PSTN Switch-Off in Scotland: Is Your Business Ready?

The 2-minute switch-off check

What's included in the free switch-off check

• An audit of every phone line at each of your sites, and what's connected to it
• Alarms, lifts, door entry and card machines: which ones rely on a phone line, and who supplies them
• Your broadband: whether it runs over the old network, and what to replace it with
• A recommendation for your phones: 8x8, 3CX or Microsoft Teams Phone
• A switchover plan with dates, including number porting, so calls aren't interrupted
• Your contract end dates, so you can switch without paying twice

What's affected: a checklist

It isn't just the phones on your desks. Anything that dials out or relies on a copper line can stop working when the old network closes. Check each site for:

• Phone lines and ISDN: analogue lines, ISDN2 and ISDN30, and older phone systems connected to them
• Intruder and fire alarms: monitored alarms that use a phone line to call the monitoring centre
• Lift emergency phones: the autodialler in each lift car
• Door entry and gate intercoms: systems that call a phone number when someone presses the buzzer
• Card machines: older payment terminals that connect over a phone line
• Franking machines and fax: anything that still dials out to update or send
• Broadband: ADSL and "fibre broadband" that still needs a landline (FTTC)
• Telecare, telemetry and building systems: alarms for lone or vulnerable people, and equipment that reports over a phone line

The free switch-off check covers all of these, and tells you which supplier to speak to for each one.

Staying on the old network is already costing more

Openreach has put up the wholesale price of old copper phone lines three times during 2026, in April, July and October (reported by ISPreview, July 2026). After 31 January 2027, any line that hasn't moved goes onto the temporary emergency voice access service at a higher price and with fewer features. Moving now usually costs less than staying put.

Your plan for the next few weeks

1. List what you have: every phone line, number and connected device at each site, plus contract end dates
2. Speak to your equipment suppliers: alarm, lift, door entry and payment providers, to confirm what works over digital lines
3. Choose the replacements: a cloud phone system (8x8, 3CX or Microsoft Teams Phone) and a digital-only broadband line or mobile alternative for each site
4. Order early: new broadband installs and number ports take time, and Openreach's final date for migration orders is 31 January 2027
5. Switch, test and cancel: move numbers on a planned date, test alarms and lifts, then cancel the old lines so you don't pay twice

Why businesses choose Indigo for the switchover

• One team for phones, broadband and IT, so the phone system and the connection it depends on are planned together
• 8x8, 3CX and Microsoft Teams Phone: we recommend the platform that suits how you work
• Numbers kept: we port your existing numbers and schedule the switch so calls aren't interrupted
• We've done it for charities, venues and businesses across Scotland. For Erskine, Scotland's leading veterans care charity, we reviewed legacy phone lines, alarms and faxes ahead of the switch-off as part of a wider cost review. Read the Erskine case study →
• Certified: Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 9001:2015