Introduced back in 1988, Telstra’s Integrated Services Digital Network was originally created to offer businesses a more stable and reliable telephone line network.
And it worked too.
The ISDN network expanded to most major suburbs and gave businesses peace-of-mind regarding the quality of their phone calls.
I know, it’s a sad moment for Telco’s (and many small businesses who enjoyed the benefits of a robust ISDN line), but that’s progress. We didn’t have mobile phones, internet, iTunes, the NBN or ‘chilling to Netflix’ back then either. Technology never stands still.
What Is The ISDN Disconnection?
So what does all this mean for ISDN users? Basically,
it’s time to get in contact with your trusted Telco and get a solution in
place.
The NBN roll-out has now crossed the 70% threshold and the old telephone lines will very soon no longer be in use. If your business is still using ISDN lines, the time to start planning your transition to the NBN and potentially upgrading your old telephone system is now.
What happens if you don’t transition to the NBN?
Basically, your phones will stop ringing – not a great outcome for your business. Worse, you run the risk of losing your telephone numbers completely and no amount of pleading with your Telco will get them back, which means there’s additional costs and inconvenience to update all your marketing, clients and suppliers. We highly recommend starting your transition at least 6 months before your ISDN is being cut off.
Advantages of the NBN
The great news for small businesses is that the new NBN telephone lines are considerably cheaper and offer your business lots of additional benefits including more features and flexibility.
Do I have to upgrade my business phone system?
Not necessarily. We can supply a converter which
changes the ISDN lines to NBN lines. However, it is important to understand a
couple of things about this:
- Little to no savings – firstly, because the ISDN lines remain connected, the technology is more complex to convert them to being NBN-ready and therefore more expensive to you. It can be done, but in our experience, this rarely a good option for small to medium businesses.
- No additional features – because the ISDN lines are still being used to transmit your phone calls, you are limited to what you could do previously and not take advantage of the new functionality available through the NBN.
Many of our clients who opt to transition from ISDN to pure NBN telephone lines receive such great savings that they get a new telephone system and keep their telecommunications bill around the same level it was before. Now that’s worth the transition – even if it means giving up on the good ol’ ISDN lines!
Not sure where to start? Call the Experts now on 03
9474 0044 or email sales@expert-telecom.com.au and book your free ISDN transition assessment today. We’re here to
help.
