being moved to Digital Voice

[#1]

Sure there are many "just landline" folk about. We know them.

[#2]

In simple terms - Plusnet PLC is a brand of the BT PLC holding company, which has been positioned with the 'BT Consumer' division as a low cost option. It does have its own management, but its overall  direction comes from BT PLC.

[#3]

@Davey76 

You appear not to appreciate that Plusnet are not their own masters. BT corporate decide which services their budget company Plusnet shall or shall not be allowed to provide in competition with their premium price BT and EE labels, regardless of how much customers/staff kick and scream.

I once had a director who would listen patiently to logical arguments from we senior manager as to why the latest decision was bad for business before closing the conversation with *I hear you but this is not a democracy!”

[#4]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:
Plusnet... ...are not provisioning VoIP services. However, this does not mean that you cannot use... ...a third party VoIP provider. You most certainly can.

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So, to go back to my original post, does that mean that because I have a Plusnet broadband connection and a BT landline, when in the very near future BT kill my land line, I can chose BT as my third party and get their VOIP service over my Plusnet BB connection?

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[#5]

@stuck No - the BT 'Digital Voice' option is only available to BT broadband customers, as far as I am aware

[#6]

OK, I suppose that makes sense, since BT is not independent of Plusnet so it's not really a third party in this context.  Not to mention BT will want to grab as many new broadband customers as possible and that makes keeping their VOIP service solely for their broadband customers will help them with that.

[#7]

@stuck 

I honestly don’t know what will happen.

My hope is that one of the experienced agents comes along and advises.

My fear is that the removal of the BT phone line will trigger the cancellation of your Plusnet broadband connection, loss of all your emails, ETCs being applied and a right royal mess to sort out. Hence, unless competent advice is forthcoming allaying these fears, my suggestion of you moving your phone to Plusnet now. This will give you the option of moving both services back to BT later.  Alternatively move your broadband to BT.

[#8]

Been in that position myself - however I have also been in the position where the bosses have said "You are more technically up to date than me - so you know what you are doing - tell me how". Always great to have a slinging match in the board room! Need to bang on the table a bit harder!

[#9]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

My hope is that one of the experienced agents comes along and advises.

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I hope so too as I'm fairly sure that if even if I was to login to my Plusnet account and sign up for a fibre inc. phone deal now, there still would be a right royal mess and in the process I'd lose my legacy webspace.

I'm confident of this because (apart from the infamous email debacle when the mail servers crashed and it took a long time to fix them) the only problems I've ever had with Plusnet have been when I've had to make changes to the service I buy from them. (billing wasn't right and for a while I lost my legacy webspace).

@bobpullen are you able to comment?

[#10]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

My hope is that one of the experienced agents comes along and advises.

My fear is that the removal of the BT phone line will trigger the cancellation of your Plusnet broadband connection, loss of all your emails, ETCs being applied and a right royal mess to sort out

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Fortunately I've completed transferring my Plusnet email address contacts to my independently held domain address, and other services such as Plusnet webspace I've also migrated elsewhere, so regretfully given the choice of losing my Plusnet broadband (now in 24th year)  or the telephone number I've had for my adult lifetime, I'm going to have to look at losing my Plusnet broadband, and migrating to an ISP who can also import my landline number to VoIP,  and NO I won't be going to BT.

This all seems so unnecessary, given that I used to have the Plusnet "Broadband Your Way " package, that included "Plusnet" VoIP with free calls (over the Gradwell SIP network).

[#11]

@Anonymous 

There is an argument along the same lines as porting your domain to a third party, that porting your Phone number to a third party VoIP provider also gives that same independence from your ISP.

[#12]

Thank goodness I moved a couple of years back to an ISP who is on the ball with this. My current plan is to allow them to move my phone to their 'Digital Voice' implementation - had thought of ditching it, but have a couple of contacts that don't have - at the moment - all inclusive calls on their mobiles - and who also use 'landline' phone headsets, so I will use the DV for them, and as I  do now, my mobile for everything else. Simple.

[#13]

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@Baldrick1 wrote:

@Anonymous 

There is an argument along the same lines as porting your domain to a third party, that porting your Phone number to a third party VoIP provider also gives that same independence from your ISP.

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Yes exactly.

Given that my landline rental and calls is currently with Pulse8, the choice comes down to -

1)  Port the landline number to a VoIP provider - but risk the broadband disappearing because the line ceased.

2)  Port the broadband to SoGEA - and have an even higher risk of losing the very important phone number.

3) Jump through hoops getting second lines, migrating to VoIP etc, and losing your Plusnet email address etc.

These are all unacceptable options, and the problems should have been sorted out months ago - way before a not well known deadline in just over six weeks time.

I've also got the problem of having to explain all this conversion to VoIP to at least five elderly neighbours (all in their late 80's), who don't have broadband, don't want broadband, and are happy with their 'dial' telephones.  We live in an area with no indoor mobile phone coverage, have very frequent power cuts, and even going outdoors to make mobile calls during a power cut becomes useless after half an hour when the mobile tower backup power runs out.  My neighbours won't want to be running new mains cables down their hallways to power a new DSL to ATA wall adaptor, a new fiddly push button phone handset, and a big metal boxed UPS (to trip over) just to keep the phone running during the multi-hour losses of power.

[#14]

@stuck  The action I suggested in msg @#12 in this thread agrees with @Baldrick1's  take on the matter. If you want to stay on Plusnet  broadband you need to move your phone line pretty soon. You should be able to keep your legacy items on a new contract.

As for BT advising you. they will just want you to move broadband to them which would destroy your Plusnet account and all the extras

[#15]

1)  Port the landline number to a VoIP provider - but risk the broadband disappearing because the line ceased.

that's not a risk , its a certainty!