Phone landlines gone in just over a year - what can I do?
Discussion
I'm looking to switch broadband / landline provider and saw Plusnet was doing good deals
However....they say in their blurb that you can't have a landline and if you switch your landline will be disconnected. Additionally it says by 2025 all landline connections will be gone.
I wasn't aware of this and still find a landline useful although I'm not a Luddite and do have a mobile.
Does anyone know how I can keep the landline number and have a home phone/answer machine like I do now? Do I have to throw away my current phone and answer machine and buy VOIP stuff instead?
I'm with Now Broadband currently but my deal has ended and it's an 80% price rise with them.
However....they say in their blurb that you can't have a landline and if you switch your landline will be disconnected. Additionally it says by 2025 all landline connections will be gone.
I wasn't aware of this and still find a landline useful although I'm not a Luddite and do have a mobile.
Does anyone know how I can keep the landline number and have a home phone/answer machine like I do now? Do I have to throw away my current phone and answer machine and buy VOIP stuff instead?
I'm with Now Broadband currently but my deal has ended and it's an 80% price rise with them.
LivLL said:
I'm looking to switch broadband / landline provider and saw Plusnet was doing good deals
However....they say in their blurb that you can't have a landline and if you switch your landline will be disconnected. Additionally it says by 2025 all landline connections will be gone.
I wasn't aware of this and still find a landline useful although I'm not a Luddite and do have a mobile.
Does anyone know how I can keep the landline number and have a home phone/answer machine like I do now? Do I have to throw away my current phone and answer machine and buy VOIP stuff instead?
I'm with Now Broadband currently but my deal has ended and it's an 80% price rise with them.
They will provide a landline connection over the fibre broadband with your old number, you plug your ‘normal’ handset into a socket on the back of your (new) broadband router.However....they say in their blurb that you can't have a landline and if you switch your landline will be disconnected. Additionally it says by 2025 all landline connections will be gone.
I wasn't aware of this and still find a landline useful although I'm not a Luddite and do have a mobile.
Does anyone know how I can keep the landline number and have a home phone/answer machine like I do now? Do I have to throw away my current phone and answer machine and buy VOIP stuff instead?
I'm with Now Broadband currently but my deal has ended and it's an 80% price rise with them.
It’s the actual copper landline that is disappearing, not the ability to have a ‘normal’ phone.
Thanks for the quick replies. This is the deal
plusnet said:
What happens to my phone line service if I sign up to Fibre?
This is Fibre broadband without a landline, so there's no line rental costs. Using new technology, there's no phone line needed to set up your connection. This means we'll disconnect your phone line service and:
You'll lose your home phone number and your home phone service won't work.
You won't be able to make or receive calls, including to emergency services.
Personal alarms and any other services connected to your home phone will no longer work.
If you're reliant on a home phone line service, don't worry, just get in touch and we'll advise on other digital phone options which may be available to you. Call us on 0800 432 0200.
I thought I'd ask on here before I spend a load of time on the phone getting the info.This is Fibre broadband without a landline, so there's no line rental costs. Using new technology, there's no phone line needed to set up your connection. This means we'll disconnect your phone line service and:
You'll lose your home phone number and your home phone service won't work.
You won't be able to make or receive calls, including to emergency services.
Personal alarms and any other services connected to your home phone will no longer work.
If you're reliant on a home phone line service, don't worry, just get in touch and we'll advise on other digital phone options which may be available to you. Call us on 0800 432 0200.
I don't understand all this stuff.
I'm paying for "Superfast Fibre" broadband, but what I have is a router/modem plugged into the phone socket in my house, supplied by what looks like the original 1950s phone wire from the top of my house to a pole across the street. Maybe BT has fitted a high-speed fibre network between the telephone exchange and the equipment cabinet in the street, I don't know. But if so, how does my old landline phone work over that same line? And if the last 20 yards of the supply to my house uses a decades-old phone wire exposed to the elements, doesn't that degrade the speed/capacity?
