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Tag: PSTN

  • Reblog: What is the PSTN?

    PSTN stands for the Public Switched Telephone Network – it’s a telecommunications industry term encompassing copper land lines (“POTS”), fiber optics, cellular antennae, satellites and trans-oceanic cables.

    1. What is POTS?

    “POTS” in the telephony world is an acronym for “Plain Old Telephone System”, the modern name for the part of the PSTN made up of old analog copper wire technology. POTS has done the job for decades, but is reaching the end of its usefulness. Modern communications simply require more bandwidth and lower costs than POTS can provide.

    Because of this, analog telephone lines are in the process of being slowly phased out in many developed countries as they transition to more powerful broadband-based communications networks.

    2. What are the advantages of the PSTN?

    When you think about it, the PSTN is one of humanity’s great technological achievements. It gives us the ability to make instantaneous voice connections point-to-point across much of the world, across networks provided by a range of different governments and businesses operating in a variety of different languages.

    A global set of standards mean that any telephonic device can connect with almost any other telephonic device. All you have to do is dial a few numbers, and the network knows exactly where you’re trying to call.

    Because telephone connectivity is considered an essential service in most of the world, governments, businesses, and charitable organizations have gone to considerable trouble to make it as accessible, affordable, and reliable as possible.

    3. What are the disadvantages of the PSTN?

    The primary disadvantage of the PSTN is cost. Maintaining the copper wiring system is time consuming and expensive. The rise of wireless connectivity has led to point-to-point wired connections in general making less sense to install and maintain.

    Business and home telephony is transitioning more and more into VoIP and FoIP technology, as utilizing existing data connections and bandwidth, rather than dedicated phone lines, makes a lot of financial sense.

    The PSTN’s universality is a huge strength, but it also brings with it a notable weakness. Because everything on the network has to work with everything else on the network, across the whole planet, protocols and standards either have to be universally adopted or interoperable to the point where a caller doesn’t have to wait (or lose the call) while their signal crosses from one system to another.

    This can not only lead to increased costs from building in that interoperability, but it also makes change a very time consuming process from a regulatory, roll out, and adoption point of view. The realities of the market can easily interfere with better technology being developed and/or integrated into the system.

    4. What’s the difference between PSTN and VoIP?

    PSTN, Public Switch Telephone Network, POTS, VoIP, Xmedius SolutionsVoIP technology refers to converting vocal communications into data packets and transferring them via internet infrastructure rather than the phone system. VoIP calls can be made between software (i.e. “soft phones”) or physical telephones (“”). If one or more hard phones are involved, it is likely that the phone call at some point has travelled across the PSTN, converted into a normal phone call for at least some distance via network devices known as gateways.

    The use of gateways allows more adaptable and affordable VoIP systems to connect with the more universal and widespread PSTN, giving callers many of the benefits of both. The PSTN portion of the call, with its associated costs, is between the gateway and the recipient’s (or caller’s) phone, which is likely a local call rather than a long distance one. Most of the distance covered is via the internet, where it isn’t a factor in the cost.

    Enhance Your Organization’s Communications with XMedius Solutions

    XMedius offers a range of solutions that can help your business interact with or avoid the PSTN and the Cloud on your own terms. In addition to secure FoIP and file transfer technology, our portfolio also includes CX-E, a top quality Unified Communications platform delivering a suite of applications to companies of all sizes. Reach out to our team to discuss what our technology can do for your organization.

    The original article can be found here.

    For more information e-mail us on [email protected] and we will be glad to assist you.

  • Reblog:The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is becoming obsolete.

    As has been predicted by telecom operators in the industry for years, the public switched telephone network (PSTN) is becoming obsolete. Multinational telecom companies already have plans in place to phase-out the country’s PSTN and gradually move to an IP-only service. Nationwide rollouts have already begun with telecom giants like Orange in France, Deutsche Telekom in Germany, and Swisscom in Switzerland, to name a few. Europe is not alone in their efforts to phase-out the PSTN; Major Australian telecom companies have already announced their rollout calendars, and providers have been conducting regional testing of all-IP phone services in the US.

    The main reasons for the migration to an IP-based network is that the traditional PSTN model is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain. Not only does it consume massive amounts of energy, but thousands of older model circuit switches still in operation to maintain existing PSTN networks are based on electromechanical technologies that are over 30 years old. Spare parts, when they exist, are very hard to come by and many equipment suppliers are abandoning the technology. When repairs are needed, locating these components or their equivalent can become extremely expensive.

    A major generation gap

    Telecom operators around the world have already been working on replacing time division multiplexing (TDM) technology with IP or SIP trunking solutions for nearly two decades, for example, by building voice over internet protocol (VoIP) on fiber optic infrastructures. On the level of regional infrastructures, however, traditional telephony around the world remains mostly in parallel with that of the 1980’s, which means huge maintenance costs and increasing risks of breakdowns and malfunctions.

    It’s important to note that the migration towards an all-IP service won’t completely cancel out the older generation of technology. The copper network (twisted pair cabling) remains useful in supporting other, now digital forms of telecommunications, such as dedicated link services (or “leased lines”) and xDSL Internet access.

    Why switch to IP? Because it meets all demands

    The Internet’s packet-switching architecture, open standards, non-proprietary protocols, peered networks and digital hardware are a clear improvement over separate, closed analog networks still using older technology.

    For years, phone companies dismissed IP as an inadequate alternative. Carriers of all sizes have now grasped that the Internet is the only option to satisfy the ever-growing demand from consumers and cloud-based services.

    Europe’s IP Network Migration Rollout

    Migration plans are starting to take shape across Europe, with many countries at various phases of implementation. With 200 national telecom operators across the European continent, it’s understandable that complete IP adoption will take time.

