The digital switchover is something that has been talked about for a long time now, so much so that many businesses will be taking it for granted. Partly, this is because many have already switched to digital services instead of analogue.
Others may still have analogue, but will be relaxed about the situation as they fully expect their provider to switch them over in good time.
In the meantime, work is progressing, with the latest development being the closure of the first of 4,600 telephone exchanges that will become obsolete as the UK switches from copper wires to fibre optic broadband. The site at Deddington in Oxfordshire is being followed by others at Ballyclare in Northern Ireland and on Kenton Road in north London.
This might all seem very serene as the country heads towards the final switchover, which should be complete for most landlines by January 2027. However, it might be wishful thinking to believe that your provider has it all in hand, or that the switch to new and supposedly more reliable technology will ensure a better service.
Instead, whether you have already been switched over or are awaiting this in the next few months, you may have some very good reasons to switch telecoms provider, which we can help you to do swiftly and easily through our switching service. This was launched to enable people to get the best deal even before the switchover happens.
Why Should You Switch Telecoms Provider?
The following are all issues to consider:
- The cost you are charged
- What can go wrong and how your provider responds
- Customer service standards
- A failure to fix issues despite sending staff to tackle them
Each of these should be considered in turn.
The charges levied are something you can look very closely at. Undoubtedly, your provider will tell you what a great new service you are getting after the switchover and how it is great value for money.
But, as with the charges levied by other service suppliers, you should be willing to shop around. Could someone else offer the same or even better at a lower cost?
Apart from that, there may be new, unexpected costs that you did not anticipate and were not told about. Naturally, you should check that these will not also be forthcoming from any alternative supplier.
What Can Go Wrong With VoIP?
A second question concerns what can go wrong. You might think switching from increasingly unreliable analogue telephony to state-of-the-art Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) will be seamless and guarantee better services. However, there are plenty of technical problems that can occur with this, such as:
- Choppy audio
- Dropped calls (when you are cut off suddenly)
- Echo and feedback
- One-way audio
These and other issues can be fixed, although you may not have the expertise in-house to do this. If so, a good telecoms provider will take the problem seriously, respond swiftly and fix the problem so that it does not recur.
Conversely, if they do not respond, are slow to send their engineers round to sort out the problem, and if it continues happening despite their work, you may have good reason to consider switching to someone who can provide a better and more reliable service. Alternative providers may also be quicker to introduce new and more reliable technology.
Customer service standards are a broad issue and that does not stop at whether engineers respond quickly to issues or get the right solution. Poor customer service can range from failure to acknowledge issues and respond to complaints to downright rudeness or simple inefficiency in handling queries in a timely manner.
How To Make The Most Of The Digital Switchover
The whole purpose of the digital switchover is to bring business and domestic telecoms users alike the benefit of the most modern technology, ensuring that clear calls can be made and received without problems of unreliability, euphemistically referred to by the government as “service incidents”.
However, while the switch to digital should bring significant improvements, that is not always guaranteed and if you suffer from new kinds of “service incidents”, you should have good reasons to question whether you are getting the best deal.
Add to that the age-old issues of customer service standards and value for money, and you may find it well worth your while to look for alternatives. If you want to switch, we can make that process swift and painless.
As the exchanges of Deddington, Ballyclare and Kenton Road close, the transition is taking its next step towards completion. But whoever your provider is when it is completed, that may not be the end of the story. If you want to switch, a new chapter with better value can be written instead.
