Landline Porting Process

[#1]

Hi

I currently have Unlimited Fibre Extra inc. Line rental  which is FTTC with a copper land line - contracted to Dec 2024.

I would like to upgrade to faster FTTP but the loss of the landline would be problematic.  I would happily ditch the land line and do all calls on mobile, but the 4G GSM signal at my house is just to weak for that to be an option. We have WiFi Calling enabled on our smart phones but the quality is often so poor that we have to abandon the call and call them on the copper cable,

I researched buying a 4G signal booster/repeater - plenty available to buy, but only 1 mega expensive brand is legal to use in UK.

I could as PN to move us across to a BT account but then I'd suffer big jump in monthly cost plus I'd loose my static public IP (which is really useful and convenient - A P2P mesh VPN is an alternative, but less straightforward).

So best option looks like upgrade to FTTP with PN which involves agreeing to "loose" our phone number.

But what I would like to do is buy a Cisco or Grandstream VOIP Analogue Telephone Adapter and port my current phone number across to the VOIP provider (who has a porting agreement with BT (PNs provider of the PSTN line).  But how does the porting process work now as an aspect of the upgrade to FTTP. Given above comment about WiFi Calling I appreciate there is no guarantee that a VOIP setup will be any better - but fingers crossed DECT handsets and 10x faster FTTP will be better.  

As I understand it, in the past PN treated a port request from a 3rd party as a cancellation of the account, they'd switch off broadband and charge contract termination penalties. But when I order the FTTP, PN will in effect cancel the land line themselves. When I complete the order for FTTP, is there the facility to ensure PN know that the phone number is still wanted and that it needs to be ported ?

TIA for any insights

[#2]

Interested to see the replies to this by more experienced people than me.

I am in a similar situation.  As I understand things, once the landline is ceased the number should go into quaranteen for 31 days.  You can, within the quaranteen period, go to (for example Andrews & Arnold) and request they port the number and tell them it is quaranteened and the port should work.  This involves manual work for the VOIP receiver which A&A will do. Many people report success with this process but Plusnet do not guarantee it.

I am doing a port of the broadband and phone at more expense but more likely to keep the number.  A&A have told me that, this way, you always keep the number.👍

PS porting the number alone will cancel the broadband (I believe with a 10 day delay before you can start a new account). There is a process called renumber and export that should allow what we both want but PN will not do it.

PPS now that PN have received the notification from A&A, PN have sent me an amazing offer.  How they think this behaviour will enhance their reputation I don't know.

[#3]

@hillclimb 

First of all you research VOIP providers to decide who you want to use. A&A seem to offer good deals and have ported PN numbers. https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/voip-information/

You do not port your line until the FTTP install is complete - then you have 30 days but you should do so ASAP. If your choosen VOIP provider allow it set up your account in advance (A&A do).

The port will probably fail as providers do it automatically but the line in now ceased so it doesn't work. When it fails you need to get the VOIP providers Support desk to contact the range holder and do a manual port.

There will probably be a few days down time. VOIP quality should be good but remember it doesn't work in a power cut.

Brian

[#4]

This whole thing has become a bit of a nightmare, from what I can see.

I think Plusnet have really underestimated the number of people who either rely on their landline, or want to preserve their number or keep it as a backup.

If PN are withdrawing from providing landlines (which they are effectively doing by failing to provide a digital voice solution), they really should be putting more in place to help customers port their number and retain their service.

[#5]

@mrmitch85 As I mention, I wish I had the option to just use my mobile - that is with time what I suspect everyone will do. But GSM / 4G is just too weak here and WiFi calling is barely usable.

Yes I agree PN ought to either offer VOIP or partner with another provider who could offer seamless porting.

[#6]

@bmc 

thanks. I have already looked at A&A. I am minded to try Voipfone https://www.voipfone.co.uk/services/uk-phone-numbers 

I suspected that the process was order FTTP. On install, I loose the phone number. Then quickly request VOIPfone to port "my" number back to me. VOIP offer a free trial with 15mins of calling and they also sell VOIP ATAs, so I hope to be able to open an account with them to confirm that a DECT VOIP setup is better that the existing WiFi Calling call quality (which is unusable).

But part of the reason for posting here is a vaguely remember reading that when placing the FTTP order PN will ask what I want to do with the phone number - I suspect this actually means "tick the box to acknowledge you are losing a phone line" whereas what I hope is means is "select the option to inform PN that a 3rd party will be porting the number for me" - I should be so lucky!

[#7]

@2Donald 

Thanks for the info. In the longterm I suspect the future is simply fibre broadband + smartphone (and in the real longterm no cables it'll all be mobile (i.e. radio thru the airwaves).

So I think VOIP is a transition product which might in time die a death - but who can guess the future ?. PNs approach may be KISS but partnering with a 3rd party to offer VOIP would have been a smoother transition and marketing win

[#8]

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@hillclimb wrote:

Yes I agree PN ought to either offer VOIP or partner with another provider who could offer seamless porting.