    • Orange explains that from Q4 of 2018, telephone lines in mainland France will no longer be built on the analog Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), but on IP technology. All operators will then offer tailored commercial services. By the end of 2018, neither homes or business in France will be able to order analog phone lines on the old model.
    • As of June 2017, Deutsche Telekom had migrated 61% of access lines in Germany and 64% in the Eastern European countries where it holds stake. Macedonia, Slovakia, and Croatia are now all-IP. DT’s rollout plan is set for completion by end of 2018.
    • As of February 2018, Swisscom has successfully transitioned 2 million customers to all-IP services. They estimate that nearly all private customers will have converted to IP by Q4.

    Even though an all-IP future is taking shape, carriers can’t simply “switch-off” existing PSTN networks, even in countries where there are clearly better and cheaper IP alternatives. In many cases, there are decades-old regulations that enforce the continued operation of obsolete analog networks, no matter how many users they have and regardless of costs.

    Implications of an “All-IP” future

    Telecom companies have already had plenty of time to advance their alternative offers, and have been providing solutions that combine fixed and mobile telephony very transparently for years. Many organizations around the world are already operating on a hybrid model. Take businesses, for example, who’ve maintained the same telephone infrastructure for years, but who’ve decided to reap the cost savings benefits of cloud fax solutions. We’re already in the era of a mobile workforce, and many companies are already on-board with the technology of the future, using fully implemented IP phone systems and cloud-based UC solutions that seamlessly link their mobile, email, and data infrastructures.

    IP networks can use packets to transmit voice, data, or video content equally— and for telecom companies, this represents a single network for voice, video, and data. It’s no shock then, that IP technology has already won the telephone network war, just as it won the data war and is also dominating the video war.

    Europe’s bold move toward an all-IP service is setting an example of what’s inevitably to come for the rest of the world. There’s no question that analog is obsolete, it’s only a matter of time before telephony as we know it globally is completely IP based.

    What can organizations do now?

    At this stage, it’s necessary for organizations who want to take the next step (if only partially) to analyze the expectations and needs of different internal departments: management, business units, marketing & communications, etc. Identify various special needs, and where you could benefit from a migration to IP such as videoconferencing, group calls using collaborative tools, secure file exchange, etc.

    There is already a wide variety of choices for all your needs on the market whether you prefer IPBX, on-premise options, or a solution hosted by a service provider through the cloud.

    Are you looking to learn more about IP solutions that can boost workflow, save money and future-proof your telecom infrastructure? Email us: [email protected] today about which solution would work best for your specific needs.

    The original article can be found here.

  • Reblog: What is Fax over IP?

    Everything is going IP these days. The same is true for businesses across the world.

    From voice to video surveillance systems businesses across the world are migrating their legacy analog systems to those that are IP based. Of course the time tested method for sending and receiving important business documents – fax – is also undergoing this migration

    For years you’ve been able to send and receive faxes over an IP network. But until recently successful faxing over an IP network has escaped many a person.

    What’s changed?

    A lot. However, before we get into that, let’s first take a closer look at Fax over IP.

    What is Fax over IP?

    Fax over IP (also known as FoIP) refers to the method and technology of sending fax documents over an IP network (local or wide area). This is different from the way faxes have traditionally been handled.

    For years the sending and receiving of fax documents has been handled over the PSTN or Publicly Switched Telephone Network. With Fax over IP fax documents by-pass the PSTN completely.

    This is similar to how VoIP (Voice over IP) works, but requires additional network bandwidth due to the increased size of fax documents.

    How does Fax over IP work?

    The concept behind how Fax over IP works is very straight forward (especially if you’re already familiar with how VoIP works).

    With Fax over IP your fax document is first packetized, then encapsulated in a transport protocol and sent from “Point A” to “Point B”. Point A and Point B are typically fax machines which interface with a Fax over IP gateway or some sort of IP adapter.

    These devices allow fax machines to interface with an IP network as well as conduct the digitizing and encapsulating of the fax document.

    Benefits of Fax over IP

    In reading about Fax over IP you might be thinking that Fax over IP simply mimics traditional faxing capabilities.

    While Fax over IP does closely mimic the general set-up and use of traditional faxing it does come with several unique benefits:

    • Unified network connectivity – Fax over IP leverages your existing LAN and WAN IP networks so you don’t have to manage or pay for a separate analog network.
    • Advanced management – Bringing fax documents into IP realm allows for fax documents to be easily archived, sorted and emailed.
    • Lower cost – With one less network to pay for and manage there is a definitive cost saving in using Fax over IP. Fax over IP also tends to be more cost effective on a per-minute rate versus faxing over the PSTN.
    • Remote usage – There are many locations throughout the world in which a fax line cannot be provisioned. In areas such as these individuals typically rely on satellite connections, like satellite Internet, which allows faxing over IP.

    What about Fax over IP being hit or miss?

    Ah yes! Let’s get back to this.

    Due to the nature of IP technology there have traditionally been many hurdles to successfully implementing Fax over IP.

    Like voice, Fax over IP is subject to issues such as latency, packet loss and jitter. With voice calls you can typically deal with these issues as they don’t substantially impact the result of the call.

    But when it comes to faxing anything less than perfect document transmission is unacceptable.

    So what has changed to make Fax over IP 100% reliable?

    Well, much.

    Advances in technology and new offerings from Fax over IP gateway manufacturers have finally made 100% reliable Fax over IP a reality.

    The original article can be found here.

    If you are considering implementing a fax management solution for your organisation, but are still sitting on the fence when it comes to selecting the right solution, we encourage you to e-mail us on [email protected] and we will be glad to assist you.