Keeping copper

[#1]

My renewal is next month and I was looking elsewhere because Plus.Net didn't appear to want to renew my copper line.  Out of the blue, I get a renew cost from Plus.Net for keeping my existing Unlimited Fibre Extra with line rental package on a 18-month contract.

I'm going to go with this because the black-hole I live in has next to no mobile signal and we have power cuts at the drop of a hat so a telephone that works when the power is out is a godsend.

The only bit I need to know if anyone can help is

There is no mention of 1571 answerphone.  Will I lose that?

Cheers

[#2]

I get a renew cost from Plus.Net for keeping my existing Unlimited Fibre Extra with line rental package on a 18-month contract.

There is no mention of 1571 answerphone.  Will I lose that?

@Clarky1 if the offer is to renew your existing package , then all the existing functionality and facilities should remain.

The proposed PSTN switchcoff by Openreach has now been postponed until early 2027.

[#3]

@Clarky1 

PlusNet will renew services with a landline but they don't show this on the web pages. You usually have to phone in to get the deal. As far as I'm aware it's a like for like renewal.

You will have to consider VOIP in the relative near future when PSTN is withdrawn by OpenReach (or if PN do it first). You should look into power back ups for your router and digital pnone equipment so you have some idea of what's on the market when the time comes.

If FTTP ever comes your way you'd lose the phone if you upgraded with PN.

Brian

[#4]

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@MisterW wrote:

The proposed PSTN switchcoff by Openreach has now been postponed until early 2027.

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Yeah but ...

ISPreview : Openreach Update as Analogue UK Phone Switch Off Delayed to 2027 UPDATE 

Openreach’s approach to this means they’ll still be terminating existing WLR contracts for ISPs at the end of December 2025 and expect the migration to continue at pace, which is in line with the previous plan. But after this date, the operator will introduce new terms and a three-month termination notice period to continue services where needed and enable some flexibility to support future processes.

So don't rely on keeping a landline phone much after 2025 !

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[#5]

@Anunnaki thanks, I hadn't seen that.

[#6]

Thank you all for your quick replies.

By my maths, the new18 month contract will run out, or be very near renewal December 2025. 

I might stick it out with copper for as long as I can.  I'm making a big assumption though that PN will allow me to leave contract if they cancel my phone-line part.

[#7]

@Clarky1 

If you leave PN it would almost certainly mean you going to a digital line, even with ISP's who do phone and internet.

Brian

[#8]

@Clarky1 

Just a thought to add to your deliberations -

Do you really want to be changing your analogue landline phone to digital VoIP over Christmas 2025 ?, when Plusnet support and third party VoIP provider staff are likely to be winding down for the winter break, having just been overworked following Black Friday sales etc,  and just when there is a last minute panic when everyone else suddenly realises their landline is about to be disconnected and are desperate to keep their old landline phone number.

If you took the plunge now, during good weather with minimal chance of power cuts, you might be pleasantly surprised how easy it actually is to 'upgrade' your Plusnet FTTC to SoGEA (hopefully for less monthly cost), and  then migrate your landline phone number to a VoIP provider such as A&A or Voipfone . 

It's easy, many of us here have now converted to VoIP, and can help if you have any technical questions 😀

.

[#9]

Cheers @bmc .

That was my initial thought but it appears that BT is the only company that offer 1571 with VoIP but being the true Yorkshireman I don't fancy £48/month.

[#10]

That's a good point @Anunnaki .

Changing to VoIP at Christmas 🤯.  That is something I didn't think of.  That might change things completly.

[#11]

@Clarky1, all the VOIP providers I've used email you with the message left, and/or have it available to download from your online account, so whilst it's not 1571, you would have a Voicemail service at the network level.

[#12]

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@Clarky1 wrote:

... my initial thought but it appears that BT is the only company that offer 1571 with VoIP but being the true Yorkshireman I don't fancy £48/month.

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If you're also considering moving your broadband from Plusnet to another ISP with VoIP as part of the package,

have a look at Zen broadband , they have "Digital Voice" which appears to include voicemail

£36/month for broadband + £6/month for "Digital Voice" (with 1000 inclusive call minutes)

An advantage of going to Zen, is that you can simply plug in your existing phone in to their supplied router and everything should just work.

However staying with Plusnet and using A&A for VoIP works out something like this -

Plusnet broadband (approx)£25/month + A&A VoIP line rental £1.44/month + A&A cost of calls at 1.5p/minute

With A&A their VoIP will email you an .mp3 voice recording of your answerphone messages

You need to consider how many minutes/month you typically use for outgoing chargeable phone calls.

Note that if you use a third party VoIP supplier, you'll need to figure out whether you want a new VoIP home phone handset, or an adapter for your existing handset (so it can plug in to your router instead of the BT wall socket)

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[#13]

@Clarky1

 @Anunnaki 

Re Zen, the price of their Full Fibre varies depending on whose network Zen use in any particular area. In my area they now use City Fibre (as in many other areas) and, for example, the price for Full Fibre 100 is £7 less than when they used Openreach (which they did up until a few months ago in my street) - £28 instead of £35. The price of Digital Voice is the same at £6 per month. Digital Voice includes several tools to manage your phone calls, such as blacklisting, call barring, voicemail etc.  and these are set out on their web pages Digital Voice Deals | Zen Internet

[#14]

I was assuming a like for like connection, and because @Clarky1  was already on Plusnet "Unlimited Fibre Extra" i.e. 80/20Mbps FTTC,  the Zen price I showed was for the equivalent Openreach 80/20 SoGEA connection.

Yes it would be worth @Clarky1 checking to see if City Fibre is available as alternative to Openreach, and if so sign-up via Zen or an alternative ISP that delivers over City Fibre - for a faster connection at a lower price !

Unfortunately I have no chance of City Fibre installing where I live, so won't be saving £8 every month on my package 😩

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[#15]

That was my initial thought but it appears that BT is the only company that offer 1571 with VoIP but being the true Yorkshireman I don't fancy £48/month.

If by 1571 you mean just voicemail (an answerphone), then as others have said, most VoIP suppliers seem to offer it free or nearly so - for example, https://www.voipfone.co.uk/features.php says (second paragraph) that it's free, as far as I can see. (By free I mean you don't pay extra for it; you still pay something for VoIP itself, anything from less than £2 to £40-£60, depending on whether you're porting a number, how many minutes you want, and so on.)

BT may be the only one who still use 1571 as what you dial to access it. (Many - I think most - of the others, as well as having some means of accessing it, also email you a sound file anyway, so you don't have to access it at all, it's automatic.) I know BT sometimes have completely uncompetitive prices, but I suspect even they aren't really charging £48 a month for voicemail - or do you mean they're quoting £48 a month for broadband-and-VoIP?