Motivated by the gradual obsolescence of ISDN technology, Swisscom began transferring analogue telephone lines (ISDN) to the Internet Protocol (IP) (VoIP) in 2013. According to initial information from the provider, all Swiss companies should have been migrated by 2017; a new schedule is now available. The Jura and Jura-Bernois regions are in the process of migration and the Valais, Fribourg and Neuchâtel regions should follow in the first quarter. In Q3 it will be the turn of Vaud and Geneva. Normally each company should be notified of the switch to VoIP by the supplier at least 6 months in advance, so be surprised if you haven't received anything yet!
Calendar of the migration All IP
Since mid-2018, the first four major regions have been converted for business customers. In the remaining regions, small business customers will fully switch to IP by the end of March 2019. Large business customers will be switched to IP by the end of September 2019.
Q1 2019
Valais - Fribourg - Neuchâtel
Q3 2019
Vaud - Geneva
IP (or Internet Protocol) has become a global standard for communications. For telephony, it offers an enriched experience, with a quality equivalent or even superior to that of ISDN. For example, IP provides an unparalleled voice communication quality with High Definition voice. IP also provides an enhanced communication experience, with multimedia: video, files, additional residential and business services.
Our recommendations for making the right move
Read the offer of your operator, indeed most operators will offer you a simple small box (gateway VoIP) which will be put in cut between your current PBX / PABX and the internet line. This system is convenient because it will give you a quick solution to allow you to be compatible with the VoIP, the costs of setting up this box will be charged through a new telephone subscription plus the cost of intervention of the technician. The solution is good except that there are two points on which it is necessary to be attentive! Firstly, these boxes are not supported for new generation systems such as Skype for Business or Microsoft Teams and you will have to change your gateway VoIP when you want to migrate to a more up-to-date solution, which means that you will have to pay twice for interventions. Secondly, some operators take advantage of this transition to make you sign new commitments in order to bind you to them for a few more years. We recommend that you work with a neutral IT partner. He will be able to advise you in the best possible way by proposing a solution that will allow you to freely change operator at any time.
Compare! There are more solutions than you think. You too have the right to the latest technologies for your company, and above all at prices more accessible than you might think!
Aim for a long-term strategy rather than a short-term one. Obviously, it is easier to put the least expensive solution with a strict minimum of interventions today; however, the telephony and collaboration market is evolving at great speed. You will quickly find yourself limited with respect to the new possibilities offered by solutions such as UCC Skype for Business or Microsoft Teams. There are other inexpensive solutions that will allow you to make a slow migration while aligning you with a long-term evolution strategy.
Take advantage of this transition to add new features useful for team collaboration within your company. Indeed, we think it's a shame to pay for an IP telephone exchange just to replace an aging system without adding any real value. For the same price you could switch to advanced unified communication systems such as Skype for Business or Teams which will also be connected to your Microsoft architecture. The implementation time is as fast as for another system.
To be noted during your transition
The switch to IP is not only for traditional telephony, but also for many other applications that communicate using your traditional fixed connection. There are also solutions for your alarm systems, lift phone, modem application, fax, buildings.
