Can one get a BT line for internet use only?

AbsPhone

I need a line for the internet but don't want to spend £33 a quarter on line rental. Someone told me that there is an option where one can make it incoming calls only but still allowing broadband access. Is that true?

System

I'm afraid not, BT state that ADSL will not be provided on incoming calls only or light user scheme lines. You need a standard line for ADSL.

AbsPhone

Oh dear :cool: This proves how dangerous it is to listen even to BT themselves. I was categorically told that they CAN do it and I asked them to confirm several times. Are you 100% certain?

Steve_xx

What they may have stated is that they can make the line incoming only. But that wont effectively reduce the quarterly charge.

AbsPhone

Then they have been very devious. They told me I CAN do it for £5.25 a quarter. So does this mean I have to spend £135 a year just to get a phoneline for the internet?:rolleyes:

Steve_xx

Well yes I guess so. But you can use it for phone calls too should you choose to.

You could shift it to TalkTalk and get your line rental, broadband, evening/weekend free calls to Uk landlines, free calls to 30 countries at anytime - for £16.39 per month. But I think if you have a new BT line installed that you might have a delay before you could shift. Not sure what that delay is.

AbsPhone

I don't need a landline for calls-I have two others in the house already :j It's just that I don't want all those wires upstairs if I use one line for broadband as well

Steve_xx

Ah well, now you're talking. what you need is a wireless router. You can connect the router to one of the downstairs lines and you can sit upstairs with your pc and wirelessly surf the internet. Thus you actually don't need a third exchange line.

AbsPhone

Hi Steve
I have a wireless router upstairs and a laptop downstairs. But the phonewires are needed to put the main line into the central phone socket plus I need a 20 foot wire to connect my modem to the phone socket as well. My house looks like a telephone exchange and it's so ugly :rolleyes: I asked BT if I could get an extra phone socket in my small work area and they said that would cost £168:rolleyes: :mad:

bunking_off

Don't think there's any line rental discount for inbound only calls service. What the OP really wants is something called "naked DSL" (copper wires service with no voice service). It isn't available in the UK as yet.

Some ISPs have been pushing for it, however the fact of the matter is that most of the cost of your line rental goes towards providing/maintaining the copper from your local exchange to your property, rather than providing the voice service on top of it (and as BT migrates to next generation network technology, this differential becomes even smaller). Coupled with this, there are regulatory issues around e.g. if there's something that looks like a live phone line, there could be an expectation that 999 calls can be made (the customer may be aware there's no voice service on the line, but in an emergency visitors may not).

So, it may be available in future, but probably at a saving that doesn't make it worthwhile (as in <£1 - 2/ month).

BritBrat

Why not run an extension to where you want it located.

Run it up, down, or across the outside walls. You will have to drill a hole or two in the wall and if it was me I would fit another BT style box to connect to from the original BT box.