landlines are being fazed out

[#1]

I understand that landlines are being fazed out how do you go about making calls

[#2]

You use a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service. Who is your ISP?

[#3]

I'm with Plusnet I have just found some info on gov.uk which was helpful, according to Plusnet I will not be able to use my landline phones but Gov.uk said I will but instead of using the old copper wire connection it will go via the internet so I think I'll wait and see 

[#4]

Plusnet are (at least at the moment) not going to be providing any landline/VOIP telephone services when the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) is taken out of service.  They have started decommisioning the PSTN and the current plan is that all of it will be decommissioned by December 2025.

As of now, your future choices (when the PSTN is decommissioned in your area) are to switch to using a mobile phone only,  to switch ISP away from Plusnet to one that is providing a telephone service via broadband (many of them are already) or to make your own arrangements to switch to a VOIP telephone service provider.

For either of the latter two options then you will need to do some work to get your existing landline phones to work.  If you switch ISP to one that offers a broadband hub with a phone socket and VOIP service then you can re-wire your home phones to connect to that and use that service.  This is probably the easiest option, and may well be "plug and play".  If you wish to stick with Plusnet for broadband, but also make your home phones work, then you need to get a thing called an ATA (Analogue Telephone Adapter) and re-wire your home phones into that, connect that to an Ethernet port on your home hub/router and set up a VOIP service with a separate provider (who will charge for the "line" and any calls made).

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Full quote of preceding post removed as per Forum rules.

[#5]

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@esherapril27 wrote:

I'm with Plusnet I have just found some info on gov.uk which was helpful, according to Plusnet I will not be able to use my landline phones but Gov.uk said I will but instead of using the old copper wire connection it will go via the internet so I think I'll wait and see 

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Yes, your calls will be made via the Internet, i.e. VoIP as @jab1 said.

And unless you've got FTTP (full fibre) installed by that time, then the Internet connection your VoIP will be using will still be via that old copper wire (xDSL)!

You will still be able to use any analogue phones you have by plugging them into an ATA (or a device containing one).

Whether PN will be offering their own VoIP service remains to be seen.

[#6]

Whether PN will be offering their own VoIP service remains to be seen.

I have sincere doubts about that, @RobPN 

[#7]

Just giving PN the benefit of the doubt @jab1 

[#8]

@esherapril27 

Calls will be made over VOIP. This has a major disadvantage of not working during power cuts unless you have a back up power supply.

There are many VOIP providers. The following link is one of them which will give you some idea of what's involved.

https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/voip-information/

You could have a look at the following to see what's available via OpenReach.

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

WBC FTTP in the left hand column would be good but what does it say under the heading of WBC SOGEA

Brian

[#9]

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@RobPN wrote:

Just giving PN the benefit of the doubt @jab1 

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If Plusnet are (belatedly) going to offer a VOIP service, then they really need to make that announcement immediately.  It seems that the issue of the PSTN being decommissioned, and the problems this will create for landline users, is at last getting some attention - a glance at this forum topic alone shows that.

I consider myself reasonably switched on, despite having retired 12 years ago, but the first I heard about the decommissioning of the PSTN was about two weeks ago, from a local news item where an elderly lady was very concerned at losing her only means of contact with the world outside her home.  Even then, I only took notice as she happens to live very close to us.

I remain convinced that we each need to be proactive and seek out a solution that meets our needs long before the PSTN switch off date.  I have zero faith in OFCOM, or the government for that matter, as I doubt either have the slightest interest in the minority of us that live in rural areas without mobile phone connectivity.  Curious really, as the number of people that can't get a mobile signal at home is greater than many minorities that manage to get a fair bit of government attention. 

Last time I checked around 10% of the UK was still without decent mobile coverage, and that figure is inaccurate.  We are shown as being in an area with "good 4G indoors and out", which is a complete joke, as we can just about get 2G when leaning out of an upstairs bedroom window, with the phone held at arms length (and that's with the only provider that has any coverage here).

