Connect analogue phone to ONT

[#1]

We had FTTP installed some years ago, it uses the Huawei HG8240 ONT.  Quite happy with it after a few teething troubles were fixed.

When an engineer came to fix a problem with the fibre he commented that the ONT had an analogue (BT style not RJ11) telephone port and it should be possible to get it activated and port the voice service over to it.

With the POTS service due to be discontinued soon, and the line quality quite poor anyway, I'd like to look into this.  What are my options?

I don't particularly want to replace all the phones in the house with IP phones, I (and especially my other half) are happy with the analogue ones.

TIA

[#2]

As far as the ONT goes, you don't have any options.  Openreach had a service called Fibre Voice Access (FVA) which they could do a Voice server to the ONT but that was withdrawn back in 2020.

If you want a phone service now you have 2 options:

1. Move to an ISP that provides a Digital Voice type of service along with their broadband.  That is usually presented as a port on the back of their supplied routers.
2. Sign up with a VoiP supplier.  You would then need either a ATA which would plug into your router, with your analog phone plugging into that, or get VoiP phones which would just connect to your network.  Other option with this would be to use a softphone, which is basically an app which you can make calls over.  Depending on the supplier (and package) you could utilise a combination of all three,

[#3]

When an engineer came to fix a problem with the fibre he commented that the ONT had an analogue (BT style not RJ11) telephone port and it should be possible to get it activated and port the voice service over to it.

@Arby complete rubbish!

In the early days of FTTP , Openreach did have a FVA (Fibre voice access) service that could be used with the older style ONTs. They've long since discontinued that service and newre ONTs dont even have the port.

I don't particularly want to replace all the phones in the house with IP phones, I (and especially my other half) are happy with the analogue ones.

If you wish to keep your existing analogue phones and use them for VOIP , then you need an ATA (Analogue telephone adapter) , something like the Grandstream HT801 https://www.grandstream.com/products/gateways-and-atas/analog-telephone-adaptors/product/ht801 . This  connects to your router with an ethernet cable and you phone plugs into it. You also need an account with a voip supplier. If you don;t use the phone much then look at A & A https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/voip-information/ .

If you have multiple analogue phones and wish to reuse the existing extension wiring then you need to look at voice re-injection https://support.aa.net.uk/VoIP_How_to:_Voice_reinjection

[#4]

@Arby 

I assume you're with PN as you're posting on this forum. They do not offer VOIP so apart from changing ISP's you will need to look at a VOIP provider. There are many out there.

First question is - do you you your landline much. If not, then A&A looks like good value if you use your mobiles for outgoing calls. https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/voip-information/

As mentioned you have two choices for phones - either get an ATA or an App which works on your mobile phone.

If you use house extentions then I understand you can continue to do so by cutting the incoming copper cable to the Master Socket and then plug in a phone lead from the ATA.

Finally VOIP doesn't work during power cuts so you need to think about back up power. Also if you have any care or house alarms you need to make sure they're digital capable.

Brian

[#5]

Thanks for all the replies.

If I go with another provider for VoIP but stick with Plusnet for the broadband, will they let me cancel the POTS service altogether (with what should be a fairly hefty cost reduction) and port the number?  When we initially signed up with them, and later when we got upgraded to FTTP, we were told this wasn't an option.

[#6]

@Arby 

I'm assuming you signed up to PN FTTP during the Trial they had some years ago (like myself). I joined in late 2017 and the first thing I did when FTTP was up and running was to cancel my phone line (as did 3 of my neighbours).

PN will let you cancel the line now as it's not needed for FTTP and they are withdrawing from providing phone services. You may have early termination charges to pay depending oh how long your phone contract has left.

You have 30 days from the cease of you landline to port your number. As your phone is already seperate from your internet provision then you can get your chosen VOIP supplier to initiate the number port which would cancel your PN phone service.

Brian

[#7]

I'm assuming you signed up to PN FTTP during the Trial they had some years ago (like myself)

@bmc my thoughts exactly!

@Arby a word of warning if you do decide to cancel the line. Don't do it via the normal Customer support/Sales line. Post here and get one of the Plusnet help team to organise it.

The normal support/sales people have no knowledge of the trial, to them your account will look as though its an FTTC account and they likely will get the cancellation wrong.

edit:In fact we might even need the local wizard for this one @Gandalf ?

[#8]

OK, thanks for the heads-up. Lots of options to look at.