I'm not sure if the future change to VoIP landlines means any change to my infrastructure, or if the final part of the network will stay the same as it was when the house was built.
I'm paying for "Superfast Fibre" broadband, but what I have is a router/modem plugged into the phone socket in my house, supplied by what looks like the original 1950s phone wire from the top of my house to a pole across the street. Maybe BT has fitted a high-speed fibre network between the telephone exchange and the equipment cabinet in the street, I don't know. But if so, how does my old landline phone work over that same line? And if the last 20 yards of the supply to my house uses a decades-old phone wire exposed to the elements, doesn't that degrade the speed/capacity?
I'm not sure if the future change to VoIP landlines means any change to my infrastructure, or if the final part of the network will stay the same as it was when the house was built.
Granadier said:
I don't understand all this stuff.
I'm paying for "Superfast Fibre" broadband, but what I have is a router/modem plugged into the phone socket in my house, supplied by what looks like the original 1950s phone wire from the top of my house to a pole across the street. Maybe BT has fitted a high-speed fibre network between the telephone exchange and the equipment cabinet in the street, I don't know. But if so, how does my old landline phone work over that same line? And if the last 20 yards of the supply to my house uses a decades-old phone wire exposed to the elements, doesn't that degrade the speed/capacity?
I'm not sure if the future change to VoIP landlines means any change to my infrastructure, or if the final part of the network will stay the same as it was when the house was built.
They started advertising "Fibre" broadband when they rolled out ADSL equipment to street cabinets. So your connection to the street cabinet is still ADSL over copper, but then it's back-hauled to the telephone exchange over fibre (FttC, Fibre to the Cabinet). The advantage of this over the older scheme is that ADSL only had to work over a shorter distance than all the way back to the exchange, so you get higher and more consistent speeds.I'm paying for "Superfast Fibre" broadband, but what I have is a router/modem plugged into the phone socket in my house, supplied by what looks like the original 1950s phone wire from the top of my house to a pole across the street. Maybe BT has fitted a high-speed fibre network between the telephone exchange and the equipment cabinet in the street, I don't know. But if so, how does my old landline phone work over that same line? And if the last 20 yards of the supply to my house uses a decades-old phone wire exposed to the elements, doesn't that degrade the speed/capacity?
I'm not sure if the future change to VoIP landlines means any change to my infrastructure, or if the final part of the network will stay the same as it was when the house was built.
It is a bit misleading, especially when you can now often get Fibre to your house (aka FttP).
VoiP landlines doesn't need any change on your premises, they will just throw away all the analogue phone equipment in the exchange and your landline phone will be provided over IP over your data connection. Seperately, BT and others are rolling out FttP widely.
Granadier said:
I don't understand all this stuff.
I'm paying for "Superfast Fibre" broadband, but what I have is a router/modem plugged into the phone socket in my house, supplied by what looks like the original 1950s phone wire from the top of my house to a pole across the street. Maybe BT has fitted a high-speed fibre network between the telephone exchange and the equipment cabinet in the street, I don't know. But if so, how does my old landline phone work over that same line? And if the last 20 yards of the supply to my house uses a decades-old phone wire exposed to the elements, doesn't that degrade the speed/capacity?
I'm not sure if the future change to VoIP landlines means any change to my infrastructure, or if the final part of the network will stay the same as it was when the house was built.
Sounds more like FTTC - fibre to the (localish) cabinet and then copper from there. True fibre (FTTP/FTTH) to the premises/house would have a separate terminal box with flashy lights, powered by your leccy. I'm paying for "Superfast Fibre" broadband, but what I have is a router/modem plugged into the phone socket in my house, supplied by what looks like the original 1950s phone wire from the top of my house to a pole across the street. Maybe BT has fitted a high-speed fibre network between the telephone exchange and the equipment cabinet in the street, I don't know. But if so, how does my old landline phone work over that same line? And if the last 20 yards of the supply to my house uses a decades-old phone wire exposed to the elements, doesn't that degrade the speed/capacity?
