Telephone Connection

A telephone connection is any network connection that allows users to make phone calls.

There are three main types of telephone connections, each supported by different technologies. These are:

• Analogue telephone connections
• Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) telephone connections
• Voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephone connections

Analogue telephone connections enable voice calls over the traditional telephone network, which is more accurately known as the public-switched telephone network (PSTN).

This network has limited capabilities in terms of data transfer and typically utilises copper telephone wires to connect offices and homes. One of the main limitations of analog connections is that they can only convey voice traffic and not other kinds of data, such as email, video, etc.

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) connections bring digital capabilities to the traditional analog network (PSTN).

The key feature of ISDN is that it allows users to send speech and data simultaneously over the PSTN which is what ‘Integrated Services’ refers to. Therefore, voice connections can be used to provide other services to users, including internet access.

It is also important to note that this technology is largely being decommissioned in favour of more modern technologies.

Voice-over-IP connections support telephone calling over the Internet. VoIP solutions such as the NFON Cloud Telephony System enable users to have all the functionality of a traditional phone setup, combined with all the advantages of the Internet. These include:

• Cost effectiveness
• More bandwidth
• Simultaneous transfer of voice and other data, such as video

By enabling voice calls over the internet, VoIP is rendering ISDN and the entire PSTN network, obsolete.

ISDN is being decommissioned for a number of reasons, mostly to do with future-proofing service providers’ operations. These are the 3 key reasons:

1. High operating costs
   ISDN requires service providers to operate one network for voice calls and a second network for internet and data connections, duplicating their costs and workloads.
2. Complex, expensive management and support requirements
   ISDN was developed in the 1980s and relies on outdated hardware and software that is costly and time-intensive to maintain and support.
3. Non-secure voice calls
   ISDN offers no protection against increasingly sophisticated hackers, making voice calls over the PSTN vulnerable. By contrast, the best VoIP solutions, such as the NFON Cloud Telephony System, use sophisticated encryption technology to keep users’ data safe.

There are different dates set for different countries. In Germany, major telephone service providers are planning to decommission ISDN in 2022.

In the UK this date is set for 2025. In nearly all cases, the change is coming soon and operators need to start preparing for the switch to all-IP voice calling.

After ISDN, most major service providers in Europe have announced plans to switch to all-IP networks, most of which are already in place. Typically, the IP networks currently used for internet traffic will also be used for phone calls post ISDN.

Many businesses still rely on ISDN infrastructure to support their phone systems. If that is the case at your organisation, the decommissioning of ISDN will impact you and you may benefit from migrating to a VoIP-based telephony solution as soon as possible. 

The decommissioning of ISDN shouldn’t have any negative impact on private subscribers as migrating to an all-IP voice network is the responsibility of the telephone service provider.

Yes, it is relatively straightforward to migrate from a traditional analogue connection to a VoIP solution.

One way to do this is to use an adapter to convert your analogue connection into a VoIP ready connection. To do this, you will need an Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA) that simply plugs into your existing connection.

This approach may offer limited functionality compared to an all-IP solution, but it helps to maximise returns on existing telephony investments and offers a very simple, convenient path to VoIP.

Yes, you can. VoIP solutions such as the NFON Cloud Telephone System make it possible to migrate from an ISDN setup to VoIP technology, as long as your existing equipment is VoIP ready.

Although again we advocate an all-IP solution to be in line with future developments of telephone service providers and to make full use of the benefits of VoIP.

NFON has prepared a number of FAQ documents focusing on traditional and VoIP telephony technologies and solutions. You can find these by clicking on the links below!

Contact us and transform your business with cloud telephony now! One of our experts will be happy to help!