It’s Time To Switch on Customers to the Big Switch Off

Zen Internet research has revealed that almost one in four (24%) businesses are unaware that a range of Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) voice and broadband products supported by the copperbased network will stop being sold completely in two years’ time. That’s pretty scary, because when the old network is withdrawn it will affect some essential functions such as card payment machines, security alarms and elevator phone lines. Even more alarming is that many businesses could soon find themselves bound to communication agreements which are set to become obsolete as the 2023 stop-sell date is reached. 

• Over one in 10 (13%) businesses say that the next possible point of contract renewal/termination with their traditional telephone third party supplier is more than three years away.
• Almost one in 10 (8%) say that they have no plans to renew or terminate.
• When it comes to traditional telephony equipment, almost one in six (15%) of businesses say that the next possible point of contract renewal/termination is more than three years away and more than one in ten (11%) say that there is no plan to renew/terminate.

These facts all point to one thing – a massive opportunity for trusted comms providers to upgrade their customers to new cloud based digital products and services, especially with almost half (45%) of other organisations surveyed saying they would consider a cloud-based solution to integrate their communication channels. As Paul Stobart, CEO at Zen stressed: “Bespoke cloud-based unified solutions can provide scalability, accessibility and efficiency and having a trusted partner is key to supporting this journey.”

Zen’s research has struck a chord with Openreach, which is planning to ramp up its educational programmes. James Lilley, Director Managed Customer Migrations, Openreach, said: “We relate to the findings from this research. We’ll soon be ready to announce a new business specific communications campaign to help provide the level of detail required for businesses to get ready and prepare for the copper stop-sell.” The message to resellers from contributors to this month’s Kaleidoscope is clear. Why wait to start getting ‘upgrade now’ messages over to your client base?