I will probably buy a UPS to cover power cuts (we have a lot of them here out in the sticks).  But my setup is fibre -> ONT -> Cat5 through the ceiling to the router, NAS and all the other networking gear upstairs. There isn't room for much extra kit where the service comes into the house.

It's a rented house with thick walls, so limited scope for running new cabling.  The main phone and master socket are next to the ONT, hence hoping I could use the phone port on it.

So it looks like I'll need two UPSs.  Oh well.

[#9]

@Arby 

Were you on the PN FTTP Trial? As stated by @MisterW  this matters as the PN system may think you're on an FTTC connection so cancellation of the phone line could lead to cancellation of your account and loss of any add ons you have - like PN e-mail.

If you go down the route of an ATA this too will need power so either 3 UPS units or one that can do both the router and the ATA. Alternatively you could get a new router that has a built in ATA (like FritzBox).

If the ATA is upstairs and the Master Socket is downstairs then this rules out using house extentions without running a new phone cable (I think).

To figure out exactly what your starting point is you could give the PlusNet Customer Options Team a phone on 0800 013 2632, Make sure you tell them you're only thinking about options but ask how long you have left on both your phone and internet contracts.

Brian

[#10]

@bmc if @Arby s on the FTTP trial it will be out of contract. AFAIK there was never the option to get discounted contracts on the trial.

I'm slightly confused because I didn't think anyone was left on the trial , I thought everyone had been moved to a Full Fibre product.

The main phone and master socket are next to the ONT, hence hoping I could use the phone port on it.

Oh that's a pain!. Any chance you could move the router close to the ONT and then put a network switch, connected via the the existing cable, where the router currently is to connect the NAs etc.

[#11]

Yes we were started on FTTP as a trial, I think they eventually rolled it into a normal contract but my memory is a bit hazy.  We've been with PlusNet since 2003 so we have a lot of features like email and web space that aren't offered to new customers, though I don't really use either of them any more so no great loss.

Regarding the ATA and connection to the phone wiring, there is an extension socket in the same room as the router so this might offer a route to back-feed the analogue connection to the rest of the house?

One of the Openreach engineers that visited (back when I as on ADSL) fitted a new master socket and snipped off two of the wires in the extension cabling, saying they weren't needed any more.  That might be the case for modern phones, but on an old wired phone we had it meant the ringer stopped working, I reconnected the snipped wires and normal service resumed.  Do most of the ATAs on the market operate phones with old ringing circuits properly?

[#12]

Regarding the ATA and connection to the phone wiring, there is an extension socket in the same room as the router so this might offer a route to back-feed the analogue connection to the rest of the house?

@Arby that should work, providing the extension wiring is correctly wired into the faceplate on the master socket. Then removing the faceplate from the master socket should just leave the extension wiring.

Do most of the ATAs on the market operate phones with old ringing circuits properly?

No, normally you need to use an RJ11 to BT adapter with a ring capacitor fitted, or a DSL filter (they have ring capacitors)

[#13]

@Arby 

I did wonder about your FTTP contract status which is why I suggested you ask the PN COTS about it. You might be able to find the information online if you login to your Members portal.

I would suggest taking it one stage at a time. First of all find out your PN options and the length of existing contracts.

Then look at VOIP providers to see who might suit you. Given your original FTTP Trial status it's probably best to get PN to cancel your phone line and then Port the number - this protects your overall account. It would lead to some down time on the phone service. However, some VOIP providers have (or have had) problems porting numbers from ceased lines. Their systems can't handle a ceased line so say NO can't do. A&A go the extra mile to phone and get a manual port done.

If staying with PN look at ATA's to find one that suits you. As mentioned some routers have built in ATA's which would mean one one unit (and power source) rather than separate router and ATA. PN are happy for customers to use their own equipment.

Then look at UPS systems. FTTP is better than FTTC for VOIP during power cuts as the fiber optic cable runs all the way back to a main Exchange which will either not be suffering a power cut or will have far better backup systems in place FTTC cabinets last as long as their battery backup - which can be as little as 30 minutes.

Brian

[#14]

@Arby I’d suggest renewing your contract onto a full fibre product and port your number almost simultaneously.

If you submit the product change first, the pending change should then prevent the completion of the port from bouncing back and ceasing the account.

After the port is completed, we can complete the product change to the chosen full fibre product, whether that’s the same speed you currently have or a different speed. 

If you drop me a private message once you’ve begun the process, I’ll keep an eye on things as it’ll require more manual intervention than usual, due to the workarounds we did back in the day to provide FTTP on the trial. 

[#15]

Thanks Anoush