[#10]

@JSHarris

I suspect that Plusnet's eventual solution to it's customers that wish to retain voice services will be to offer migration to BT on some kind of "special deal". Similar to that offered to plusnet mobile customers who wish to move to EE.

This is pure conjecture on my behalf at this point in time. 

I agree that the near total "radio silence"  in publicity for what is one of the UKs most significant infrastructure change in decades is concerning. Especially for those who rely on landline and it's associated services. It's good to hear that there is starting to be some media coverage of this. 

[#11]

I tend to agree. 

The hassle this is creating is significant, especially for those with elderly friends/relatives that rely on their landline phone.  My wife called her mother (partially sighted, lives alone, in her 90's) this afternoon, to tell her about this change and find out if she'd heard about it.  She hadn't.  She has a fall alarm necklace, that calls our landline and my wife's brother's landline if she has a fall. 

She'd heard nothing about this change, and got quite agitated when my wife told her that her alarm may stop working.  She had a fall down the stairs earlier this year, and my wife spent a week down there looking after her, and it was only the fall alarm that alerted us to the problem.

I can see that I may have to drive down to see her and see what can be done to get her phone system future proofed.  Won't be easy, as she views technology with suspicion.  Every time either of us sees her we make sure to turn on her answering machine, as she rarely hears the phone or answers it.  She always turns the damned thing off, as she feels that it's a nuisance!

Not great, as we live 120 miles away.

Moderator's note by Mike (Mav): Full quote of preceding post removed as per Forum rules.

[#12]

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@JSHarris wrote: ... Last time I checked around 10% of the UK was still without decent mobile coverage, and that figure is inaccurate.  We are shown as being in an area with "good 4G indoors and out", which is a complete joke, as we can just about get 2G when leaning out of an upstairs bedroom window, with the phone held at arms length (and that's with the only provider that has any coverage here).

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Have you checked whether your mobile phone(s) have 'WiFi Calling' capability?

WiFi calling could overcome the lack of mobile signal.

[#13]

Not much use when the internet fails after 20 minutes in to a power cut - when having a mobile signal is of most importance

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@JSHarris wrote:

Sadly the fibre cabinet falls over when there's a power cut, it seems to last for about 20 minutes and then dies, presumably because the cabinet only has a small backup battery.  Not a lot of use when power cuts lasting several hours are commonplace in winter.

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[#14]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Not much use when the internet fails after 20 minutes in to a power cut - when having a mobile signal is of most importance

But - WiFi calling - potentially very useful, probably >99% of the time (when you don't have a power cut/Internet outage).

Otherwise - power cut time - back to leaning out of upstairs window (or other contingency plan).

[#15]

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@Mark280 wrote:

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@JSHarris wrote: ... Last time I checked around 10% of the UK was still without decent mobile coverage, and that figure is inaccurate.  We are shown as being in an area with "good 4G indoors and out", which is a complete joke, as we can just about get 2G when leaning out of an upstairs bedroom window, with the phone held at arms length (and that's with the only provider that has any coverage here).

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Have you checked whether your mobile phone(s) have 'WiFi Calling' capability?

WiFi calling could overcome the lack of mobile signal.

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We don't really use our mobiles much (no point when the signal locally is very poor) so we both have PAYG SIMs.  These don't allow WiFi calling, but as @Anonymous says, WiFi calling is not a lot of use when the FTTC cabinet battery runs flat after about 20 minutes.

Not sure if this cabinet battery issue is commonplace, or only affects our local cabinet, but it does bring into question the overall reliability of the broadband network when it becomes 100% fibre.  PSTN exchanges had massive 50V battery banks, that could keep the phones working for a long time (I think several days) in the event of power failure.  It seems probable that cabinet batteries may only be designed to keep things going for short glitches in the mains supply, rather than power cuts lasting hours.

Not sure why this is.  Talking with a local chap that looks after mobile masts in our area (when we were looking at getting a community funded micro cell), I got the impression that they design masts with backup systems that can keep them running for several days.  I believe this was driven, in part, by the ESN requirement.  ESN (Emergency Services Network) uses mobile masts to provide comms and data for the fire, police and ambulance services, so has to stay running even if power is down for days.