NEW £105M BROADBAND NETWORK REACHES LIVERPOOL CITY REGION

Recent Openreach announcement has explained available internet options are matching Liverpool’s regeneration pace however is your business taking advantage?

upgrades aren’t automatic. Businesses need to place an order with their chosen providers to get connected and we’ll do the rest.

Even if you already have a reasonable service, the need for high availability connectivity has never been greater, especially with modern day post pandemic remote working & businesses adopting a more nomadic way of working.

More than 350,000 homes and businesses in Liverpool City Region can now order some of the fastest, most reliable broadband in Europe. But there are concerns that thousands of businesses could be missing out on reaping the benefits.

Upgraded areas include Birkenhead, Childwall, Claughton, Liverpool, Prescot, Sefton Park, Rock Ferry, St Helens and Wallasey with additional areas such as Aintree, Formby, Huyton, Rainford, and Stoneycroft coming online recently.

Gigabit-capable broadband can have a huge impact on the economy, but

David Hagan - Director for BT Local Business Liverpool, Chester and North Wales, is concerned that businesses in the area may be hearing about the national switch off in 2025, and feel that they are being forced to move to the new network by suppliers.

We explore the reality here with a simple Q & A with David: -

Q. Why is Openreach doing this?

A. Like anything the Openreach network needs refreshing and upgrading, and this is the biggest upgrade for the telecommunications industry in our lifetime.

Q. Will it affect businesses before 2025?

A. Yes, very likely as it is a roll-out and Openreach cannot move all of the exchanges over at one time.

Q. What does it mean if the exchange becomes a stop sell?

A. You will simply not to able to order or make changes to any legacy/ analogue services, and only orders for IP products will be accepted.

Q. Why should I be forced to move to IP calling?

A. It’s an upgrade to keep the networks resilient and also offers many benefits to businesses.

Q. What are the advantages of moving to the new network and IP calling?

A. Alongside the resilience of the new network and higher speeds businesses can also befit from vastly increased functionality available via a portal based system including; call reports, instant call divert, mobile phone integration, home workers easily deployed and so much more.

All this and often customers can often save money when they compare the new packages to the old and or get increased functionality they never knew existed.

Still not sure? Why not call the BT Local Business on the chambers dedicated number to see what is available to your business 01704 898208