Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

As BT starts to close down telephone exchanges in favour of a 100% IP network, millions of end users will need to consider how they are going to replace their ISDN and PSTN lines. Many will be considering availability requirements and backup solutions. This presents a considerable opportunity for the channel.

Jola is a wholesale SIP provider offering SIP and PSTN replacement services to the channel. They have developed High Availability SIP Trunks as an alternative to ISDN and PSTN lines, providing partners with a configuration which supports two SIP Gateways in geographically disparate regions. They are connected to one customer endpoint, giving end-users high availability with a built-in fail-over. HA Plus solutions support multiple CPE IP addresses.

Adrian Sunderland, CTO at Jola commented, “Our new High Availability SIP Trunks are a welcome addition to our PSTN Replacement Toolkit, which offers partners everything they need to replace PSTN and ISDN lines however they are being used. HA SIP Trunks support Enterprise Grade solutions for large corporates which require high availability solutions.”

The UK Physical Security System Services market consists of 2,203 businesses, employing over ten thousand employees, generating £1.4bn in revenue and with an annual growth of 11.8%.

The impending ISDN/PSTN switch-off is an especially compelling event in this sector because it effects almost every monitored device in the UK. Anyone involved in physical security is planning to upgrade to IP, either via a fixed connection or mobile data. Mobile data features disproportionately in this sector because for millions of devices an upgrade to a fixed connection represents a significant increase in cost.

Thousands of resellers and MSPs still don’t have a mobile data proposition and are therefore unable to offer a one-stop solution to their customers in the security sector, amongst others. Early-movers who have partnered with a mobile data aggregator have been surprised at the margins achievable. This is because independent channel-only aggregators are able to provide differentiated products, like un-steered multinet SIMs and preconfigured specialist hardware, that the MNOs don’t offer. They have also found the products relatively easy to sell, deliver and support and, with book-to-bill times of only a few days sometimes, revenues flow quickly.

Andrew Dickinson, CEO Jola commented, “There is high demand for mobile data from customers in the security sector. For resellers it is an easy product to sell, provision, support and bill and if you get it right, you will quickly generate high-margin recurring revenue. Financial markets attribute higher EBITDA multiples to IoT/M2M so including it in your portfolio, increases the overall value of your enterprise. Jola partners have beaten the MNOs directly to win very large SIM deals from well-known logos in the security market. We have unique solutions with both network and device security built-in, protecting users from both DDOS attacks and hackers.”

Who will be affected?

All residential customers and businesses in the UK will need to find a replacement for their PSTN lines. Many will need to replace or upgrade their existing internet connectivity and consider VoIP applications.

There are millions of PSTN lines that won’t be able to use a SoGEA or FTTP type replacement, due to costs, incompatibility, or logistical challenges. Mobile data will be a requirement for many customers replacing PSTN.

There are a significant number of phone boxes in hospitals, supermarkets, and hotels. These allow you to book a taxi or receive information for free. All these call points need to be upgraded, as they will no longer work after the PSTN Switch-off.

How are Jola partners getting prepared?

Jola’s PSTN replacement packages are the perfect solution for MSPs, ISPs and resellers looking for a slick wholesale solution, managed end-to-end via a real-time fully API integrated portal. Millions of telephone lines will take time to migrate and we are already seeing massive projects kicking off as companies wake up to the challenges and choices ahead. This is a great opportunity for Jola partners to become first-mover experts in what is going to be the hottest sector in telecommunications over the next few years.

Partners are helping end-users to understand when their phone lines will be switched off and pro-actively suggesting alternative solutions such as a range of fixed-line or mobile broadband connectivity options with a VoIP solution designed to meet their needs.

Where it is not practical to replace PSTN lines with fixed-line connectivity, Jola has helped partners to productise mobile data solutions. We offer Robustel routers with an Analogue Telephone Adaptor (ATA) SIP Overlay service and calls over IP with a MultiNet SIM and pooled data across multiple sites.

All our solutions are easy to provision, support and bill. Our award-winning portals give partners complete control over their solutions from ordering through to provisioning and management.

Telephone lines as we know them will not exist in a few years’ time. As BT starts to close down telephone exchanges in favour of a 100% IP (Internet Protocol) network, millions of end users will need to consider if they need a physical connection and if they want to keep their traditional telephone number.

For many applications (e.g. lifts, ATMs, door entry systems, alarms, digital signage, street lighting) changing out a telephone line for a broadband circuit is unnecessary, expensive or impossible. A mobile broadband connection is the ideal solution for these end customers but what if they don’t want a mobile phone number and prefer to retain their traditional phone number?

Millions of new connections represent a significant opportunity for the channel and Jola has a lot of experience in helping their 1000+ partners to find and win these deals.

Furthermore, Jola is the only mobile data aggregator to also run and manage their own SIP network. Built on their experience in SIP, Mobile Data and number porting they have recently launched products specifically designed for the channel to help them take advantage of this aspect of the impending PSTN switch-off.

Adrian Sunderland said “Jola’s PSTN replacement packages are the perfect solution for MSPs, ISPs and resellers looking for a slick wholesale solution, managed end-to-end via a real-time fully API integrated portal. Millions of telephone lines will take time to migrate and we are already seeing massive projects kicking off as companies wake up to the challenges and choices ahead. This is a great opportunity for Jola partners to become first-mover experts in what is going to be the hottest sector in telecommunications over the next few years.”

