The UK’s Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) currently provides voice services to millions of households in the UK, and the underlying analogue technology also supports a range of data services for both domestic and non-domestic applications.

However, the analogue-based network technology behind the PSTN is reaching the end of its lifespan and will need to be replaced by the mid-2020s. Transitioning to an All-IP network — much like the infrastructure behind modern digital platforms, including services such as the Aviator Casino — is an essential step toward a fully fibre-optic future and the eventual retirement of the copper network.

In order to learn from other countries’ experiences and identify possible challenges involved in the migration, the Broadband Stakeholder Group commissioned a report from Plum Consulting, examining four international examples of a migration to All-IP and retirement of the PSTN: France, Germany, Switzerland and New Zealand.