BT Openreach’s announcement 8 years ago that all analogue telephony services would be ceased is coming to the final stages. Astaris has been working with multiple leisure operators to ensure that services like voice telephony, building management systems, alarms, lift emergency calling are all migrated & updated, so that when the final deadline arrives in January 2027 there will be no mad scramble to replace systems that stop working as a result of the analogue switch off.
Ivan Spencer-Phillips, Head Engineer at Astaris, who specialise in IT for leisure operators had this to say; “BT Openreach announced the national switch off of analogue services way back in 2017, but almost no-one took any notice as replacements were not readily available for large parts of the country and the initial deadline was 2025, some 8 years distant. They have recently reluctantly pushed the deadline back to January 2027, but it is unlikely that they will further extend it. “
It is not uncommon for businesses operating in the leisure sector to have multiple sites that all have legacy and inherited infrastructure within those buildings. When combined with the telecoms industry’s habit of issuing confusing & opaque bills, this can often lead to services remaining in place, costing money, when those services ought to have been decommissioned years ago.
Leisure operators that have not been through the exercise of removal / replacement of analogue services have a rapidly closing window in which to complete any needed work. It is certain that in Q4 of 2026 prior to the deadline, obtaining certified alarm / lift / building management system engineers with the updated components needed to make the move away from analogue services will have highly constrained supply, with lengthy lead times and full retail pricing.
Ivan went on to say “Whilst leisure operators may be reluctant to spend money to replace something that is working and has worked without issue for many years, now is the time to get organised and serious about the looming analogue switch off. In almost all cases, the newer digital services cost LESS to run than their analogue equivalents. Even when taking into consideration the one-off costs for replacement / upgrade, for a national leisure operator, Astaris have been able to cut its telecom & connectivity related costs by in excess of £250,000 over a 3 year period when compared to the previously active analogue systems”.
The additional capabilities of digital systems and IP based connectivity can also enable features that leisure operators are often paying for, but are not using. This can include things like energy consumption reporting in real time, centralised alarm management & certification, phone call reporting statistics and much else besides.
Leisure operators are encouraged to seek independent advice / a review of their analogue estate completed without delay, so that they are aware of what updates will need completing before the January 2027 deadline.