There are millions of PSTN lines that won’t be able to use a SoGEA or FTTP type replacement due to costs, incompatibility or logistical challenges. Mobile data will be a requirement for customers replacing PSTN lines for intruder alarm monitoring, call points and many other applications. Jola works with partners to uncover these opportunities. Recent case studies are as follows:

Intruder alarm monitoring

Our partner has a customer with 13,000 PSTN lines used to monitor intruder alarms and fire alarms in properties, both commercial and residential, all over the UK. We suggested a Dual SIM Robustel Router with dual MultiNet SIMs for resilience and a 500MB aggregated pool of data to be shared across all sites. We added a Private APN to the solution to ensure secure remote access to each device. The solution we provided met the security standards required and by sending pre-configured routers to site we were able to ensure a smooth set up process for engineers, a great margin for our partner and reduced costs for the end-customer. The end customer saved around £90,000 in monthly rentals and nearly £2m in set-up charges. Jola included some software customisation to make the Robustel routers 100% plug-and-play and the partner took a £1.2m pa contract at an average margin of 40%.

Taxi Freephone and Info Call Points

There are a significant number of phone boxes in hospitals, supermarkets and hotels allowing you to book a taxi or receive information for free. Each one of these call points will need to be upgraded as they will no longer work after the PSTN Switch-off. We had a partner who won a deal to upgrade 650 analogue call points in hospitals, hotels and hospitality venues. The biggest challenge they faced was the high upfront costs of replacing the hardware. We provided Robustel routers with an Analogue Telephone Adaptors (ATA) SIP Overlay service and calls over IP. We provided MultiNet SIMs with pooled data to be shared across all sites. The partner won a £600,000 annual contract and the end customer saved over £13,000 a month and nearly £200,000 in CAPEX.

According to Statista, there are over 29.3m PSTN lines and over 4.2m ISDN lines in the UK. Every residential customer with a PSTN line will need to move to an alternative solution to continue making calls on a landline and accessing the internet. Every business in the UK will need to review their internal communications and replace both PSTN and ISDN lines. Customers may find that they can get faster speeds more cost-effectively using 4G/5G routers and a data SIM card.

There are millions of PSTN lines that won’t be able to use a SoGEA or FTTP type replacement due to costs, incompatibility or logistical challenges. Mobile data will be a requirement for customers replacing PSTN lines for lift emergency calling, alarm signalling, telecare and many other applications.

What is available from Jola?

The PSTN Replacement Toolkit contains a choice of connectivity (Fixed Line, Mobile, Leased Line), voice over GSM or voice over SIP. It also includes cellular or SIP gateway hardware, options for either porting existing numbers or adding new UK numbers. Everything is managed through our market-leading, fully-automated, white label, provisioning portal - SIP Manager.

The ISDN Replacement Toolkit comprises SIP Trunks (including bundled inclusive calls or unbundled wholesale pricing), resilient SIP trunk options (resilient server side and/or client side), and flexible inbound and outbound routing. UK, international and non-geographic number porting is provided via portal or API.

Jola has acquired Zapappi, a wholesale SIP provider, to bolster their SIP and PSTN replacement services to the channel.

Many SMEs will leave it to the last minute, but larger organisations have realised the potential scope of a PSTN/ISDN replacement project. Jola partners are already seeing tenders from their flagship customers. As with many new technologies, organisations prefer to award these contracts to existing suppliers, but only if they can demonstrate the capability to deliver the entire project.

They usually require three types of IP solution 1) where ISDN or PSTN numbers need to be ported onto a fixed broadband or Ethernet connectivity over SIP 2) where existing numbers need to be overlayed onto a 4G/4G+/5G mobile broadband connection, and 3) where the requirement is for a mobile broadband connection, but a landline number is not required and a 07x number is preferred.

Number porting in the UK is still not an easy process, and projects have run into difficulties where resellers have tried to juggle a number of different suppliers.

“With Jola’s recent acquisition of Zapappi, their network, their SIP Management platform, and suite of porting tools, we have the experience to support resellers in delivering an entire network upgrade, fixed line and mobile, at wholesale prices low enough to win these projects at decent margins.

For many applications (e.g., taxis, street lighting, signage, lifts etc), to be forced to upgrade from a single fixed telephone line to broadband would be a significant extra cost. For the millions of telephone lines that fall into this category the solution is mobile data, and where end users need to keep their existing phone numbers, the acquisition of Zapappi creates a differentiated offering and a margin opportunity for Jola partners.

Jola is the UK’s #1 supplier of mobile data to the channel and only we have the infrastructure, capability and experience to supply resellers and MSPs with a 100% end-to-end automated solution for PSTN/ISDN replacement projects.” Andrew Dickinson, CEO.

"We’ve worked closely with Jola for a number of years, and it’s great to be one team. All of Jola’s 1000+ partners are prospects for Zapappi products and our technology completes the Jola portfolio. Any Jola reseller serious about mobile data, SIP, Teams DR and the opportunities arising from the impending PSTN switch-off and retirement of 2G and 3G networks, will be excited by this announcement.” Ben Merrills, CEO Zapappi.