With the switch-off of analogue telephony and ISDN, companies must migrate to a VoIP solution. Walter Bichsel from UPC Business explains the advantages this brings and why UPC is the right partner for this.
Is the changeover to All-IP complete? Where is there still a need to catch up?
Walter Bichsel: UPC Switzerland Business has been one of the leading providers of services based on VoIP technology for years. The business customer division of UPC Switzerland was an early adopter of this technology standard and has over ten years of experience in this area. Thus, the changeover to All-IP can be considered fully completed.
What do the latecomers have to consider now?
They should make sure they have a good internet connection. Because it is possible to consistently prioritise telephone data in the network, so that telephone data has right of way on the data highway. As a result, interference-free telephony can be guaranteed today even with low bandwidths. Furthermore, they should benefit from virtual telephone systems. Telephony can be integrated into existing data processing systems, cloud applications or office/home office infrastructures without special interfaces. This is because so-called virtual PBXs replace existing telephone systems at a fraction of the cost. Last but not least, they should think about security. Today's internet connections generally meet all security requirements. Companies can protect themselves against the residual risk by means of redundancy. An internet line failure can be intercepted by automatically activating a technologically independent double line.
Where do delays occur?
The ISDN switch-off is an issue for Swisscom in particular. At UPC, All-IP has been implemented for some time.
What will happen to the old infrastructure now?
The changeover to VoIP brings many advantages, but traditional ISDN telephone systems and alarm or home automation systems no longer work. In some cases, companies would have to dig deep into their pockets to convert them. UPC Business therefore continues to offer ISDN connections for telephone systems, only the transmission is done via IP. The telephone system is connected to a VoIP gateway. This means that the existing ISDN telephone system can continue to be used.
What opportunities arise from the changeover?
Not only telephony, even video calls in HD quality are reliably possible today thanks to the higher internet bandwidths. Meetings can thus easily be shifted into the virtual space. And without any additional investment: A laptop and a fast internet connection are all that is needed. In addition, thanks to VoIP, one can always be reached under the same number - and this without physical infrastructure, whether at home, in the office or on the road. And with a smartphone app, the fixed network number can even be used worldwide at the usual call rates.