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@hillclimb  PN have offered to help customers move to BT and not charge early termination fees for those who need a digital voice solution. 

Or you could move to the likes of Sky, Talk Talk or others with a digital voice service - it is just something PN are not offering

[#9]

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@hillclimb wrote:

So I think VOIP is a transition product which might in time die a death - but who can guess the future ?. PNs approach may be KISS but partnering with a 3rd party to offer VOIP would have been a smoother transition and marketing win

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Around here there are a lot of us that rarely ever turn mobile phones on, even if we have them.  There's never been a signal here, never likely to be we've been told, so those of us with mobiles tend to have cheap PAYG SIMs that don't support WiFi calling.

When BT wanted to close the nearest phone box practically everyone within a mile of it protested, so it's stayed working.  Landline phones are pretty much essential, and some of us have expended a fair bit of time and money on ensuring they stay working after the PSTN gets turned off.

Might seem odd to those that have only lived in towns and cities the believe that large areas of the UK don't have mobile coverage, but the economics of providing it mean that there are only really masts where there are lots of customers clustered together.  This means that masts are mostly in towns, cities and alongside main roads.  Get a few miles off a main road and getting a signal can be at best patchy.

[#10]

I may have misunderstood this, but your statement "PS porting the number alone will cancel the broadband (I believe with a 10 day delay before you can start a new account). There is a process called renumber and export that should allow what we both want but PN will not do it." seems to suggest that if you only port a landline number to a VOIP provider, that this will effectively cancel your broadband contract with PN. Is this correct, or have I got this wrong as this is something that I am researching at the moment? 

My PN contract ends on 3 March 2024 and< although PN have not said anything to me, I am keen not to leave it to the last minute to find a VOIP provider and PN chop off my landline. If the porting of my landline to a VOIP provider means that my broadband service with PN will end, that's another level of complication that I wasn't expecting.

[#11]

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@bigfish wrote:

I may have misunderstood this, but your statement "PS porting the number alone will cancel the broadband (I believe with a 10 day delay before you can start a new account). There is a process called renumber and export that should allow what we both want but PN will not do it." seems to suggest that if you only port a landline number to a VOIP provider, that this will effectively cancel your broadband contract with PN. Is this correct

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Yes it is.  At least that was the situation at the end of 2023.

As I understand it, Plusnet buy a product from BT Wholesale which is the phone and internet bundled together and they cannot be separated.

The only option PN offered me, to keep the landline. was to move to BT (phone and internet).  I doubt there will be any improvement by March but Ofcom keep promising to force ISP's to offer renumber and export. 

PS PN did offer to extend my current phone and internet deal for another 18 months but that was only at the very last minute.

[#12]

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@bigfish wrote:

... if you only port a landline number to a VOIP provider, that this will effectively cancel your broadband contract with PN. Is this correct,

YES !

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@bigfish wrote:

There is a process called renumber and export that should allow what we both want but PN will not do it.

I believe that only A&A will do a renumber and export.

Moving both your broadband and converting landline to VoIP with A&A is the 'safest' route.

Having watched a FTTC line go through the A&A renumber and export process including phone port to VoIP,  I was very impressed by how careful they were at every stage to ensure that each step had successfully been implemented before doing the next change.

[#13]

My PN contract ends on 3 March 2024 and< although PN have not said anything to me, I am keen not to leave it to the last minute to find a VOIP provider and PN chop off my landline. If the porting of my landline to a VOIP provider means that my broadband service with PN will end, that's another level of complication that I wasn't expecting.

PN will not chop off your landline, you are still able to recontract on your current product. what you are not able to do is change products ( apart from any Call plan ) and retain a landline service.

what happens in 2025 when Openreach retire the PSTN is not known at this time.

but Ofcom keep promising to force ISP's to offer renumber and export. 

I haven't seen anything about that , where have you seen that ? The problem is that 'renumber and export' is fraught with potential problems if something doesnt go quite right where two different suppliers are involved

[#14]

@bigfish 

You need to know which VOIP provider you plan to use. Once you reach the end of your current contract (you can do this now if you like) get PN to move you onto an Internet only account (SOGEA). You then have 30 days to port your number but it's besty done asap.

Do not port until you're on a SOGEA connection. Currently your landline is required to provide the internet service. Cutting one cuts the other.

There will be a few days downtime on the phone.

Note that at the end of your contract you could move to any ISP who does both ie Internet and VOIP.

Brian

[#15]

Moving a landline number and broadband to one ISP is not as easy for me. It seemed a little pointless to me to go to the trouble of moving ISP and not upgrading to full fibre from what we get currently. That relies on us using City Fibre's list of ISPs, which doesn't include BT or PN and most of the ISPs that City Fibre are associated with don't bundle VOIP in with the broadband service. Hence the question about moving the phone line out to a VOIP provider and then potentially moving away from PN to get FTTP. However, if PN are going to effectively cancel my current contract if I move the phone service away, it makes the process of finding someone to provide VOIP and FTTP broadband a little more pressing.