| Challenges of the PSTN Shutdown
Worldwide, national carriers are completing the transition from Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to digital broadband technologies. In the UK, BT plan the permanent switch-off of all PSTN services (analogue voice, ISDN2 and ISDN30) by 2025.
For voice telephone calls, fixed-line phones will be connected to the RJ11 port of an Internet router that will convert calls to Voice over IP (VoIP). However, this VoIP conversion process does not work for industrial equipment dependent on analogue modems, including but not limited to:
- Lifts
- Remote management controllers
- Franking machines
- Energy meters
Life-saving technology
This is also the case for pacemaker monitors and other remote health monitoring devices which host an analogue modem to transmit data from patients’ homes to hospitals.
In the UK, around 1.5 million fixed lines are used for telehealth and home patient monitoring and will be affected by the shutdown.
eDevice’s WireT solution resolves this problem.
Easy to set up: plug and play
Despite the advance of the All-IP programme, there is still a future for IoT devices with an analogue modem, if paired with the appropriate equipment.
A WireT box works instantaneously across a secure Plug&Play migration; the device phone cable is plugged directly into the WireT as demonstrated here. The box then retrieves payload data on the modem link and sends it via the Ethernet network to remote secure collection servers, guaranteeing that devices impacted by the PSTN switch-off, such as pacemakers, will still be operational post-shutdown.
A solid investment: tamper-proof and secure
Stéphane Gomes, eDevice’s CTO, shares more details about WireT: “By using a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), the solution is fully secure & its data’s authenticity is guaranteed. Communications between the WireT box and the application server operate through secure VPNs via eDevice back-end. Each box has a unique tamper-proof certificate that can be revoked remotely in the event of theft or malfunction”.
WireT is already used to connect tens of thousands of devices around the world. It completes eDevice’s range of transition solutions addressing the issue of the PSTN switch-off. eDevice also offers the WireX system, which uses the cellular network as a replacement for the PSTN link, with almost 1 million units in use across more than 130 countries.
eDevice’s transition solutions have significantly lower operating costs than current landline subscriptions. Their aggressive pricing allows companies to implement these solutions immediately as the upfront costs are soon recuperated through substantial recurring savings.
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