ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) is reminding convenience retailers about the upcoming migration of the UK’s telephone network from public switched telephone network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.
The change aims to ensure that the UK’s landline services are ‘fit for the future’ and the transition will be straightforward for the majority of customers but some may require additional support from their communications providers to assist them with updating their services.
This change could affect some services that retailers use in their stores, such as payments, EPoS, PayPoint and faxes.
Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, is advising businesses to contact their telephone provider and any suppliers that they use for services which rely on a telephone network, if they have concerns about how their equipment/services will be affected.
Telephone providers will be delivering the transition at different times, the transition started this year and is due to finish is 2025 when the PSTN is expected to be switched off.
Ofcom has developed a briefing to explain the changes, the full document is available here.
