For 75 years, the BBC has relied on ISDN infrastructure to carry voice and audio transmissions for live sport, commentary and outside broadcasts across the UK. With the national shutdown of ISDN services approaching in 2027, the organisation required a future-proof replacement capable of supporting live broadcasting across stadiums, racecourses, football grounds and major venues nationwide.
Legacy ISDN Upgrade
BBC:
For 75 years, the BBC has relied on ISDN infrastructure to carry voice and audio transmissions for live sport, commentary and outside broadcasts across the UK. With the national shutdown of ISDN services approaching in 2027, the organisation required a future-proof replacement capable of supporting live broadcasting across stadiums, racecourses, football grounds and major venues nationwide.
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Environment: Nationwide broadcast infrastructure
Scale: 150+ UK broadcast locations
Challenge: Nationwide ISDN shutdown by 2027
Solution: Custom-built IP-based broadcast platform
Outcome: Modernised broadcast infrastructure live across major UK venues
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Custom IP-based broadcast platform
Nationwide rollout across 150+ UK sites
Low-latency voice infrastructure for live commentary
Centralised real-time monitoring platform
BBC-wide visibility of site status and connectivity
Standardised technical deployment across all venues
Weatherproof systems for outdoor broadcast environments
Up to 100Mb connectivity at fibre-enabled sites
Previous ISDN equivalent bandwidth: 128Kb
Support for voice, TV image transmission and local production workflows
Typical installation time: 1 engineer / 1 day at standard sites
Priority site support with 6-hour fix response times
Outcome:
Pinnacom is delivering a nationwide transition away from legacy Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) systems, replacing them with a modern IP-based broadcast platform that is now deployed across more than 100 UK locations.
The new infrastructure preserves the reliability and low-latency voice performance required for live commentary, while significantly expanding broadcast capabilities through increased data connectivity, centralised monitoring and scalable deployment across the BBC’s outside broadcast network.
Challenge:
The BBC required a complete replacement of its long-standing ISDN infrastructure, which had supported voice and audio broadcasting for over 75 years.
With ISDN services being permanently withdrawn by January 2027, the project requires:
A scalable, future-proof replacement platform
Nationwide deployment across 150+ sites
Minimal disruption to live broadcasting operations
Consistent working environments for technical teams across all locations
Reliable performance in exposed outdoor environments including stadia and racecourses
The system also needed to preserve the low-latency performance expected for live commentary and sports broadcasting.
Solution:
Pinnacom designed and deployed a custom IP-based broadcast system tailored specifically to the operational requirements of live outside broadcasting.
The programme includes:
Nationwide installation of new broadcast infrastructure
Development of a centralised monitoring and management platform
Standardised system design across all locations for consistency of operation
Fully weatherproof installations suitable for exposed broadcast environments
Installations are being delivered in phases, with over 100 sites already live and operational.
Most standard sites are installed within a single working day, with larger or more complex deployments (including Starlink integration or long-distance fibre runs) requiring extended installation schedules.
The new platform delivers significantly increased data capability while maintaining the low-latency voice performance required for live sports commentary.