When does the UK PSTN switch off?

BT Openreach is retiring the UK PSTN (WLR 2) on 31 January 2027. Every UK business landline must move to a digital service such as VoIP or full-fibre voice before that date.

What is the cheapest UK business VoIP?

Silux Call offers a free seat tier (1 user, 1 UK DDI, 30 minutes/month) and Pay-as-you-go from £0/month + £0.02 per UK landline minute, with no contract. Paid plans start at £6.95/user/month and come with a 30-day free trial.

Does Silux Call have a free trial, and do I need a credit card?

Yes. Every paid plan comes with a 30-day free trial and no credit card is required to start — most UK rivals offer only a 7 or 14-day trial, and several require a card up front. You can also stay on a permanently free seat with no card at all. Signing up takes about 60 seconds.

How quickly can I get a UK virtual landline number?

You can sign up in about 60 seconds and choose a UK virtual landline number (020, 0161, 03 or 0800) instantly — no engineer visit, no hardware and no contract. Existing numbers port across free on Plus and above, typically within 24 hours.

Can I keep my existing phone number?

Yes — Silux Call offers free UK number porting on Plus and above, typically completing in 24 hours. We support PAC and STAC porting workflows.

Does Silux Call work with Microsoft Teams?

Yes — Silux Call supports Microsoft Teams Direct Routing on the Pro tier, including a self-service onboarding wizard that issues the PowerShell snippet for your Teams admin.

Is Silux Call GDPR and HIPAA compliant?

Silux Call ships UK GDPR-compliant call recording with two-party consent flows, plus one-click HIPAA enrolment that locks 6-year retention, KMS-backed encryption, and PCI DTMF redaction. A one-click compliance report exports an auditor-ready PDF.

How does Silux Call block scam calls?

Silux Call screens every inbound call with an AI scam shield in under 0.5 seconds. Known HMRC, parcel, and account-spoof patterns are blocked before your phone rings — a feature no other UK business VoIP provider ships.

AI receptionist vs human receptionist UK: the real per-month cost in 2026

Option 1 — Human receptionist (in-house)

Salary £22-26k/year, plus 13.8% employer NI, 3-5% pension, 28 days holiday, sick cover. All-in UK cost: £28-34k/year, or £2,400-£2,800/month before sickness or holiday cover. Effective hours: 35 per week, with no out-of-hours.

Option 2 — Outsourced answering service

Smith.ai, Moneypenny, Answer.co.uk. Base £200-400/month plus £1.20-£2.50 per call. A 30-call-day office spends £400-£600/month minimum, scaling fast. Out-of-hours and weekends sometimes 2× rate.

Option 3 — Silux Receptionist (in-house AI, bundled)

£199/month flat per tenant, no per-call charge, no per-user uplift. Bundles with Silux Call Pro from £17.95/user/mo. Answers 24/7, handles unlimited concurrent calls, books into Microsoft 365 / Google Calendar, and hands off to a human agent when the question is out of scope.

Where AI loses

Complex, emotive conversations. A bereaved family ringing a solicitor wants a human voice; do not put them through an AI. We surface a per-DDI "AI eligibility" toggle so you can route sensitive lines straight to a human.

The maths for a 5-person SMB

Human: £2,500/month average, 35 hours coverage.
Outsourced: £450/month, plus £1.50/call.
Silux Receptionist: £199/month, 168 hours/week (24×7).

Most UK SMBs we onboard see the AI receptionist pay for itself in two missed-call recoveries per month.