I'm not sure if the future change to VoIP landlines means any change to my infrastructure, or if the final part of the network will stay the same as it was when the house was built.
outnumbered said:
They started advertising "Fibre" broadband when they rolled out ADSL equipment to street cabinets. So your connection to the street cabinet is still ADSL over copper, but then it's back-hauled to the telephone exchange over fibre (FttC, Fibre to the Cabinet). The advantage of this over the older scheme is that ADSL only had to work over a shorter distance than all the way back to the exchange, so you get higher and more consistent speeds.
It is a bit misleading, especially when you can now often get Fibre to your house (aka FttP).
VoiP landlines doesn't need any change on your premises, they will just throw away all the analogue phone equipment in the exchange and your landline phone will be provided over IP over your data connection. Seperately, BT and others are rolling out FttP widely.
This is the bit I'm not understanding, my home phone can't connect via ethernet - Plusnet say I'll lose my number and the landline won't work but your the second person on here to say I can just plug it into the new gear.It is a bit misleading, especially when you can now often get Fibre to your house (aka FttP).
VoiP landlines doesn't need any change on your premises, they will just throw away all the analogue phone equipment in the exchange and your landline phone will be provided over IP over your data connection. Seperately, BT and others are rolling out FttP widely.
Can't find anything online that makes it clear either way.
LivLL said:
This is the bit I'm not understanding, my home phone can't connect via ethernet - Plusnet say I'll lose my number and the landline won't work but your the second person on here to say I can just plug it into the new gear.
Can't find anything online that makes it clear either way.
New routers can use VOIP to provide a phone service via a socket on the router. However, the ISP/contract you are using needs to support this service, or alternatively you need to port the no to a 3rd party VOIP provider and access it that way.Can't find anything online that makes it clear either way.
Some providers wont supply a phone line at all, even over VOIP.
There is a new provider local to me that offer fibre, and if you want a landline, they refer you to a third party.
I work for virgin, and we offer 3 types of network at the moment, HFC/FTTC, FTTP and FTTE, the first 2 we offer a landline with, and the phone plugs into the router, the 3rd, we don't currently offer a phone service, but when we do, the system will be the same in that the phone will plug into the router.
There is a new provider local to me that offer fibre, and if you want a landline, they refer you to a third party.
I work for virgin, and we offer 3 types of network at the moment, HFC/FTTC, FTTP and FTTE, the first 2 we offer a landline with, and the phone plugs into the router, the 3rd, we don't currently offer a phone service, but when we do, the system will be the same in that the phone will plug into the router.
LivLL said:
This is the bit I'm not understanding, my home phone can't connect via ethernet - Plusnet say I'll lose my number and the landline won't work but your the second person on here to say I can just plug it into the new gear.
Can't find anything online that makes it clear either way.
The router that plusnet will give you will have asocket to plug a phone in to. So instead of plugging the phone in to the wall, you plug the phone in to the router. The phone itself will still work, its just how its delivered to your property that will change.Can't find anything online that makes it clear either way.
Dashnine said:
They will provide a landline connection over the fibre broadband with your old number, you plug your ‘normal’ handset into a socket on the back of your (new) broadband router.
It’s the actual copper landline that is disappearing, not the ability to have a ‘normal’ phone.
I would argue the ability to have a 'normal' phone is very definitely disappearing - without power (or, I presume, a working router, which is not always guaranteed...) you cannot call anyone - even the emergency services.It’s the actual copper landline that is disappearing, not the ability to have a ‘normal’ phone.
This seems to be a step back to me - 'new and improved!!' meaning, as it often seems to, the loss of key features that would be relied on when needed most.
I suspect you'll want to check that Plusnet will/can run your old landline over VOIP before moving to them. If you move and the line gets disconnected, you'll lose your landline number.
