer they see that looks like it meets their needs.

Over time, it turns out that it’s an expensive deal that doesn’t actually meet their needs, leading to dissatisfied staff and customers, who respectively choose to take their expertise and business elsewhere, and the company then needs to start hunting for a proper solution—but the damage has already been done. Rushed decisions rarely work out for the best.

With Fit to Switch, the aim is to help businesses in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales avoid that pain. Want to start preparing now? You’re in luck. We’ve already released a nine-step plan to help companies get started.

Companies that need to have switching on their radar right now

While, in an ideal world, every company would be looking at this right now, the reality is that many are not because, in their eyes, they have more pressing concerns or are dealing with the fallout from other issues to hit the UK in recent years.

However, for some, it is a far more pressing issue. Companies with multi-site facilities or large-scale operations really need to be looking at this now to not only ensure that their needs can be met, but that they also have time for adequate testing.

The role of the channel in the switch off

The channel has a huge role to play in this too. Every week, channel companies contact thousands of companies, giving them a chance to raise awareness. Even better—from a channel company’s perspective—they also know their customers, how they perform, and what their needs are, both currently and in the future.

That puts them in the ideal spot to advise on digital transformation needs and ensure that a company is getting the right solution.

Another Y2K?

It’s too soon to say if this is going to be another Y2K issue, where there were fears over computers and systems coming to a halt as the clocks switched over to January 1, 2000. One reason Y2K didn’t become a national calamity was because of planning and solving the problems in advance. The telecommunications industry has the chance to do something similar here. Raising awareness and planning should avert the worst-case scenarios. We still have time to do this and do it right—but the real effort must start here and now.

If you need help in looking at your options for switching, get in touch with the 8x8 Switching Team.

If you’re a channel company and want to partner with 8x8 to help companies switch, contact us.