- BT Claims The update of inherited networks could save the economy of the United Kingdom £ 3 billion
- PSTN resilience incidents are increasing, says Ofcom
- Many European countries are already ahead
A new BT report has revealed how much the United Kingdom economy could win by improving critical services, estimating that by digitizing them and closing analog networks, the United Kingdom could be born 3 billion.
This figure takes into account both the costs to update the networks and the expenses associated with the maintenance of the PSTN and 2G networks, with benefits that cover beyond emergency services to include energy and water companies, health services and local governments.
The report comes at a crucial moment: ofcom has revealed a 45% increase in resilience incidents in the PSTN, which costs much more than just time and money.
Update networks actually promises to save money
According to BT, 750,000 unnecessary ambulance trips could be avoided and up to 280,000 calls from the fake fire service caused by inherited alarms could be avoided, while saving 12 million hours of time of the council staff and 600,000 hours of the NHS, all between now and 2040.
“This research sends a clear message: delaying the digital change has a real cost for public services, the environment and the economy in general,” said the BT Business CEO, Jon James.
However, the change is on the horizon, with the PSTN retirement established for January 2027 and both ofcom and the government urging those who use the network to migrate at the end of 2025.
BT boasted of having migrated 300,000 PSTN lines inherited in 2024.
However, the United Kingdom already runs the risk of staying behind many European countries, with Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and France already more advanced. Other delays could cause greater costs, lost efficiency gains and a reduction in service resistance in general.
Matthew Howett, the CEO of Assembly Research (the partner of this report), added: “Our research found that, although the energy and water sectors are already in their migrations, it is vital that others continue to avoid growth costs and lost efficiencies.”
