The Potential Cyber and Network Security Issues of PSTN Closure

Abstract

Up until a few years ago, all phone calls over land lines, mobile networks, cable TV networks and many altnets used circuit-switching technology. This has been the case despite the massive build-up of packet-based data networks - and the dominance of Wi-Fi, broadband, and the Internet in people's lives over the last 20 years or so. Now all these network operators are engaged in shifting telephone service onto their packet-based data infrastructures and withdrawing the obsolescent circuit switched technology. This article considers why this change is happening, how calls will be handled in the future and the big challenges faced by landline operators in this transition, with special emphasize on the potential cyber and network security issues involved.