Technical phone/broadband question

OK, dipshit here didn't realise that he'd ordered a broadband only fibre option from BT. I probably need to talk to BT to add some kind of VOIP but are there other ones around that would just require getting a phone without too many extra subscriptions? Or should I just join the current century and only have mobiles.

The BT hub that you have should have a VoIP phone port on it that you can plug a landline phone into instead of the actual phone socket. They are pushing forward with the PSTN shutdown. You have to pay for the VoIP rental though

I guess you could get VoIP/SIP through another provider but it wouldn’t work through that port and you’d need either a soft phone on your pc (don’t even entertain this tbh) or a handset that can do WiFi and let you configure SIP for whatever 3rd party you rent through (also probably not worth the hassle).

Just get the BT VoIP or change provider. You won’t get a PSTN phone going forward.

Thanks, I thought that might be the case but I wasn't sure whether there was an obvious cheap alternative I was missing.

Rex Kramer wrote:Or should I just join the current century and only have mobiles.

I do contact details checks for every patient I see so I have this conversation with people quite often when they tell my where they do/don't have landlines/mobiles. In my experience landlines are, as you'd expect, dying out. This is pretty much true of everyone apart from the very elderly, a few luddites-and-prouds, and the people in the rural parts of our catchment who have no reception. Of the patients who say they don't have a mobile, some are definitely telling me no because they don't want to give their number out (we're the NHS mate, if we were selling your data we'd be able to pay junior doctors :roll:

)

Personally we'd bin off our landline service in a second, but whenever we ask Virgin Media they tell us it's actually cheaper to have it than not! We did have a landline in the kitchen (the only people who ever called us were VM :slol:

). However in November we got moved over to VoIP so now we need to plug our 1980s BT Viscount ( :datass:

) into the router which is next to the telly - just no!

Do you really need a landline? As I say, personally I would bin it off in a second. If you use your phone for work and want a separate line then I'd be surprised if your couldn't get a more versatile set up for less money by switching to mobile. If you have zero reception in your area, specific tech that needs copper wiring (e.g. an emergency button) or an elderly relative who wouldn't cope with a number change when calling you then fair enough, but they're the only reasons I can think of that someone on the fence like yourself would go out of their way to keep their landline.

A backup landline can be useful for emergencies, mobile outages aren't completely uncommon. Also, it can still work out cheaper for outgoing calls depending on your contract.

I have a PAYG mobile and do almost all my phone chats from the landline. It is definitely cheaper if you're one of those people (like me) who works from home and hardly needs a mobile for anything. I save tons of money each month not having a mobile contract.

PostRe: Technical phone/broadband question by KK » Sat Feb 10, 2024 10:04 am

Keep in mind BT's Digital Voice with Alexa phone (which was provided to me free of charge by them, but is around £40 in the shops) is only compatible with a BT/EE VoIP line, so if you leave you can't use the phone.

Imrahil wrote:A backup landline can be useful for emergencies, mobile outages aren't completely uncommon. Also, it can still work out cheaper for outgoing calls depending on your contract.

I have a PAYG mobile and do almost all my phone chats from the landline. It is definitely cheaper if you're one of those people (like me) who works from home and hardly needs a mobile for anything. I save tons of money each month not having a mobile contract.

Let me be clear: I've done no research to back up my assertions :slol:

It depends on personal usage as well - I don't really talk on the phone that much and tend to do a lot more WhatsApp/GR Discord/email - as a result I have no idea how many inclusive minutes I get but I'm much more interested in my data. Depending on your usage there are good deals for around a tenner from the likes of Giffgaff, which is by no means an extortionate price. I found the biggest saving I made was switching to SIM only and buying a mid-range phone (under £100 in a sale). I know I'm fortunate to be able to afford the upfront without worrying too much, but if you can it does unlock better value.

Just be glad you don't live in America, my friend just got quoted
$15/month rental for a router :lol:

I don't actually remember a significant mobile phone outage in my almost quarter of a century using mobile phones...

My BT phone was switched over to digital in November. I like having a landline; I don't use it that much but I wouldn't want to keep a mobile phone on constantly, 24/7/365. I got two of those standard BT digital handsets (around £40 total) and they work fine.

The cost of digital phone line use should be an absolute pittance if you already have broadband (as it's basically just a tiny amount of data on a line you're already paying for) but, naturally, the phone companies are total [redacted] and still charge something like £20 for monthly unlimited calls.

PostRe: Technical phone/broadband question by KK » Sat Feb 10, 2024 10:50 am

BT and EE will begin charging current customers for VoIP landline services soon (I think it's £3 a month) once their contract is up (new customers signing up already have to pay this).

KK wrote:BT and EE will begin charging current customers for VoIP landline services soon (I think it's £3 a month) once their contract is up (new customers signing up already have to pay this).

BT traditional phone line charges had options for PAYG (increasingly expensive), 700 minutes inclusive (circa £8 month) and unlimited (circa £15 month). With digital, it's either PAYG (very expensive) or unlimited (circa £19 month); they've dropped the (popular) 700 minute option.

If you’ve got fibre and your mobile connects to your home network to provide VoIP, I don’t know why you’d want another VoIP service.

Technical phone/broadband question

Who is online

Affiliates