Alternatives to BT

LardyCake

littleboo wrote: »

But that would be a) costly to them, b) unfair as they would loose the brand and c) cause massive confusion to customers

As an ordinary consumer I'm not really qualified to comment on a) and b) but your point c) I disagree with - the present situation is far more confusing. I certainly found it so when I was looking to change supplier and I think this thread is evidence that I am not alone.

It would be in the interests of the other providers to be more explicit in their explanation, there is no reason why they cant be. "BT Line" seems a bit lazy to me.

I agree.

littleboo

LardyCake wrote: »

As an ordinary consumer I'm not really qualified to comment on a) and b) but your point c) I disagree with - the present situation is far more confusing. I certainly found it so when I was looking to change supplier and I think this thread is evidence that I am not alone.

a) Rebranding costs millions, this tends to get highlighted in the popluar press every time a company feels the need to do it.
b) All company brands have a value, thats why they protect them
c) I think it would be very confusing for BT's existing customers to be told "err, we cant call ourselves BT anymore because it might be confusing for you if you were thinking of leaving BT, so we're now called XXX (part of BT Group), but you still have a BT line, even though we're now called XXX (part of BT Group) "

deklan99

It's not that confusing. ANY provider can activate a BT line if they want to. Should be no need for them to even mention it in their sales blurb. Only thing is it costs money therefore they prefer to fudge the issue.

LardyCake

deklan99 wrote: »

It's not that confusing. ANY provider can activate a BT line if they want to. Should be no need for them to even mention it in their sales blurb. Only thing is it costs money therefore they prefer to fudge the issue.

Well I find it confusing and the OP obviously did. Maybe if you have a special interest or knowledge of telecoms or perhaps work for telecoms company you will not find it confusing...
I'm sure you are right about activation but I was talking about switching providers but never mind.

dawnie1972

I've just looked on Samknows.com as when i moved into my property i had a landline socket/wiring there but i will not deal with BT. I've just searched my exchange on samknows and it says this

ADSL:Yes
SDSL:No LLU services:No Cable:No Wireless:No

Does that mean its BT or nothing for me?

Heinz

dawnie1972 wrote: »

I've just looked on Samknows.com as when i moved into my property i had a landline socket/wiring there but i will not deal with BT. I've just searched my exchange on samknows and it says this

ADSL:Yes
SDSL:No LLU services:No Cable:No Wireless:No

Does that mean its BT or nothing for me?

No. Many other 'line providers' will rent you a line. They rent the line from BT at a wholesale rate (known as WLR or Wholesale Line Rental) and then re-rent it to you at a small profit.

The other option, of course, is to save any possible aggravation and simply CPS all your calls (see the HERE link in my signature below).

5limJim

dawnie1972 wrote: »

I've just looked on Samknows.com as when i moved into my property i had a landline socket/wiring there but i will not deal with BT. I've just searched my exchange on samknows and it says this

ADSL:Yes
SDSL:No LLU services:No Cable:No Wireless:No

Does that mean its BT or nothing for me?

I think you can still take on another line provider such as Sky, Post Office etc, as they take over Admin of the line, no reason to stick with BT. Just work out what your useage needs are and see who offers the best package. Be aware though that some line providers dotn allow access to override numbers for making cheqaper calls

ukcarper

Why should BT install a line so that you can transfer to another provider straight away? It’s not BTs fault that the other providers won’t pay for the line installation. On the subject of fair is it fair to insist that BT rents its lines and provides space in its exchanges to other providers

Mark_In_Hampshire

dawnie1972 wrote: »

I've just looked on Samknows.com as when i moved into my property i had a landline socket/wiring there but i will not deal with BT. I've just searched my exchange on samknows and it says this

ADSL:Yes
SDSL:No LLU services:No Cable:No Wireless:No

Does that mean its BT or nothing for me?

Same here - BT is the only supplier at our exchange, and we won't go anywhere near them. But, we could, and you could, sign up with the Post Office and they'll subcontract the line to BT.

This means you don't have to deal with BT in any shape or form. Ultimately any line related issue would have to go back to BT, but the Post Office would save you the tears and do it for you.

Surfer

On our exchange I have BT, Sky, Talk Talk, Tiscali and Orange. Talk Talk & Tiscali I will not even consider due to past experience which leaves BT, Sky and Orange. We very seldom use the phone except for 0870 & 0844/5 calls and intyernational calls to South Africa however to phone internationally we now use Skype most of the time.
All we require is a stand alone landline at the lowest cost to ourselves as the landline is mainly for broadband calls however I don't really want to stay with BT but the no charge on 0844/5 & 0870 is difficult to get around. Our exchange currently offers a top download speed on average of 2mbp. It is also due for an upgrade in 2010. I just don't see why we have included in our rental the "free" evenings & weekends package as we never use it. We prefer to use our mobiles for all local and national calls.
Can any one offer any suggestions on a way forward.