Can you now get Broadband without a phone line? As using the MSE comparison, none seem to come with

pw23

I always thought it was mandatory to have an active phone line in order to get Broadband, and as I am unable to get a fibre in my area I have to resort to 11 MB max speed but looking at the comparison all of the results show no phone line in the deal 

So this mean if I switch to them, I would lose my phone number? As whilst I don't make phone calls, I do need it to receive calls for For certain circumstances.

I'm thinking about switching from  Shell Energy to pop telecom as they're offering the same deal for £2 less per per month and according to the postcode results that I would receive from 8 MB speed compared to the 4 –6 MB speed on currently getting with Shell, but does this sound like something that is possible? As I thought they both use the same bt line so the speed would be the exact same.

also, before I commit, what comparison sites do you use to compare Broadband  as I've only use the MSE comparison as the U switch one only shows one result?

Neil_Jones

FTTP allows for broadband without a phone line.

FTTC/ADSL does not and you will be required to have a phone line to deliver the service.

Are you sure you can't get FTTP?  The only way you can get internet without a phone line (without going down the Virgin route) is FTTP.

iniltous

Your question is a little too vague, it’s never been a requirement to take telephony with broadband with Virgin , most Alt Nets don’t require telephony and many don’t even offer the option of telephony, so presumably your question only relates to Openreach based providers.

You can have standalone broadband ( no phine service) over the Openreach network, if the provider only offers broadband ( some do , some don’t )  and you still need telephony , obviously you chose one that offers  telephony and broadband, some like BT offer both , broadband on its own or broadband with Digital Voice telephony.

The key point  is , originally broadband was the service added to your phone line , so the phine was a prerequisite , that has now changed and in the main , telephony is added ( if required ) to your broadband , and these days  it will be IP telephony , so the phone plugs into the broadband router not the socket on the wall .

So your question , will you lose your phone number with some broadband providers, simple answer is Yes , Plusnet for example no longer  provide telephony to new customers.

 if you want to keep telephony, just avoid companies that dont  offer it , there are lots that still offer both , but unsurprisingly it’s a little more expensive to have two services rather than one .

KxMx

Neil_Jones said:

FTTP allows for broadband without a phone line.

FTTC/ADSL does not and you will be required to have a phone line to deliver the service.

Are you sure you can't get FTTP?  The only way you can get internet without a phone line (without going down the Virgin route) is FTTP.

Not true, I have a broadband only package from Plusnet with no LL provision, and it's FTTC not FTTP. 

400ixl

Wanting to go from Shell to Pop Telecom is jumping from a poorly rated ISP to an even more poorly rated one.

Price is fine when everything works, when it doesn't you want good customer service.

pw23

Okay,, As I haven't switched provider for a good few years I never realised I could get a broadband service without phone line

As this will be the case, would I not be better off just getting a 4G portable modem/Dongle/MIFI?
Three seems to be the best value, but I assume their service would be poor

Does anyone here use A mobile broadband service 4G or 5G instead of the traditional fibre or standard Broadband
Would you recommend it?

and am I missing any comparison sites? I should check besides the MSE One, U switch, compare the market, go compare?

iniltous

Mobile broadband as a replacement for a ‘landline’ broadband works for some , but it is poor for others , asking for opinions is , in my opinion, not that useful, you could be in a good signal area but get posts saying it’s poor ( be because the poster is in a poor area ) , or you good be in a poor signal area and get replies saying it’s great , and then each comment may refer to different network providers ,where you are ,  it could be Vodafone is OK , but EE are not , or vice versa.

The common advice is to get a few free or cheap PAYG sims with a little data on them (  from different network providers ) and try them working as a WiFi hotspot in a phone ….you may well get a perfectly acceptable service, but you don’t particularly want to commit to that before you know for sure.

onomatopoeia99

pw23 said:

Okay,, As I haven't switched provider for a good few years I never realised I could get a broadband service without phone line

If you have ADSL / FTTC broadband the copper pair that traditionally did voice calls, aka "the phone line" will still be connected to your house but may potentialy be used for the broadband only, not for a voice service.  I still have the 75 year old "phone line" coming to my bungalow but I don't have a phone number or a phone connected to it and have no way to use it to make or receive calls.  If I plug in a phone to the master socket, there is no dialtone, the line just provides my broadband.

pw23

Okay, points taken,

As I don't have time to try out different Sim cards due to the expiration of my current contract with Shell, am I right to assume that by getting a 4G 3MIFI which claims to provide up to 150 MB speed, if they weren't to live up This, have you heard or do you imagine the speed is going lower than one MB? As this is my bare minimum I could live with.

but I will be committed to a two-year contract so appreciate the risk involved, but I have read that even if I was to use temporary Sim to test out the speed that because it would fluctuate /Reduce speed after the calling off period, that I can't trust the speed I initially get

iniltous

Assuming you already have a mobile phone, try that using data rather than Wifi  , if it’s OK you could simply use the same network with either a MiFi device and it’s own data sim , or get unlimited data added to your phone sim and hotspot your phone.
If a mobile operator offers a certain performance it’s not guaranteed everywhere, and if it happens to be poor where you live, that’s not going to be reason to leave penalty free, hence the need to have a reasonable idea first .

pw23

Actually, I do use a Lebara Sim card in my iPhone which runs on Vodafone network and the reception is pretty good so if I was to get a unlimited Lebara Sim card with a different number, could I then just simply put it into a Sim card modem and then use it for my other devices over Wi-Fi at home?