Following on from our previous PSTN blogs, the PSTN switch-off marks a shift from a purely technical change to a strategic transformation. Even the most experienced teams can encounter difficulties during the cut-over phase. Unexpected issues arise from planning gaps such as service outages or budget overruns, that’s why proactive risk management is vital to maintain continuity for critical services.
These challenges are common, but avoidable with the right approach.
Mistake 1: Underestimating Downtime Risks
The pitfalls
Many organisations assume that PSTN migration will be a simple, low-risk process, planned without considering legacy dependencies, third parties or employee availability. Critical operations such as healthcare or finance are overlooked, along with businesses with multiple sites or complex structures.
The impact
Unplanned downtime leads to missed calls, disrupted systems and damaged customer trust. In regulated sectors, service disruptions can cause compliance issues and trigger financial penalties, not to mention brand or reputational damage.
The resolution
Build downtime mitigation into the core of your migration strategy rather than treating it as a contingency. Conduct risk assessments, map dependencies and test different scenarios before a phased migration with rollback options. Maintel’s proven approach ensures resilience at every stage, maintaining service continuity and customer confidence throughout transition.
Mistake 2: Ignoring End-User Experience
The pitfalls
Migration projects are treated as infrastructure upgrades rather than user-centric change programmes. Migration schedules are rarely communicated clearly to customers or employees, and support details are not shared pre or post-migration.
The impact
Poor adoption consistently undermines productivity and service quality. Confused and dissatisfied users contact the support desk and increase pressure on IT teams. This has a knock-on effect on customer satisfaction when organisations don’t communicate clearly with employees and customers.
The resolution
Include user experience as a key outcome of the migration process, communicating early and often. Outline timelines and support processes and provide tailored training and clear escalation paths during transition.
Mistake 3: Poor Project Coordination Across Sites
The pitfalls
Organisations leave individual sites or departments isolated, increasing duplication and the risk of errors. The lack of centralised visibility can also impact resolution times.
The impact
Decisions are delayed, dependencies missed and the rollout stalls. Variations in configuration lead to uneven performance, security exposure and can lead to budget overruns as issues increase.
The resolution
Define clear governance, ownership and communication channels. Consolidate suppliers where possible to reduce complexity and improve accountability. Maintel provides unified project management and transparent reporting to keep every stakeholder aligned whilst managing the migration end-to-end.
Mistake 4: No Contingency or Parallel Running
The pitfalls
Organisations switch off legacy lines before validating that new services are fully operational. Testing focuses on core lines but secondary systems such as fax lines or lifts are ignored.
The impact
Unvalidated configurations frequently lead to unexpected outages, taking critical services offline and increasing remediation costs. The emergency repairs needed can be expensive and unforeseen, and business continuity plans are exposed as incomplete or inadequate.
The resolution
Establish a defined fallback option as part of your migration plan. We recommend live testing and stress testing before switching over. Post-migration validation ensures quality, stability and user confidence in the migration.
Mistake 5: Lack of Post-Migration Visibility
The pitfalls
Many teams treat migration as “job done” once lines are cut over. Yet some systems are not updated to reflect the new environment, and monitoring tools and analytics are left untouched. If no post-migration checks are done, signs of degradation or security issues can be missed.
The impact
Quality and performance are affected and issues persist without visibility or line of sight for review. Data issues can cause compliance and reporting risks in regulated sectors, whilst the missed insights from post-migration checks prevent optimisation or improved ROI.
The resolution
Maintel’s managed services provide continuous monitoring, reporting and optimisation long after migration. We recommend scheduling regular service reviews to identify improvement opportunities as well as providing day-one monitoring and analytics post-migration.
Maintel’s Proven Delivery Method
With over 30 years’ experience in the telecoms industry, Maintel enables organisations to complete a phased, gradual, and controlled PSTN switch-off, guiding businesses at every step, preventing unforeseen issues and ensuring a seamless transition to a modern, resilient infrastructure.
We provide comprehensive user engagement, proactive communications, training and end-to-end monitoring and reporting. Providing organisations with real-time visibility into performance, security and compliance.
Ready to migrate with confidence?
To ensure a successful digital transformation, try our self-assessment quiz or book a consultation with one of our experts to start your PSTN migration journey.