Digital 'All IP' Migration

Why is the UK switching to 'All IP'?

In response to a growing demand for faster broadband and other digital communications services, telecommunications providers globally are migrating to new ‘All IP’ (Internet Protocol) networks.

In the UK, the upgrade to ‘All IP’ means the existing predominantly copper-based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the foundation of the UK’s telephony network for many decades, will be entirely replaced by a faster ‘All IP’ fibre network and infrastructure.

Migration from PSTN to ‘All IP’ is taking place in some areas this year in advance of its scheduled completion date of 2025. Some monitored premises will start to benefit from the faster connection speeds and improved flexibility offered by ‘All IP’ as early as June 2021.

What does this mean for your customers?

NSI NACOSS Gold, Systems Silver, Fire Gold and Fire Silver approved companies are well placed to support monitored alarm system customers during this transition. Close liaison to ensure your customers are informed about the changes is important to explain why it’s happening, its impact on alarm signalling and to highlight how new technologies can enhance protection. Liaising with your customers and keeping them informed about these changes will ensure alarm monitoring of premises is seamlessly maintained.

You may wish to forewarn your customers that switching to ‘All IP’ is likely to create some technical and operational implications, including:

equipment compatibility,
possible disruption to alarm system connections and
risk of monitoring unavailability on local power failures.

What are the key changes?

With the transition underway from June 2021, Openreach, the largest telecommunications provider of backbone connectivity for most other telecoms providers, is beginning a phased ‘stop sell’ project discontinuing the supply of new PSTN lines and re-connections.

The ‘All IP’ network will be configured in two formats: ‘Fibre To The Premises’ (FTTP) and ‘Fibre To The Cabinet’ (FTTC), with FTTC being phased out at some future point in favour of FTTP. Backup power arrangements are fundamentally different in the ’All IP’ world. This means the provision of new backup power is essential and must be addressed to ensure continuity of alarm protection and monitoring when using an ‘ALL IP’ connection.

Various information sources are available:

NSI approved companies are advised to read the following NSI Circular Letters for more information on the All-IP transition and Openreach ‘Stop Sell’ project. These are available in the NSI Approved Company Login Area: