Changing package but retaining a landline

Ommbiance

We've been with Virgin Media for 25years+  Current contract is ending soon (we have the broadband / tv / home phone).  It's going up of course but I've managed to get them down a bit.  Been happy with them as have been generally reliable but now the costs are more than if I changed to sky or similar. But most packages don't offer a landline option (which we still want)  So doing some research I have come across a firm called 'phonely' who are VOIP landline providers only. They don't do broadband but say their system can be used by simply plugging into the back of the wifi router (which is the arrangement we have with VM now) 
Was wondering if anyone has any experience of  'phonely' (trust pilot reveiws seem OK, but always a little suspicious), or whether anyone has any views about having a different TV&broadband v. landline provider? Are there any disadvantages? 

iniltous

If you are considering IP telephony with a ‘Phonely’ ( I’ve never heard of them ) , and are considering Sky for broadband , why not simply take telephony from Sky , their IP telephony plugs into the router , the provider you are considering probably requires you to buy or rent an ATA from them ( so not built into the router like Sky ) , there is also BT/EE , Vodafone and others that also supply IP telephony via their routers.
 I don’t know why you think most providers don’t offer IP telephony, most do …..some customers complain about not being able to keep a traditional style landline , one that  works independently of the router , but that ship has sailed , what’s more that doesn’t seem to be your complaint anyway as you are open to a third party VoIP supplier, so why not also consider a proprietary VoIP service from the broadband provider, and lots of ISP offer that .

A third party VoIP provider may have some advantages, like you keep your phone number separate from broadband so if you change broadband again you don’t have to consider the phone service , but as stated , chances are you will need to buy an ATA or a phone with an inbuilt ATA , and third party VoIP used to be much cheaper than regular landline prices , these days there isn’t much difference.

Ommbiance

Thanks iniltous.  We have weekend and evening calls included in our landline package currently so when I looked at MSE broadband comparison, no packages came up with any provider on a similar basis, but having looked at it again I can see that the landline can in fact be included (but where there are no calls included) so I'll have to do some calcs to see if that works out better.    

Emmia

Ommbiance said:

Thanks iniltous.  We have weekend and evening calls included in our landline package currently so when I looked at MSE broadband comparison, no packages came up with any provider on a similar basis, but having looked at it again I can see that the landline can in fact be included (but where there are no calls included) so I'll have to do some calcs to see if that works out better.    

Do be aware that switching can mean you lose your current landline number, and are assigned a new number, with no real way to get your current number back.

Detail_Merchant

Emmia said:

Do be aware that switching can mean you lose your current landline number, and are assigned a new number, with no real way to get your current number back.

In principle that shouldn't be the case.
When ordering the new service, you should be able to tell the new provider that you want to keep your existing phone number, and they should liaise with your existing provider to switch it over.
There is even a new process "One Touch Switch" (aka OTS) which is meant to make switching of broadband and phone services simpler - https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2024/09/ofcom-launch-easier-one-touch-switching-for-uk-broadband-isps.html
But I have seen horror stories posted online, even since OTS went live, so things can go wrong.
The article linked above says:

In terms of phone number porting, Ofcom previously said they will be making some “limited” changes, which includes giving customers the “right to port their number for one month after they have terminated their contract and a prohibition on charging customers to port their number.” At present, it can still be quite difficult to get your number back if it’s lost during a switch, so this will help to tackle that.

So theoretically it should be ok, but in practice...

iniltous

How much do you use your landline for outgoing calls  ? , I’m with BT on digital voice with PAYG , if I dropped the phone service completely ( so wouldn’t even have a landline number ) I’d save £2-£3 a month , but as I get the occasional genuine incoming call and it’s possible some long lost relative or friend has the number, I don’t mind the relatively small expense, for outgoing I use my mobile as that has unlimited minutes…Sky don’t offer the chance to save a few ££ by including the phone even to those that don’t want it , or the alternative way to look at it is they include a phone service in the broadband price ( on a PAYG basis ) , but most also offer some sort of included calls , ether a set number of minutes ( 700 for example ) or Unlimited, unlimited should be in the range of £10-£12 , in my case , although I don’t want or need it , Unlimited is £12 , although the list price is £18, they drop to £12 when negotiating, so whoever you use it’s worth asking 

littleboo

The benefit of a phone service from your ISP is that it's "one throat to choke" if you have a problem. That might might be an important consideration.
If you want to seperate the phone service, I would suggest either of the two more well known providers, Vonage or A&A. Vonage supply an ATA, A&A don't.