ISDN Network: Consumer tips
ISDN is now legacy technology and is not a suitable choice for new UK home or business telephone installations.
Instead of connecting a telephone directly to an old-style phone socket, digital voice services make calls through a broadband connection. Depending on your provider, you may plug a compatible phone into the router, use an adaptor, connect a cordless-phone base station, or use an app or dedicated IP phone.
What to do with older ISDN equipment
Older ISDN telephones, ISDN adapters and ISDN-specific phone systems generally cannot be used directly with modern UK broadband voice services. Businesses with legacy equipment, including alarms, payment terminals, lift lines, fax machines or older PBX systems, should arrange an assessment with their telecoms provider or a qualified communications installer.
In many cases, replacement equipment, an analogue telephone adaptor, a compatible VoIP gateway or a cloud-based phone system will be needed. Do not assume that an existing phone socket will continue to provide service after a move to digital voice.
