A Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) line is the copper line that runs from your premise to the local telephone exchange. This line is essential for connecting to the internet through broadband such as ADSL or FTTC, but it can also have a detrimental effect on performance.
Traditional PSTN lines that support phone calls are an additional potential point of failure that businesses could really do without. With the rising success of Voice over IP (VoIP) more businesses are moving to a data only PSTN line and realising both cost savings and improvements in the internet connection.
As the name suggests, VoIP uses the internet as the backbone to support voice calls so businesses pay for the broadband connection and services they need and not have the additional cost of international calls. The increased adoption of mobile working has also benefited from VoIP as employees can make calls from anywhere to any destination when they have access to the internet.
Making the switch to a data only line can also improve the speeds your connection delivers. Traditional PSTN lines cause interference with broadband signals, especially Wi-Fi, and often reduce the speed the internet connection is capable of.
As well as having a detrimental effect on broadband speeds, traditional PSTN lines can often delay resolutions times for broadband faults. Should a fault occur on the PSTN line and broadband, the broadband fault will not be investigated until the fault is fixed on the PSTN line as this takes priority.
This could potentially leave businesses high and dry for quite some time. The risk of downtime and the damage it would do has led to more businesses opting for leased lines as these connections have a guaranteed fix time. However, businesses don’t have to invest tens of thousands as EFM is often a viable alternative that provides a similar service for a fraction of the cost.
Related Links:
PSTN lines