BT digital switchover: broadband and landline with different companies

MargGold

What will happen at digital switchover when one has a landline with BT and broadband with another company (Plusnet).  Will I have to switch so that both are with the same company?

Neil_Jones

MargGold said:

What will happen at digital switchover when one has a landline with BT and broadband with another company (Plusnet).  Will I have to switch so that both are with the same company?

Depends if you want it or not

If you don't need it and assuming nothing changes, Plusnet are not offering a digital voice anyway, so it will only be internet with them.  Whether this gets eaten by EE remains to be seen, but they (EE) are offering Digital Voice.

(Plusnet and EE are owned by BT)

Miser1964

Many posts on the PlusNet forums about this - change over - Plusnet Community since PlusNet data is using the same copper cables to the house that BT will be decomissioning for 'Digital Voice'

Seems there's various options, but PlusNet really need to be clear about this!

1) PlusNet will offer an Internet phone service to replace the landline
2) PlusNet customers with a landline with BT will be offered a 'deal' to migrate to BT Digital Voice/Internet
3) PlusNet customer will need to find another provider of internet phone
4) PlusNet customers just a mobile only for calls

Hermann

MargGold said:

What will happen at digital switchover when one has a landline with BT and broadband with another company (Plusnet).  Will I have to switch so that both are with the same company?

No you won't have to switch so that both are with the same company, not least because effectively the need for the landline is removed.

As a Plusnet customer if you wish to keep your landline number you need to port it to a third party VOIP provider, but only once your broadband product has been switched over to a 'No Landline' version and then within 30 days of that switchover or you will lose the landline number.

As a Plusnet customer you currently have no option to keep your landline number once you renew your contract, the renewed contract will be a 'no landline' product, and Plusnet do not offer any VOIP service to use the landline number with.

The timing of porting your number is important. If you port your number to a VOIP service whilst you still have a broadband + landline product then the porting of the landline number will automatically cancel your landline and with it your broadband service, you don't want to do this...weeks of pain follow as you try to sort it out....

It is better to switch the broadband to a 'no landline' product first. This will automatically cancel your landline and with it the landline number. However the number is now held for 30 days during which time it is available to you to port to a third party VOIP provider. After 30 days the number is likely to be lost forever.

Depending on your use of the landline there are various options to switch to in terms of VOIP, there are packages that include a certain amount of outgoing calls or ones that charge for every outgoing call. If you just want to retain the number for incoming calls there are low cost products available that include all incoming calls but would be expensive for outgoing calls.

One such product that a fair few Plusnet customers have used is Andrews & Arnolds VOIP service which costs £1.44 a month but that does not include any outbound calls which would be expensive if used so it's just a low cost way to keep the number and continue receiving in bound calls.

Worth noting that to use any VOIP service your old landline telephone will not work, at least not without an adapter, so you need to look into what equipment you want to go forward with. This partly depends on what Broadband router you have and what telephone you currently have.

As you say you have  a BT landline you may be given the impression you have to switch your broadband product from Plusnet to BT as BT do provide a VOIP service. You don't have to.
This is one option but not the only option and it is likely to be more expensive in the long run than staying with Plusnet on a 'no landline' product and using a third party VOIP service.

Should you be tempted to try the BT broadband and use their 'Digital Voice' VOIP service then please research ahead as once you've switched to them it's not so easy to get away from 'Digital Voice' and use a third party service, also BT 'lock' equipment to prevent it being used with third party services so there are cost implications if you later wish to switch the VOIP away from BT.

As an additional thought a BT Broadband with Digital voice (pay as you go) is typically £40.99 for a 72Mb 'Fibre 2' service, with outgoing calls at 26p per minute.

Meanwhile a Plusnet 72Mb 'Fibre' product (no landline) is typically £24.99. Add on a Andrews & Arnolds VOIP at £1.44 a month and you have broadband + Voip phone for £26.43. Outgoing calls at between 0.83p & 1.25p per minute.

You may have to spend around £50 on phone equipment to avoid BT, if using BT digital voice they include 'locked' equipment to allow you to use your old landline phone but charge for 'digital' phones.

This all assumes you don't need any of the entertainment add ons that BT provide, which seems unlikely as you already use Plusnet for broadband and such packages aren't available on Plusnet.

Hermann

MargGold said:

What will happen at digital switchover when one has a landline with BT and broadband with another company (Plusnet).  Will I have to switch so that both are with the same company?

Realised there should have been some questions asked of you before that long above post!

Do you have an existing Landline number you wish to keep and continue with an 'alternative' digital phone service, VOIP?
If so the above post covers that.

Do you have an existing landline number you are happy to lose but you do wish to continue with an 'alternative' digital phone service, VOIP, with a new number? 
If so then you can just switch to a Plusnet 'no landline' product at renewal time. This will cancel your landline & your landline number which you then lose. You can then use any third party VOIP service who can provide you with a new number to use as your 'landline' number, you even get to choose which area code you use regardless of where you actually live. New phone equipment may be required.

Are you happy to lose your existing landline number & landline and continue with Broadband only? 
If so you just switch to a Plusnet 'no landline' product at renewal. Your landline is cancelled, you lose the number and you continue with broadband only at a lower cost.

In all this you need to consider what the effect on your BT landline contract is. It may be that your Plusnet contract is timed with your BT contract so that when Plusnet is due for renewal your BT service is out of contract as well. However it may be that when Plusnet is due for renewal you are still in contract for the BT landline, you may be charged an exit fee if so. Worth checking the situation and seeing if you can time the change for when both are out of contract, or least they are happy to change without penalty.