I would not try and move yourself via self-service on the web; I would pick up the phone (fnarr!) and speak to whoever your new ISP will be and confirm that they can port your existing landline to their VOIP service whilst retaining your existing number.
I would not try and move yourself via self-service on the web; I would pick up the phone (fnarr!) and speak to whoever your new ISP will be and confirm that they can port your existing landline to their VOIP service whilst retaining your existing number.
If you have an elderly relative for whom things like the ballpoint pen are remarkable new technology, in other words someone who thinks Catweazle is at the cutting edge of progress, what will this mean for them? Will they be able to retain their decades-old handset and the spindly copper bearer until such time as they have no further need for a phone, or will they be pushed into some form of upgrade?
-Cappo- said:
If you have an elderly relative for whom things like the ballpoint pen are remarkable new technology, in other words someone who thinks Catweazle is at the cutting edge of progress, what will this mean for them? Will they be able to retain their decades-old handset and the spindly copper bearer until such time as they have no further need for a phone, or will they be pushed into some form of upgrade?
If the phone has a standard BT plug in it, it will likely "just work" with the new arrangement.I started a thread on this a few months ago
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Probably should have put it in the computer section
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Probably should have put it in the computer section
My mum lives in a leasehold retirement apartment complex. 56 apartments, built about 7 years ago.
The management company (named after a wartime Primeminister) have been scaring the residents about the digital switchover. I've explained that her personal landlines will still work by swapping the phone to her BT router.
The building is also equipped with a Careline system - phone in each apartment, plus a load of emergency cords. Management company are saying that the residents will have to pay to have the system switched over. Quote is almost £200,000!
Trying to work out why it should be so expensive. Surely it's just a glorified automatic switchboard (all handsets can call other apartments, as well as the entry doors), and a phone line to the exchange? Can't this phone line just be connected to the building's router, currently running WiFi in the communal lounge and manager's office?
Going by the sum quoted, the supplier is either planning on ripping the whole lot out and starting again, or is seriously taking the mick.
The management company (named after a wartime Primeminister) have been scaring the residents about the digital switchover. I've explained that her personal landlines will still work by swapping the phone to her BT router.
The building is also equipped with a Careline system - phone in each apartment, plus a load of emergency cords. Management company are saying that the residents will have to pay to have the system switched over. Quote is almost £200,000!
Trying to work out why it should be so expensive. Surely it's just a glorified automatic switchboard (all handsets can call other apartments, as well as the entry doors), and a phone line to the exchange? Can't this phone line just be connected to the building's router, currently running WiFi in the communal lounge and manager's office?
Going by the sum quoted, the supplier is either planning on ripping the whole lot out and starting again, or is seriously taking the mick.
LivLL said:
outnumbered said:
They started advertising "Fibre" broadband when they rolled out ADSL equipment to street cabinets. So your connection to the street cabinet is still ADSL over copper, but then it's back-hauled to the telephone exchange over fibre (FttC, Fibre to the Cabinet). The advantage of this over the older scheme is that ADSL only had to work over a shorter distance than all the way back to the exchange, so you get higher and more consistent speeds.
It is a bit misleading, especially when you can now often get Fibre to your house (aka FttP).
VoiP landlines doesn't need any change on your premises, they will just throw away all the analogue phone equipment in the exchange and your landline phone will be provided over IP over your data connection. Seperately, BT and others are rolling out FttP widely.
This is the bit I'm not understanding, my home phone can't connect via ethernet - Plusnet say I'll lose my number and the landline won't work but your the second person on here to say I can just plug it into the new gear.It is a bit misleading, especially when you can now often get Fibre to your house (aka FttP).
VoiP landlines doesn't need any change on your premises, they will just throw away all the analogue phone equipment in the exchange and your landline phone will be provided over IP over your data connection. Seperately, BT and others are rolling out FttP widely.
Can't find anything online that makes it clear either way.
Vodafone are one such supplier.
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