On March 21, 2017, Toshiba Telecommunications Division announced that it would “wind-down the Telecommunications Division starting immediately.”  Toshiba dealers across the nation were stunned (to say the least).  The Toshiba Telephone System Division operated in the U.S. since 1975 and was in the top three market share for SMB telephone systems for decades.  Dealers were told orders could be submitted until May 22, 2017, providing only a two-month notice before shutting down completely.

On May 11th, Mitel confirmed it would acquire the telecommunications division from Toshiba; however, would only support the Toshiba phone systems for a limited period of time.  Their main goal was to acquire Toshiba dealers and end-users and convert them into Mitel PBX customers.

Mitel quickly announced their “Phase-out Plan” for Toshiba Strata CIX phone systems and IPedge IP phone system product lines with an “End of New System Sales” date of October 31, 2018, and “End of Add-on Sales,” such as phones, cards, and licenses effective October 31, 2019.  “End of Technical Support” is scheduled for October 31, 2021.

Fast Forward to 2021:

The Mitel deadline of October 31, 2021 is approaching quickly and Toshiba PBX users must make a decision on how to move forward with their telecommunications systems.  We recommend starting the process now so you can budget accordingly.  As a reminder, add-on license parts, cards, and phones have been discontinued as of November 1, 2020.  At this time, Toshiba parts cannot be purchased except for license dongles.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR IPEDGE SYSTEMS USING VIRTUAL LICENSING:  

Toshiba IPedge Virtual Licensing Systems using the online license server will be decommissioned after the EOL (End of Life) date of October 31, 2021.  Based on your IPedge model and platform, there are limited options that will allow your IPedge phone system to continue to function.  If no action is taken, then the system stops working except to place calls to 911.