Are businesses closer to being ready for the Big Switch Off 2025?

April 27, 2023

In 2021, we surveyed UK business owners to find out how prepared they were for the Big Switch Off coming in 2025 – the survey revealed the majority of businesses were not prepared, with almost 70% of businesses still using a landline and three in five respondents having no idea what the Big Switch Off is.

We surveyed UK business owners once again in 2023 to see if they are any more aware of the Big Switch Off, and whether they’ve begun to prepare with the cut-off now being just two years away. 

24% of businesses have ditched landlines since 2021

Since our last survey, more businesses have stopped using landlines. Although the majority (62.1%) still use landlines, this was previously 69.5%. Although the shift is positive, we did expect more businesses to have already made the switch in preparation. 

The majority of businesses STILL don’t fully understand the Big Switch Off

Interestingly, the percentage of respondents who said they are aware of the Big Switch Off is the same as it was previously 19.4%. However, it does appear that more people have a slight understanding with 72% more people sharing that they are aware of the Big Switch Off, but aren’t exactly sure what it is. 

The lack of understanding is a concern, but it is positive that more businesses are at least aware of the switch off, even if they don’t quite know what it is. Our 2023 survey revealed a general increase in awareness, with only 44.8% of businesses saying they don’t know what the Big Switch Off is. That’s an improvement on the 59.7% who had no awareness of it in 2021.

Businesses are more uncertain than ever about future business calls

There are a range of options going forward for businesses to continue making calls without a landline – many of which are already in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two of the most popular options are:

• Mobile Phones – many businesses now use mobile phones for calls. This was adopted when remote working became more common, as mobile phones allow staff members to be contacted wherever they are working from. 
• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) – a lot of businesses also adopted VoIP during the lockdown when more people were working from home to have virtual meetings and catchups. VoIPs use an established internet connection to make calls via IP networks. 

Both of our surveys revealed that these two options remain a popular choice for businesses, with mobile phones being the most likely way businesses will make calls after the Big Switch Off. However, it appears that more people are unsure than they were previously – this may be due to many people still not being fully aware of the Big Switch Off and therefore haven’t put much thought into it yet.

Overall, despite many people still not being fully aware of the Big Switch Off or what it is, it does appear that more people are aware than they were a couple of years ago, which is a positive sign. Our recent survey shows that more businesses appear to already be making the shift from landlines.

For our part, we’ll continue working to increase businesses’ awareness and understanding of the Big Switch Off, as we help to put the necessary processes and technology into place.