Do BT do shorter, line-only contracts (with no call package)?

Quentin

The Post Office will install a BT line (£110) subject only to 15 days notice if you want to cancel.

They charge £9.95 a month and include evening and weekend calls.

christopher

normanmark wrote: »

Well yes its a rented line, but i think you get yourself confused with your terminology half the time.

Check this site to see if Be* are activated in your local exchange.

Theres no technicality from a way a line is provisioned that it cannot be unbundled. The only way it would not go through is that your chosen provider has not been unbundled at the local exchange yet. Ultimately the Phone Co-Op gets the same lines that BT would so theres nothing different.

The last time I was with Be*, I heard rumblings that unless you had a vanila, BT-supplied (and branded) BT line, there'd sometimes be problems provisioning LLU service over that line. This is regardless of the fact that if a line's in your premises and you live outside of the Kingston area or don't have a cable phone line, it's for all intents and purposes a BT line. Openreach and Retail are two very strange creatures though, and getting an LLU service on your line can sometimes prove far more difficult than the standard Max service


I don't think I'm getting confused with the terminology - if I had a line obtained through a third party (like TalkTalk) to whom I was paying my monthly line rental (i.e., Carrier Pre-Select) I have doubts as to whether I'd be able to get LLU service over it because if I rang BT, surely it would show up as a line not obtained directly through BT? Unless it's improved since 12 months ago, I know that the LLU provisioning service is far more manual and clunky than the streamlined ADSL Max order process, people have had problems ranging from invalid MACs being supplied to lines being incorrectly flagged to even weirder problems... I'm just after a smooth, hassle-free install

Quentin

No problems getting Be or o2 adsl2 via post office or phone co-op.

Heinz

I think the OP is confusing LLU and CPS.

CPS has nothing whatesoever to do with the line rental - it is merely the programming of the BT exchange so that outgoing calls, by default, are routed via another (Carrier PreSelect) calls provider. You can only have a CPS calls provider on a line on which you pay line rental directly to BT.

BTW, LLU has been explained above but WLR hasn't been mentioned - but that'd just confuse the issue further.

nickauk

In the same position- need to get a line reactivated (but not massively keen on signing up for 18moinths with BT) but want Bethere internet.

Can anyone confirm that they have both the PhoneCo-Op and Bethere working?

Thanks,

Nick

normanmark

christopher wrote: »

The last time I was with Be*, I heard rumblings that unless you had a vanila, BT-supplied (and branded) BT line, there'd sometimes be problems provisioning LLU service over that line. This is regardless of the fact that if a line's in your premises and you live outside of the Kingston area or don't have a cable phone line, it's for all intents and purposes a BT line. Openreach and Retail are two very strange creatures though, and getting an LLU service on your line can sometimes prove far more difficult than the standard Max service

Ok, you're getting more confused still. LLU & a BT Line are different things. LLU is a term to describe a line unbundled (ie. taken from) BT's side of the network to a providers side of the network. The physical line is exactly the same.

BT Retail don't do an LLU line as its on the BT Network, however for a line to become an LLU line it needs to exist first (therefore a BT line is required, you cannot order an 'unbundled line').

LLU = an existing line unbundled onto a different network providers part of your local exchange

BT Line = A line provided on BT's side of the network.

Hopefully the above clarifies the situation

Quentin

nickauk wrote: »

Can anyone confirm that they have both the PhoneCo-Op and Bethere working?

As long as your exchange has Be's equipment then it will work with a co-op line (or a post office one which is cheaper to install and has cheaper line rental with free off peak/weekend calls)

christopher

Heinz, Quentin, normanmark - thanks for the clarification. I've always used LLU in the context of an LLU service over a BT line (because that's what Be* is, right? it's how they describe themselves, and how samknows also describes any non-IPStream service). I do understand the difference between TalkTalk-style lines and BT lines, the differences were getting blurred I think with all the different terminology.

I just rang the Phone Co-Op and quizzed them on this - while you pay your rental (and solely deal with) TPC, it is a BT line (they just resell).

At our new house there's no line so it'd be £116 install and a 12 month contract, but you deal solely with them and their calls are still cheaper than BT... I can't imagine a reason not to use them! Especially when if you have a line fault, you DON'T have to speak to BT... A breath of fresh air, and they've been going 10 years this year too according to the woman I spoke with.

The Post Office would be cheaper, but then again you get what you pay for, right?

Thanks to all who provided sage advice, tidbits, other useful info and clarifications. +1 insightful

Quentin

You asked for advice on how to get a shorter contract - with post office there is no contract (just 15 days notice required), it's cheaper to install and the line rental is cheaper. And they give you free calls all evenings and weekends. (The work would be carried out by the same engineer who would install it for the phone co-op - or BT for that matter!)

(I have no axe to grind for the po, but it is a much better moneysaver, and you won't be tied to a contract, which was why you started this thread!)

Alternatively, if a contract is now no problem, why not get bt to do it, (only £30), and stick with them for 18 months?

christopher

The handy thing about 12 month service contracts for us is that as students, we may move to a different property after a year (12 months being the usual agreed tenancy duration) - as the person who'd technically be paying the bill I wouldn't want to be stung with a £70 fee or more should an engineer callout be required to install or activate a new line in future premises (should we still be in the same place in a year's time)... The unfortunate side-effect of renting property. Trying to mitigate against all possibilities

The PO is looking like the most logical choice, I'm going to give them a ring and ask how much it'd cost for an install at our premises.