BT Digital handover but I have no digital telephones.

BML

Firstly many thanks for the Spell check, I'm dyslexic.
Digital handover was yesterday for me as like many folk I failed to read the BT directions correctly and only now do I realise my five telephone setup is all non digital including one bought specially to assist with my being hard of hearing. I suppose its best if I consider going totally digital so could anyone suggest a recommended brand. I don't suppose any are made in the UK are there?   

JJ_Egan

Check out an adaptor first .

I may be wrong but read something along those lines in the numerous articles .

Owain_Moneysaver

If you are getting an internet-only line with digital (voice over IP) telephone service there will be a phone socket on the back of the modem-router to plug a phone into.

If you want it wired to your existing extension sockets this needs a Voice Reinjection (CRI) kit which your supplier is supposed to provide and connects the extensions (on the frontplate of your NTE master socket) to the phone socket on the back of the modem-router. 

The modem-router phone socket may be limited to how many extensions it can ring compared to a standard phoneline. 

brewerdave

So ,to get this straight, if BT want to changeover a customer who currently doesn't have broadband just a phone line , then they will free issue a modem/router and other kit ,to allow the householder to continue to use the phone service ??

iniltous

Telephony only users are not being switching to DV yet, but in the future , BT telephony only customers will in effect be broadband users without necessarily knowing it…..a 0.5Mb broadband service is available , sufficient bandwidth for DV, and probably designed to stop regular internet access ( 0.5Mb would be little use anyway ) the customer would use that for telephony,  it may be a basic type of modem with a phone port and a phone plugged into that , or perhaps an integrated phone  , but when the PSTN ‘exchanges’ are switched off , even if not everyone is FTTP by then, BT telephony will be VoIP,  BT already supply ‘free’ DV handsets to DV customers , I don’t see it being different when they deal with phone only users.

littleboo

brewerdave said:

So ,to get this straight, if BT want to changeover a customer who currently doesn't have broadband just a phone line , then they will free issue a modem/router and other kit ,to allow the householder to continue to use the phone service ??

Yes, because the pstn is end of life and massively expensive to run and maintain 

matelodave

When my phone was switched to Digital Voice I was offered the option of either a DV handset or a plug-in DV interface unit for my existing phone for free.

I chose the DV handset which communicates wirelessly with the routersand have my existing  twelve year old DECT phone base station plugged directly into the router.

I now have the capability of making or receiving two calls simultaneously on the one phone number - one on the DV handset and one on the DECT phone (I cant make tow simultaneous call using two DECT phone handsets, although I understand that it's possible if you have two or more BT DV handsets).

I've also got a really old (at least 30 years) BT phone plugged into a splitter with the base station so there really is no problem unless you've got an alarm.

brewerdave

matelodave said:

When my phone was switched to Digital Voice I was offered the option of either a DV handset or a plug-in DV interface unit for my existing phone for free.

I chose the DV handset which communicates wirelessly with the routersand have my existing  twelve year old DECT phone base station plugged directly into the router.

The two things that occur to me are 1. Are other ISPs going to handle the switch over the same way  ie free issue kit ?
and 2.  How are the less technically able customers going to be treated ? I can foresee much confusion down the line !!

matelodave

I'm guessing that when it gets to those who don't want broadband, just a phone ,then there will be a cut down phone access unit with sufficient routing capability to allow the phone to communicate with the IP network.

It's 20 years since I was involved in telecoms but I should imagine that something like it will be in development.

BT are rolling DV out to  their customers in certain areas where the service has already been enabled and some ISPs are now providing routers with phone access capabilities, with the option of VoIP services.

TBH you don't need much if any extra kit, just an upgraded router with a phone jack that you can plug your existing phone into or a relatively cheap VoIP adapter. to use with your existing router.

BT didn't really have to give me another phone because my BT router already had a phone jack which got enable remotely but perhaps it was a veiled bribe to encourage take up.

Unfortunately the DV phone is only compatible with the BT Smart Hub 2 which means it will become useless if I swap ISP's and get a different router.

It's those who don't already have broadband and just have a phone who will need something extra

I dont suspect that it's going to be any more of an insurmountable problem than the introduction of 625 line TV or when TV went digital or we were all converted to natural gas. or even when the currency went decimal.

There will be the usual whingers and whiners  and the "what about the elderly" moaners etc., but the world wont stop and we'll all get used to it.

wild666

Unfortunately the DV phone is only compatible with the BT Smart Hub 2 which means it will become useless if I swap ISP's and get a different router.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A bit like the SMETS 1 smart meters change provider and lose the options the IHD has, only this time you lose the phone calling ability that the BB package has with BT.
Another load of junk that will be put into landfill if you leave BT as the provider.

southsidergs

wild666 said:

Unfortunately the DV phone is only compatible with the BT Smart Hub 2 which means it will become useless if I swap ISP's and get a different router.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A bit like the SMETS 1 smart meters change provider and lose the options the IHD has, only this time you lose the phone calling ability that the BB package has with BT.
Another load of junk that will be put into landfill if you leave BT as the provider.

That will be why the equipment is on loan & has to be returned if cancelled