Jan 23, 2023 | Blog, Connectivity, Data, News
How important is the internet to your business? Pretty essential, probably. In fact, internet access is considered by many to be a human right – so much of our lives are conducted online, that without access to the web, things tend to grind to a halt.
So, what if, in two years’ time, your internet access was cut? No emails. No websites. No banking. No accounts. No Zoom meetings.
It’d be pretty disastrous, right?
Well, that may be a reality for businesses that don’t pull their finger out and make the switch from copper to fibre optic. Not sure what we’re talking about? Read on to see if you should be worried…
What Copper Are We Talking About?
Well, it’s not the brown coins that are soon to be re-issued with the new King’s likeness on them. We’re talking about the cables that are used to carry your internet.
Currently, many buildings throughout the UK rely on a cable system laid over 100 years ago, and like most things that age, it’s struggling to keep up with modern demand.
The original copper cable network was designed for the telephone network and did a marvellous job. But, as innovation has snowballed and our expectations of the network have increased, copper cables just aren’t up to the task anymore. So, the lines are being retired – and if they were a person, we think they’d be getting a golden handshake and a Rolex for all the years of hard work and service.
Time to make space for the new kid in town…
Fibre Optic: What’s The Fuss About?
So, with copper cable enjoying retirement, we need something that will deliver the super fast broadband we have come to expect (can you imagine going back to dial-up now?!). That’s where fibre optic cable comes in in all its glassy glory. These fine fibres have a glass core that light signals travel along – and without getting into the science lesson – it’s incredibly fast, reliable and more economical to run.
What’s The Big Switch Off?
It sounds super fun, doesn’t it? Like a reverse New Year’s Eve.
Except, it’ll be fairly destructive to your business if you haven’t prepared for it. The big switch off is more like a big switch over. As we wave goodbye to the copper network, the fibre-optic network hums into life so if you haven’t made the move over in your home or business, you’re going to be offline for a while.
And as much as we like to imagine a giant lever being pulled to stop the copper cables, it won’t be as dramatic as that. The change is actually going to be done in phases, with Openreach working to have the switch completed by the end of 2025.
How Will The Switch Off Affect Businesses?
Not that we think you’re selfish, but you probably want to know how this will affect you and your business, right? Well, here’s what you can expect.
Your broadband and phone lines will stop working
Assuming you don’t take action, your phone lines and broadband won’t work anymore, since they will be connected to a defunct network.
Tills and pay points won’t work
Ah – it gets worse! You won’t be able to process payments since most systems use the internet to function.
CCTV, alarm systems and access control disconnect
And you won’t have any security to support you either. Typically, these systems use your internet connection to run too.
It’s starting to sound like an apocalypse, isn’t it? Well, if you feel like you’re reliving the panic of midnight 1999 all over again (if you’re too young to remember the Y2k bug hysteria, you’re lucky.) – don’t.
You have plenty of time to plan how you’re going to manage the change. Plus, you have us on your team.
How To Avoid Disruption
A great man once said ‘Failing to plan is planning to fail’ and here’s where you take heed. We need to make a plan. Yes, we. You don’t have to stress about all the techy stuff because that’s what we’re for.
So, you ask, what’s the plan?
We’ll start by reviewing your technology and seeing what systems you have in place. There are things we can implement immediately that will not only protect you from the shutdown of the copper network but improve your workplace.
VoIP
Your phone will join its ancestor, the rotary dial, in the telephone history books and in its place will be a VoIP (voice over IP) system. This system works like a normal phone, but it uses your internet connection to send and receive the data so you can take your phone line anywhere you go.
What a blimmin’ life-saver if you’re ever in a pandemic and need your staff to work from home… In all seriousness, it has enabled teams to work remotely but still pick up calls from customers and colleagues. Calls are cheaper too, so it’s a really great first step in the switch.
Broadband
Your broadband keeps your business switched on. Even the most remote, rustic business likely uses the internet for something, even if it’s watching TikTok between customers. You need to know that your provider is ready for the change. In fact, you want them more than ready – you want a provider already thinking ahead to what’s next because you’ll always be prepared.
Should You Make The Switch?
If you like the feeling of impending doom and stress, then staying unprepared is fine. But if you prefer knowing that your business will seamlessly transition from an archaic system to a modern one, then starting to plan your change over is a good idea. Being an early adopter has its benefits too.
You’ll avoid the rush
2024 is going to be full of people clamouring to book engineers and appointments. And you know what high demand does to prices, right? Avoid the rush and risk of having to pay a premium by getting your workplace fibre optic ready sooner rather than later.
You’ll save £££
Like we mentioned, you can stop paying phone line rental fees as well as call costs. If you make a lot of calls or call overseas, then why wouldn’t you want to start saving money right away? You can even retain your phone number.
Faster connection
Faster internet will increase productivity. Downloads and uploads will take seconds, streaming will be uninterrupted and accessing the cloud is quicker – you’ll see how it impacts your team pretty easily.
Less disruption
Ever had your internet go down because of a fault on the line? Well, not with fibre optic. Maintaining fibre optic cables is far simpler so there will be fewer problems that result in your staff twiddling their thumbs while they wait for the connection to be restored.
Ready To Switch?
If you are ready to protect your business from the disruption that the big switch over may cause, get in touch. We already support businesses like yours with futureproof connectivity that delivers better speeds, reliability and range – join them and enjoy the slightly smug feeling of being ready ahead of time.
You can read more about the great copper switch off in our post here, and if you have any questions, we would love to answer them. You can call us on 0161 711 1100 or email fibre@nxcoms.co.uk
Sep 22, 2022 | Blog, News
Nxcoms is pleased to announce that we have joined the Speed of Sight Inspire 25 Club.
