The sun is setting on copper – now we herald in the age of… fibre?
Apologies to the ancient historians out there who were anticipating the transition from the Chalcolithic period to the Bronze Age. Still, the PSTN Switch Off is a significant development in the realms of business communications. By 2027, the traditional copper-based network will be gone, and businesses will have to rely on new ways to communicate.
Gamma’s CTO Colin Lees sat down with Gamma’s Chief Marketing and Product Officer Chris Wade to discuss fibre to the premises (FTTP). A “topic that is very dear to Colin’s heart”, its rollout will act as the “connectivity powerhouse in the UK” and make a sizeable impact on the business communications market. The full fibre future is here.
Colin’s prior expertise
We’re more than comfortable to call Colin an expert on fibre networks. Prior to joining Gamma over a year ago, he spent five years working on the Openreach fibre build. What started as “designing fibre solutions on bits of paper” soon blossomed into automated apps and over 10 million premises connected to that fibre network.
It was, as Colin describes it, a “wonderful programme”.
The move to fibre
Over 20 million homes in the UK have access to full-fibre broadband, and by the end of Q3 2023, just over half of UK businesses were covered by FTTP. While uptake is happening “at a rapid pace”, there’s more to be done. Remember, the PSTN Switch Off is scheduled for 2027, and the longer that businesses delay on switching, the more drastic the consequences.
For Chris, businesses need to move beyond the mindset of “but the Internet works today”. It’s important for businesses to take on fibre and go through that “inevitable feeling of disruption” to enjoy the benefits of faster, more reliable connectivity. Fibre is coming, and businesses need to get on board.
In Colin’s mind, there won’t be many copper services left in the next 10 years. More and more exchanges will switch to fibre and stop selling those copper-based services. It’s an inevitability, but it comes down to “what pace will it happen and why”.
Drive to Sur-fibre
In the short term, the wider adoption of cloud-based technology is the biggest driver towards fibre. In 2024, 84% of UK businesses had taken a “cloud-smart” stance, with a focus on migrating to the cloud. Use cases reliant on high bandwidth are now a common sight across numerous businesses.
CRM platforms, finance software and the Microsoft suite are just a few examples of those use cases. Colin remarks that bandwidth requirements must be met to provide a “consistent experience” and fast responses when required. If an agent is speaking with a customer and an instant response is needed, that “drives the need for higher bandwidth”.
The businesses that move first will be the ones who want to future-proof their operations. Modern technology requires a fast, reliable and scalable connection to meet their specific needs. For providers like Gamma, it’s “incumbent upon [them]… to make that move as seamless as possible”.
Only then can they “exploit what a higher bandwidth connection can do for them”.
Super-charged fibre adoption
Chris rightly points out that, as Gamma is driving the adoption of cloud technology, some may think that Gamma is “part of the solution and the problem at the same time”. But it’s deeper than that.
We all remember what happened around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses rushed to provide solutions that allowed employees to access resources from anywhere. That access is now something that all employees expect, and “you can’t do that without fibre really underpinning all of this”.
To have those high-quality calls while using the Microsoft Office suite, in parallel with other cloud solutions, there’s a real “need for speed”. Colin notes that this need will drive fibre adoption, which again is an inevitable conclusion. Honestly, “we’re all going to wind up there”.
Business users who currently have simple connection needs may look at fibre and think “I don’t need it”. They may use a fibre connection for payment systems and rely on a phoneline for communication. But fibre can do so much more for those voice and communication services.
The fibre difference
“The single biggest thing that fibre offers initially is that it’s much more reliable”.
In fact, fibre is around 80% more reliable than a copper connection. It’s consistent in both speed and connectivity and is far more resilient than a copper network. In more unfavourable environments, copper begins to struggle while fibre stays connected.
Allow us to conduct a quick secondary school science lesson. When temperatures rise, copper cables expand and so do their resistance, which degrades the connection quality. A drop in temperatures makes these cables more brittle and susceptible to breakages, disrupting connectivity and causing outages.
On average, the cost of downtime is £4000 per minute. Costs aside, no business wants their connectivity to cease and put their business continuity at risk. That’s why Colin is adamant that “in the early days… move to fibre” to avoid that kind of disruption.
In the short term, reliability is everything. But when looking at long term ambitions, businesses need fibre connectivity to support those goals. Applications will need more bandwidth going forward – fibre can provide just that.
An easy transition
It’s all well and good to discuss the “why” of moving from copper to fibre, but what about the “how”? What can providers do to make that transition as smooth and seamless as possible?
Gamma has been working hard in the background to assure businesses of a “consistent move” from a copper-based infrastructure to one that’s fibre-based. Automated porting will be applied right across the unified communication as a service (UCaaS) portfolio, allowing businesses to keep their landline numbers when switching to fibre.
Colin mentions how this is “something [the] industry is still learning how to deal with”, but at least they’re aware that “those are the problems we need to solve for”. It’s what makes Gamma’s 2025 roadmap exciting.
Phoneline+ will see an upgrade that allows WhatsApp integration alongside that ability to keep landline numbers after switching to fibre. The ongoing partnership with Cisco will see Horizon with Webex provide a “modern, feature-rich platform” after that switch. Throw in the incredible potential behind iPECS, and that UCaaS portfolio, underpinned by fibre connectivity, is an enticing prospect.
“The Internet won’t slow down when it rains”
For both larger enterprises and smaller businesses, that move to FTTP is essential. A reliable connection supports those demands for bandwidth to support cloud-based applications and future business growth. By moving to fibre, businesses can future-proof operations and avoid any unnecessary disruption as the copper network is retired.
Colin perfectly sums up Gamma’s plans going forward when supporting the fibre transition. Make sure “the order journey is easy… the porting journey is easy… [give] the customer a better ‘phoneline’ experience as well as a connectivity product”. When moving away from legacy infrastructure, Gamma can make that difference.
The copper age is over, but the future is golden.