unfair for broadband providers to force you to get Phone line?

arch039

hi,
am I alone on this, or others think that it is unfair for broadband providers to force you to get Phone line. I don't even have a phone plugged in and yet I have to pay monthly line rental
£15.99. (I have unlimited calls on mobile). I don't want to have landline, yet I am forced to have one as a condition to have broadband.

seems very similar to banks selling loans with PPI attached.
I hope the day will come and we can claim back the phone line rental.

kwikbreaks

This is a regular.

You do not need a landline to get broadband if you are in a VM cable area or somewhere that offers a wireless brodband service.

If you want ADSL then you need a landline as that is how the service is delivered.

There is a post from a short timeago that broadband not associated with a phone service is being considered but there will still be a need (and charge) for the line itself and the chances of it being much cheaper are very slim.

mobilejo

arch039 wrote: »

hi,

seems very similar to banks selling loans with PPI attached.
I hope the day will come and we can claim back the phone line rental.

Not really - you didn't physically need PPI to get a loan. And telephone lines aren't added on without the customer's knowledge.

ADSL service is delivered via the phone line - how would you expect to have this type of internet without a phone line? You couldn't, so you need the phone line.

As said above, services like VM's that don't need a phone line don't require you to have one, but their bundle with phone line was cheaper in my case than their standalone internet...

leeroy2009

you may need a phone line, however you don't need the phone service!


the technology is already there to send the internet connection down the phone line, but to not allow incoming and outgoing calls.


I agree, as soon as forced line rental is abolished the better!

mobilejo

leeroy2009 wrote: »

you may need a phone line, however you don't need the phone service!

And what exactly do you think the line rental is for? Its the cost of having an active line. Whether calls are going through it is irrelevant, if data is travelling up and down the line (i.e. internet usage) then the line is in use and needs to be 'rented', as you don't own it yourself.

Line rental is not the cost of making calls - that's why you pay extra for that. Its just the cost of them maintaining an active line to your property.

I'm all for saving money but please understand the difference between being forced to pay for something you don't actually need, and having to pay for one thing that is actually required to ensure you can use another...

JJ_Egan

Simple rule of thumb as you need a line and it must be paid for plus the infrastructure .

BB lets say £15 PM Line rental £15 PM total £30 PM .
No pay for line rental but BT wholesale costs to ISP will be raised to pay for the line and equipment =new BB price of £30 PM .

bryanb

arch039 wrote: »

I don't want to have landline,

Perhaps a satellite connection then?

arch039

leeroy2009 wrote: »

you may need a phone line, however you don't need the phone service!


the technology is already there to send the internet connection down the phone line, but to not allow incoming and outgoing calls.


I agree, as soon as forced line rental is abolished the better!

I agree. that was my point.

mobilejo

arch039 wrote: »

I agree. that was my point.

yes but the 'point' is clearly misguided. Line rental is not for a 'calls service', its for having a line which is active. Switching off the ability to make/receive calls won't negate the need to rent a line so that internet data can travel up/down it.

arch039

mobilejo wrote: »

yes but the 'point' is clearly misguided. Line rental is not for a 'calls service', its for having a line which is active. Switching off the ability to make/receive calls won't negate the need to rent a line so that internet data can travel up/down it.

technically you are right and I agree. every service (gas pipes, electric cables, etc) you can split it up same way and you can pay for them all... but its not the case with most.

... its not fair to mislead the consumer with false advertising... if it says Broadband £5/month (with big letters) it should be £5/month ... and not call to get that and be told its £20/ month 'cos there is line rental of £15 you have to buy, "as shown on small print".
telecom companies are milking the line rental.

...its like going to a pub for selling 1p a pint and then when you order they charge you £4.99 for the glass + £4.99 to wash the glass so total £9.99 .... it does not make any sense.

mobilejo

Ah, I see what you mean there - if they are not being clear on the required line rental and just drawing people in with low 'headline' prices, then THAT is not something I condone. They do need to be honest and upfront.

Not being in the market for BB myself, I don't have any experience of how they are advertising it.