BT’s Regional Digital Voice Rollout Plan

Surfer01

Our area is due to for the change over in Spring however we have a big concern.  If we have a power cut we will not be able to make or receive phone calls in case of a medical emergency.  We both have issues.  Mobile signal in our area is almost non existent. 

Secondly we are in contract with Plus net for broadband and a landline until Aug 2024.  If they switch over to this new VOIP system before then, we will no longer have a landline for which we are paying.  If this happens surely the supplier would have broken their contractual obligations and a new contract needs to be signed?

MattMattMattUK

Surfer01 said:

Our area is due to for the change over in Spring however we have a big concern.  If we have a power cut we will not be able to make or receive phone calls in case of a medical emergency.  We both have issues.  Mobile signal in our area is almost non existent. 

Battery backup units are available, but remember the phone also needs to be either one that draws power from the line, or backed up as well (the same asnit would have previously needed to be). If you are worried gave you checked different mobile networks and are power cuts frequent in your area?

Surfer01 said:

Secondly we are in contract with Plus net for broadband and a landline until Aug 2024.  If they switch over to this new VOIP system before then, we will no longer have a landline for which we are paying.  If this happens surely the supplier would have broken their contractual obligations and a new contract needs to be signed?

No new contract is needed, they will have not broken their contractual obligations and nothing needs to be signed. The service is still the same (a landline and a connection for a landline phone), the delivery method is changing sligtly (provided over the digital network, rather than over copper PSTN.

QrizB

Surfer01 said:

Our area is due to for the change over in Spring however we have a big concern.  If we have a power cut we will not be able to make or receive phone calls in case of a medical emergency.  We both have issues.  Mobile signal in our area is almost non existent. 

How long a power cut are you expecting?

While you can buy a battery backup for your router and phone, bear in in mind that the other end of your line (probably a cabinet in the street) also needs power. Battery backup on these cabinets can be quite short or non-existent.

If mobile phones definitely don't work, and you feel you absolutely must have a working telephone, the next option is sattelite. But that's expensive.

littleboo

Have you let Plusnet know you are vulnerable? That's the first step if not.

400ixl

MattMattMattUK said:

Surfer01 said:

Secondly we are in contract with Plus net for broadband and a landline until Aug 2024.  If they switch over to this new VOIP system before then, we will no longer have a landline for which we are paying.  If this happens surely the supplier would have broken their contractual obligations and a new contract needs to be signed?

No new contract is needed, they will have not broken their contractual obligations and nothing needs to be signed. The service is still the same (a landline and a connection for a landline phone), the delivery method is changing sligtly (provided over the digital network, rather than over copper PSTN.

Plusnet do not do a digital voice service, so at present if the PSTN landline service is shut off for that exchange they cannot supply a voice service. 

Plusnet's solution if someone wants a landline to continue is that they will allow those users to migrate to EE or BT with no early termination fees. No doubt that will mean taking out a new contract term.

This scenario is slightly different as it is not the customer requesting a change of service. Whether that would allow for early termination with no fees and to the whole market I have no idea. Time will tell.

As for the risk of not having a landline service, thats a personal balance. I could count on one finger let alone one hand the number of power cuts that have lasted more than a few minutes in the last 10 years where I live. 

Given that a line fault is probably as likely for many as a prolonged power cut, what is your emergency go to for that situation?

You can buy backup batteries for the router, you could even just have a 12v to 240v inverter to attach to your car and run an extension to the router.

Many new mobile phones also have the ability to do SOS calls via satellite (newer iPhones, Google and Samsung on Android (be it their flagship models).

What it is worth spending is really down to how much of a risk it really is.

iniltous

 it’s doubtful that long term Plusnet will provide telephony , any date BT impose for their customers doesn’t affect PN, why would it , PN  have nothing to do with BT and vice versa .
The PSTN switch off is December 2025 , PN will probably offer customers a free migration to BT or EE if they need continued telephony after Dec 2025 , those that don’t want to change provider will doubtless remain as they are until nearer Dec 2025 , which is still over 20 months away …doubtless at some point , a decision will need to be taken , which may well be ‘find another telephone supplier’ when PN withdraw from telephony.

OutdoorQueen

This page from BT explains the options if you choose to keep your landline and become a BT customer - see the section Keeping Connected in a Power Cut:

https://www.bt.com/broadband/digital-voice

spenderdave

Much has been said about power cuts. Obviously in some areas long power cuts are likely but here with all cabling underground power cuts are very rare and never more than a couple of hours. Must be a couple of years since we had one. Been on digital voice (BT) for six months now and it has been solid. So you do need to ask yourself are power cuts likely and would you really need to use the phone during one.

matelodave

This is what BT say about it - If you think that you live in an area with poor mobile reception, and there’s a power cut, we’ll provide you with a solution to make sure you can make calls for a short period of time. Get in touch by calling 0800 800 150 and we can walk you through your options

but as Spenderdave say above, power cuts are pretty rare for most people and generally dont last for very long unless you live in remote areas or there is some really bad weather when both power and phones lines can be damaged which take a lot longer to resolve.

We have had digital voice for the past three years and get quite a few power outages most of which only last for a few minutes but even those that last a couple hours or so don't actually stop our world from turning. As everything else shuts down, including the heating, cooking, light TV etc the phone is the least of our woes.

The only problem we had was when the water co dug up the phone cables and shut off all the phones and broadband in our whole neighbourhood for a fortnight, it had nothing to do with power outages.

The newspapers and media have made a lot more noise about the perils of it all because it makes better news than telling people that it really isn't a problem.

iniltous

The OP isn’t a BT Consumer customer but a Plusnet customer, and although both part of BT Group , there is no point a PN customer calling BT , but the general point of the media making a mountain out of a molehill for 99.99% of the population, is well made

southsidergs

As well as the media most of the people making a big deal about this too are quite happy to use their cordless phones which don't work in a power cut anyway, yet digital voice with the exact same issue is a big no no!