Want to Leave BT Broadband but need landline

QrizB

Blackjack_Davy said:

There are other concerns besides  my mother has issues with dementia and relies on a landline phone a corded phone plugged into the phone socket she can deal with a phone that plugs in a router implies a) she has internet access and b) the thing is switched on she doesn't have internet at the moment we think shes switched off the router ...

There's an engineering solution. Treat it like a public payphone.

Put the router in a locked cabinet, hardwire the power and screw the cabinet to the wall.

Or find some other way to deal with it.

Fundamentally, OpenReach aren't going to change their rollout plans to suit your mother.

Eldi_Dos

iniltous said:

In my mind that sort of begs the question, why if they are so vulnerable do they chose to live where they do 

TBH , this concern is completely overblown,  if someone was in such dire need of making DV as close to the soon to be retired PSTN network , a battery back up / uninterruptible power supply is available.

Do not think I have seen a more callous statement in a post.

People do not choose to become ill and many have legitimate concerns about access to phone services and  whether community alarms will work when changes are made.

iniltous

Its not callous at all , if someone lives in a remote area , with frequent power outages and no mobile phone signal , and has a serious health condition that at any moment could require them  to request an immediate medical response (summoned by calling 999 )  , given the places that are prone to regular power outages with  no mobile coverage are also going to be places that the emergency services would take a relatively long time to get to , then that person is already accepting a high level of risk by living where they do, but they continue to do so.

I would suggest any one in that position, honestly asks themselves a couple of questions ( and answers truthfully ) ‘ how often in the past have I had a power outage , no mobile , and actually called 999 for a medical emergency’ , and , ‘If I lost my current regular landline due to a fault , and had no mobile would I move out  of my home until the landline was restored ‘ IMHO , the truthful answer to question 1 would be ‘never’ and to question 2 would be ‘No’.

I’m not saying these people should move to somewhere else , just that as they already accept a level of risk , DV telephony doesn’t particularly worsen that risk , and if these people were genuinely fearful they would have already done something about it , plus , a battery back up or UPS would keep DV going anyway.

phillw

onomatopoeia99 said:
The wholesale line rental "Stop sell" date has been passed, so no new lines and no takeovers should be possible at this point, unless on an exchange with an exception (in which case up to March 2024).

I unexpectedly retained my analogue phone line on my recent switch from Vodafone to Shell Energy (2 days ago).

Is there a list of exchanges with exceptions?

phillw

Blackjack_Davy said:

There are other concerns besides  my mother has issues with dementia and relies on a landline phone a corded phone plugged into the phone socket she can deal with a phone that plugs in a router implies a) she has internet access and b) the thing is switched on she doesn't have internet at the moment we think shes switched off the router its hard to get reliable information out of her her thoughts are just a confused jumble

They are going to offer something like 1mb/s for people who don't currently have internet.

You are going to have to figure out a solution that prevents her being able to turn off or unplug the router. Even with a standard phone line, she could unplug the phone.

Arfa__

Just ported my landline number from BT to Vodafone, no issues, though it was a digital line before and after. 

But don't be like me and completely miss reading the small print - porting your landline number over won't automatically terminate your broadband! I didn't realise until after I switched, so got stung for another month of BT internet I'm not using, and worse, it was also jacked up £8 following the end of my 2 year contract. And I got an £18 termination fee for good measure. All in the T&Cs, so bang to rights, so take heed and don't get caught out like me. :-(

d123

phillw said:

onomatopoeia99 said:
The wholesale line rental "Stop sell" date has been passed, so no new lines and no takeovers should be possible at this point, unless on an exchange with an exception (in which case up to March 2024).

I unexpectedly retained my analogue phone line on my recent switch from Vodafone to Shell Energy (2 days ago).

Is there a list of exchanges with exceptions?

Pretty sure there are no exceptions, come 2025 and there won’t be any copper lines servicing phone connections.

iniltous

There is a difference between WLR and LLU , Vodafone use a variety of network providers depending on location, I think Shell use Talk Talk infrastructure, so it’s possible your migration was LLU to LLU , possibly never actually leaving the same ‘wholesale’ provider ( VF may also use TT ) , in which case the WLR / PSTN stop sell doesn’t affect you ( yet ) 

Rawrzy

Arfa__ said:

Just ported my landline number from BT to Vodafone, no issues, though it was a digital line before and after. 

But don't be like me and completely miss reading the small print - porting your landline number over won't automatically terminate your broadband! I didn't realise until after I switched, so got stung for another month of BT internet I'm not using, and worse, it was also jacked up £8 following the end of my 2 year contract. And I got an £18 termination fee for good measure. All in the T&Cs, so bang to rights, so take heed and don't get caught out like me. :-(

That's interesting because I ported out my (digital) landline number from Sky (Openreach) to someone else (Cityfibre) and when it happened Sky mentioned it would take out the broadband too (which was what I wanted). So I assume it must vary depending on the companies involved and their porting process.

Admittedly since digital phone lines aren't really tied to the broadband like they used to be, it doesn't really make sense that they're linked any more, so maybe some providers are updating to reflect that.

Majic

Can anyone help?
I was with BT for Broadband, mobiles and landline. I have moved mobiles elsewhere and last week signed up for Broadband with Plusnet. Switch over 11 December.
Landline was an issue, so I signed up with Vonage and have used there call plan today for the first time. So currently, Broadband and call plan still with BT until the 11th but also have use of Vonage as connected to BT Broadband.

One problem, I wanted to keep my existing BT number so applied for this to be ported over to Vonage. Problem is:
1) Takes up to 10 working days (minimum)
2) Broadband due to switch over in 7 working days

My worries are:

1) They will not be able to complete in time as once BT close Broadband on 11th number is 'lost'
2) BT get the request from Vonage and close the Broadband down early? Then I would be in a pickle until the 11th

Any thoughts? Should I just pull the number transfer?