VoiP

[#1]

Thanks both. 🙂

@bmc : I`ve just logged into my PN account and it has some offers available. 

*I`m currently paying: £28.05p p/m Unlimited Fibre. Speeds 38/40mb. With line.

*Renewal Offer: £27:99p p/m Unlimited Fibre (18 month contract) but with the usual *increase 31st March inflation charges. No speeds mentioned. But I`m presuming similar to what I`m already getting. Which is fine for what I need. However this price will rise again come March next year because the line is still relevant. 

Beneath the above is this:

NEW! Full Fibre straight to your home. 

Whoohoo! You can get Full Fibre our most reliable blah, blah....it goes on....and then gives examples on pricing. The cheapest being "Full Fibre 24 at £26.99p p/m speed 74mb. 

So it seems PN are indeed happy to offer me the same again (with the price increases come March next year) but only for 18 months as opposed to my current 24 months contract. But am I just putting off the inevitable if I stay as we are and have the same dilemma this time next year or into 2026? I`ve read that the SoGEA (BB only) option will become the norm for us all unless people decide to have a separate landline. I`ve ran this past Mum and she`s still saying just get rid of the landline but she would need to get an idiot proof mobile! 😄 My friends Mother has one so it might be wise to speak to her and see if that`s a better option for Mum if she`s happy to do that, which she seems to be happy to do, but it`ll be like pulling teeth....

But tech moves on I suppose so keeping the landline `just incase` when she could use a `calls & texts only` SIM may well be the easier option. If she can learn just to switch it on and press the phone button or her contacts button and use only that option, I`m sure she`s get used to it. There`s also the bonus that she can also have a phone with her in any room, rather than wired to the wall/router. 

My poor brain is exhausted! 

@mystreet1 : Appreciate your input, thankyou.

I still like the `All-in-one` option for both to be honest so I`ll also keep this in mind depending on cost. If it outweighs the cost of paying for a monthly rolling SIM, then it may well be worth just going down that route. Asda mobile do one for £4.00 a month unlimited calls/texts so I`d need to compare like-with-like. 

[#2]

@plusmouse 

If Full fibre is available you would only be able to re-contract on an as is basis.

You will have to do something in 2025 as PSTN is being withdrawn by the end of that year. A 24 month contract "as is" would be of no use as it takes you into 2026.

Full fibre is better that FTTC during power cuts. The fibre optic cable runs all the way back to a main Exchange which would either not be suffering a pwoer cut or will have better back up otions than a cabinet.

I would seriously investigate "idiot proof mobiles". Take your mother to see your friends mother and see what she thinks of the phone.

Brian

[#3]

@bmc : Thanks, I see your point and thinking about it, I`d be best choosing BB only with PN in October and being switched to SoGEA only and then look for an easy-to-use 4g mobile for Mum because in the long run, I feel this would be best for both of us in that I would continue to pay for my BB only and Mum could have a new `Toy` to learn on! It does seem the easiest way for both of us as long as she can grasp (and not forget) what she`s learned as long as I prompt her to look at it every day I`m sure she`ll get the hang of it eventually. 

I`m wondering also if having Fibre BB only will mean that`s a bit cheaper without the landline addition? Or am I wishful thinking?!! Especially due to the annual % rises being added in. 

[#4]

I`d be best choosing BB only with PN in October and being switched to SoGEA only

As Full Fibre seems to be available, you'd be better switching to that.

[#5]

@plusmouse 

I would concentrate on getting a phone for your mother sorted first. At worst, VOIP from A&A is quite cheap once you get an ATA as your mother doesn't make many calls.

https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/voip-information/

A 4g mobile would be better for power cuts - PAYG might work if only an occasional call is made or needed to keep the credit active.

As stated, Full Fibre is better than SOGEA. Better service with less potential for faults. As the mimimum speed is 78/20 you'd get a speed boost (even if not needed) though you might get this as well with SOGEA. If you get backup power units for the ONT and your router it'll potentially last longer than FTTC during power cuts.

PN will upgrade you to Full Fibre at any time, simply at the cost of a new contract. Can't do anything about the price increases though. You don't need to wait until October.

Brian

[#6]

Just did a quick search

https://amzn.eu/d/dZkbRuf

https://amzn.eu/d/3l3oUVn

[#7]

Appreciate your feedback on this everyone, thank you. Plenty of food for thought and my instinct is to go with FULL FIBRE (Or stick to SoGEA if there`s a marked price difference between the two) but I`ll speak with PN about which is available to me. I only need the `cheaper package` so to speak as the speeds I get with Unlimited Fibre at 38/40mb have been fine. Anything faster would just be a bonus really. I only switched to a Fibre product with my current contract as it was ADSL before that.

@bmc : Me not having to wait until October for my current contract to end before making contact with PN on the above sounds good too as I normally wait for the recontract email offer to arrive and check my account for any other offers but those have and will likely include a landline addition just because that`s what I`ve been on since I joined PN. So it looks as though I`ll need to contact them sooner regarding dropping the phone line and recontract from X date for either a Full Fibre option or just to clarify that I will be placed onto SoGEA for BB only. 

The A&A option also looks fine, but getting Mum a 4g basic mobile with the option of a PAYG recurring payment SIM (Asda`a `calls & texts only` one sounds good at £4.00 a month) as some others seem to need toping up or a chargeable call made every so often to keep the SIM and the Credit safe. I`m with 02`s `Classic` PAYG and that`s a legacy plan now but the SIM cards are still available on eBay for 99p! How long Virgin/02 will keep it going though is anyone`s guess. 

I`ve explained all this to Mum and she`s OK with the mobile phone route, so although it will be a learning curve, we have both realized it`s the better option because if she needs to go anywhere, say a hospital, she can have her wee phone with her! Which makes more sense than just having a separate home phone. It`ll means she will also have a phone during any outages, so removes that issue.

OK, I`ll revisit this thread again once I`ve got something more to report! THANKYOU to all who gave me some easy to understand insight into this as it was breaking me out in a sweat! 😓 

[#8]

@plusmouse 

Dropping the landline and going mobile seems to be the best option and is the simplest.

Don't think there's much difference between Full Fibre and SOGEA prices so once again FF seems to be the best option.

You should phone the PlusNet Customer Options Team on 0800 013 2632 to find out what's available and how much.

Brian