Speed of Sight is a unique charity that offers people of all ages with disabilities to enjoy the excitement and thrill of driving. Something they would never have thought would be possible in their entire lives.
Through their driving experience days, Speed of Sight help to change peoples lives and make the impossible, possible. Founded by Mike Newman, who is a 9 times World Record Holder and currently the fastest blind man on land and water on the planet, they also help awareness of the difficulties faced by disability, as well as encouraging essential team building skills, such as trust and communication.
The Inspire 25 club is an opportunity for businesses such as Nxcoms to support and change the lives of people living with life-limiting disabilities, and help fund the ongoing activities of the charity in a sustainable way.
Jun 18, 2022 | Blog, LCR Connnect, News, Nxcoms
Nxcoms is pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at the Merseyside Business Expo 2022 on the 30th June
The Merseyside Business Expo is the region’s most celebrated event in the business calendar. Held annually at the Liverpool Exhibition Centre, this is the target exhibition for business owners, professionals, startups and marketeers, keen to connect with other businesses and decision-makers. With over 1,800 visitors attending year after year, this opportunity to showcase your business in a relaxed, fun environment, shouldn’t be missed!
At the expo, we will be showing businesses how they can take advantage of full fibre connectivity, using the LCR Connect network
Come & see us by registering for your FREE delegate pass at https://shoutexpo.com/merseyside
May 31, 2022 | Blog, Connectivity, LCR Connnect, News
Nxcoms is an approved partner of LCR Connect. That means we can offer you exclusive access to Liverpool City Region’s new 212km digital highway.
Spanning the six local authorities of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helen’s and Wirral, this new digital infrastructure is a local network. It’s 50% publicly-owned and built for local businesses.
Why LCR Connect for my business?
Choice: we’re an open access network, meaning you can access a range of business connectivity – from broadband to leased lines – allowing you to access and enhance IT and cloud services.
Uptime: because we’re a new network, we can switch you over, hassle free, with no downtime.
Speed: while some providers take months to install, we can have your business up and running on the network in days.
Bespoke: if one of the standard offerings doesn’t give you what you need, we can work with LCR Connect, with ‘commercial flexibility’ to work around your needs.
Personal: we’re in your region, so we know your patch (because it’s our patch too). We’re not your typical faceless, big corporation.
Why LCR Connect now?
As the UK looks to a copper switch off, and with more and more services becoming internet and cloud-based, the infrastructure that lies at the heart of business communications is being transformed.
Delivering Gigabit-capable speeds is becoming the norm, with ultrafast connectivity becomes a utility. The digital networks are enabling businesses of all sizes, allowing them to collaborate, support service and underpin the way we work and buy goods in the future.
What is LCR Connect?
LCR Connect is half-owned by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, in partnership with North West-based ITS Technology Group, who will lead the project, working alongside construction partner NGE, who are managing the build and roll-out of the network.
Experts estimate that with 100% full-fibre coverage across the City Region, building on this network, the economic boost could be worth up to £1bn, creating thousands of local job and training opportunities.
Want to know more?
Contact us on 0151 665 0880 or visit https://lcrconnect.online
Apr 30, 2022 | Blog
Price rises. We’re all experiencing them.
Whether it be electric, gas, council tax, national insurance or fuel… unfortunately in 2022 they all seem inevitable and unavoidable.
In the telecoms sector, we are no different, each telecoms supplier purchases services from a wholesale supplier such as BT Wholesale. They in turn are charged by Openreach for supplying the telephone infrastructure in the UK.
You may have heard from your home telephone and internet provider that they are raising prices, and passing the full cost of increases onto their customers. Certainly the likes of BT Retail, Virgin Media and TalkTalk were very quick to pass on all increases to customers a few months ago.
Here at Nxcoms, we have also been subjected to wholesale price increases, but for the most part we have absorbed these and not increased the prices to our end users.
Unfortunately, we have now been notified of a further price increase to PSTN Analogue line rental. However as the vast majority of our clients are using VoIP services this doesn’t have too much affect on their phones.
Where it DOES affect is when you have a broadband line. The majority of broadband lines require a PSTN analogue line to run on, so if you have a copper-based broadband service there will be a line rental charge to pay on top of the broadband service charge. If you have an internet connection of 80Mbs or less then its likely you are running on a broadband line that requires a copper-based telephone line to run on.
We have always supplied the PSTN analogue line rental charges at cost-price to our end users. Most of them dont actually use it to make calls, but it has to be there for the broadband service to sit on. For the past five years we’ve mainly absorbed any price increases and not passed this onto our clients. However, with the latest increase we are no longer able to do that without making a loss.
What does this mean for you?
Well, if you have a PSTN analogue line you will see a small increase in the monthly price of £2. This is to cover the cost of the increases passed down from Openreach who supply them. Unfortunately there is no way around it and in order to still supply the lines at cost price, we have to make the change. This will take effect from 1st June, so your June bills onwards will show the increase. Please note this only applies to the analogue line rental, and all other charges remain the same as before.
Its not all doom and gloom though….
As you may have heard from us previously, full fibre optic connections are being rolled out across the UK and wherever it becomes available we are advising our clients to upgrade. Not only can full fibre into your premises give you speeds of up to 1000Mbs, its much more reliable as well! There is no copper telephone line involved and therefore no PSTN analogue line rental charge, so overall you are likely to save money! We constantly monitor all our customer’s connections to see if they can be upgraded and when this is possible we will advise directly.
Need more information?
We are here to help, and if you are unsure on how the line rental price increase may affect you, then please get in touch with us straightaway, just call 0161 711 1100 or email info@nxcoms.co.uk
