Leaving PlusNet for Zen

[#1]

Sadly, due to PN not offering a digital voice service, and there being a risk my Mum's existing phone service will be switched off very soon, the time has come to find another ISP.

I have checked her online account and her 24 month contract expires June 8th, so I need to make sure I arrange the migration in time to not be charged extra but also to avoid any early termination charges.

Zen have quoted 10-14 days for activation, so I roughly estimate that, to the nearest "working day" as Friday 24th May to be the date to sign up. Does that seem reasonable, or are PN unlikely to charge if we leave a bit earlier? 

Thanks in advance.

[#2]

@CJT-80 

You pay a month in advance so the contract will be fully paid up on May 8. If she leaves any day after that date but before June 8 it will result in a ‘cancellation charge’ in the form of a reduction in the rebate that she will be due.

[#3]

@CJT-80 

If it's not going to be a fibre upgrade with Zen (so the Internet will still be delivered on your phone line) and you want the existing phones to continue to work you will need to do some wiring to split the internal wiring in your home away from the incoming line.

[#4]

@CJT-80 

If your existing handsets are DECT phones (no wired extensions) then they will connect direct wirelessly to the router supplied by Zen which acts as a DECT base station and answer phone.  It has lots of telephony functionality for call management and (IIRC) number blocking.

I recently moved our business service to Zen.  There were gremlins with the ordering process, but the migration went swimmingly well.  Though Zen suggests that the telephone migration will happen 24-48 hours after the broadband becomes live, it actually happened within an hour or two.  For a short while, BOTH the POTS and VoIP telephones were working concurrently.

Note that if you are not pushed down the FTTP route you could find that there is no telephone service at all during the transition from POTS to VoIP.

[#5]

@Baldrick1 thanks for the clarification.

It maybe worth taking a "hit" by leaving after May 8th but before June 8th.  If not, if we arrange for Zen to take over just after June 8th I guess we should be safe?

[#6]

@markhawkin 

Thankfully the phones are all cordless, so no concerns about the wiring, however it will possibly give me a chance to remove the wiring for 2 extensions which will no longer be in use.

[#7]

@Townman 

I was aware that Zen provide a FRITZ!Box which works as a DECT base, however my Mum's phones whilst they are cordless are possibly a bit too old for that so I will try connecting them that way, or via the included adaptor.

That's helpful to know about the POTS to DV transition, and thankfully (for now) we are migrating FTTC-FTTC (as FTTP is not currently available where my Mum lives).

[#8 · Accepted solution]

@CJT-80 

Safe from what? There is no penalty charge for leaving during the final month of the contract.

You can request a date for the switch to be on the contract end day but this depends on Openreach availability. If for any reason the switch happens early there’s a reduction in the rebate you get on the current contract. If the switch is delayed you pay for the extra days at the more expensive out of contract rate.

[#9]

FTTC + POTS to SOGEA + VoIP will entail a loss of voice service, at least the length of time it takes to set up the router and get the handsets connected to the DECT base station or just connect the existing base station to the router. Note that the router ships with an ADAPTER to ‘present’ a standard phone socket but it is described as a FILTER … which lead me to discard its use and fiddle with the DECT setup at the time of the switch over.

To add to the complexity of first time set up the firmware shipped with the router is a tad out of date. The current firmware has improved phone set up screens. You might want to put that at the top of your set up list.

Hint: I changed the Zen router’s WiFi SSID to match that of the Plusnet router to avoid the need to reconfigure all WiFi devices.

[#10]

@Baldrick1 

Thanks and apologies for some reason I feel like I may have misread your previous post entirely.

I will work out the best date with the Family and go from there.

Thanks again.

[#11]

@Townman 

I had assumed the service would experience some form of loss, and that's to be expected.

Anything major can be managed, if I am there I will have my mobile on me so any family member can ring me, or I can ensure Mum has hers charged and switched on. 

I feel starting with the ADAPTER route will be best 1st and then move from there, but I will look at a FW update as soon as we are connected to the internet! 

I am thinking of giving her a whole new SSID which is a pun on our Family's surname (as I have done at home) and utilising the Guest WiFi as well.