Is PlusNet ever going to properly launch FTTP

[#1]

@RealAleMadrid 

Yes I am fully aware of the technology having used a VOIP  phone system in my home some years ago. The end result, speaking to somebody, was no different to a traditional phone line. I am also aware that copper analogue is replaced by fibre digital. Both deliver the same result to your home which makes me wonder why not being able to keep a voice number is such a big problem to the supplier of a communications service.The voice will still come down the same cable as the data albeit in digital format for decoding by a device that we could call a "telephone" !. 

[#2]

@TeeGee  Of course a communications provider can keep a copper line number and transfer it to a Voip service, BT retail for instance do it when upgrading customers to FTTP but it is a not a standard VOIP service and only works with the BT Smart Hub.

However Plusnet's current strategy is making it very difficult if not impossible to export a number to a third party VOIP service which is what is needed by customers who want to keep their phone number. The Openreach and BT Wholesale systems are somewhat inflexible but there are ways to achieve a number export. Plusnet just don't want to do it and have decided to just cease your phone line and number when upgrading to FTTP.

This may change in future when new FTTP accounts i.e. not existing customer upgrades are available, but Plusnet are not saying what will happen, perhaps they don't know yet.🙄  

[#3]

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However Plusnet's current strategy is making it very difficult if not impossible to export a number to a third party VOIP service which is what is needed by customers who want to keep their phone number.

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But is it not because that's how Openreach's provisioning/etc is set up, it's not a PlusNet thing per se ?.  

It's exactly the same if you upgrade from FTTC to FTTP with Sky or BT Retail, you still can't port out your landline number to a third party VoIP supplier without it killing the whole account.

Their (Sky, BT,) VoIP systems are proprietary, and they are effectively baked into their routers.

If Ofcom had thought about this properly, they'd have forced Sky, BT Retail, et al to adopt world standard VoIP protocols. Yes, fine, still bake that into the supplied routers (just as the xDSL /PPPoE etc stuff is) but also make the parameters available so they can used in standard VoIP phones and ATAs; oh and make the numbers port-able too.

As it's impossible to engage directly with Openreach, the only course to get this sorted is via Ofcom, but really they should have been looking at this 5 or 6 years ago.