Do you lose your phone line when broadband contract runs out?

[#1]

My parents have a broadband (not full fiber) and phone line that contract runs out in April, and I see that if i try to upgrade them to full fiber, they can't keep the phone line. 

But as their current contract for standard broadband and phone only runs until april 2025, are they going to lose the landline in April anyway?  

[#2]

@nmdrex 

There is no clear answer on this. At the moment they can renew their existing service with the phone line. We don't know what will be on offer in 3 months time. Sometime in the relatively near future (I believe the end on 2025, others will tell you 2026) the traditional exchange based phone service will be closed down. Before then I would surmise that Plusnet will offer to transfer those who want the  digital version of the traditional landline to BT/EE. Plusnet will not be offering the digital phone service.

[#3]

@nmdrex 

As stated, at this time your parents could re-new "as is" by phoning PN. However, phone lines are going - it's just a question of when. I believe by the end of 2025 when OpenReach are terminating all Wholesale Line Rental contracts except for excaptional circumstances. Assuming 90 days notice I would expect PN to issue notice by the end of July (at the latest) to terminate by the end of November - this clears the decks before Christmas.

So you / they need to think about the future. Is Full Fibre available to them? As regards the phone line they'll have 3 options

Transfer to BT/EE for a combined service of Internet and VOIP or another ISP like Zen when the contract ends in April.

Stay with PN for internet and transfer the phone to an independant VOIP provider.

Give up the landline and use mobiles only.

Consider current phone usage.

Is the mobile signal good enough to be used?

VOIP doesn't work during power cuts.

Are there any care or house alarms connected to the phone?

With an independant VOIP provider some money will probably be needed to be spent on an ATA (Analogue Telephone Adapter) and perhaps power backup up. I

If the mobile signal is good and can be used for out going calls then A&A seem to be a good choice for the phone. If nothing else they have a good FAQ page on VOIP.

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

Brian

[#4]

@bmc wrote:

"Transfer to BT/EE for a combined service of Internet and VOIP or another ISP like Zen when the contract ends in April."

"With an independant VOIP provider some money will probably be needed to be spent on an ATA (Analogue Telephone Adapter)"

The router that Zen supply to their customers, (at least those on FTTP), the FritxBox 7530 AX has an ATA built in. Zen can also supply a VOIP service as part of the bundle, but I found it cheaper to move my phone line to Andrews & Arnold.

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[#5]

The Zen router offers a deal more than an in-built ATA … it is also a DECT base station. Consequently if one has a multi handset DECT system, the handsets can be connected direct to the router, making the old base station utterly redundant.

The Zen router provides a rich set of call management facilities, including an answering service and call diversion. Calls from identified numbers can be routed to specific hand sets … thus calls from the son could be routed to the garage handset.

[#6]

@Townman wrote:

"The Zen router offers a deal more than an in-built ATA … it is also a DECT base station. Consequently if one has a multi handset DECT system, the handsets can be connected direct to the router, making the old base station utterly redundant."

Yes, that is how I have it set up.

"The Zen router provides a rich set of call management facilities, including an answering service and call diversion. Calls from identified numbers can be routed to specific hand sets … thus calls from the son could be routed to the garage handset."

I haven't worked out how to do any of that yet - I have only had it for 5 weeks!

Also just to add, (it might be obvious), that unlike many ISP supplied routers such as Plusnet's Hub2, Fritz!Boxes can be purchased retail and configured to suit the ISP. They are not cheap though!

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[#7]

Thanks a lot for all the answers. Seems like the best solution for them is switch the phone to A & A, and upgrade the plusnet to full fiber. I want to get Sky Sports for my father anyway, so i guess that will require full fiber (currently they're on 20mbps, and it struggles a bit to reach the living room)

[#8]

@Mr_Paul

Did you update the router’s firmware? I found that the shipped version was somewhat out of date. The new firmware delivered a lot of additional telephony functionality.

[#9]

@Townman 

The router firmware updated itself during the first night after installation. Out of the box it was on v7.x and by the following morning it was on v8.00 so I didn't get much of a chance to see what the options were previously.

I can see on the GUI that there are a lot of telephony options, I just haven't looked in to setting them up.

TBH, I don't expect to use the VOIP line very much - my family and I all have unlimited calls and texts on our mobiles. The only reasons that I got it was to be able to call for an ambulance if the mobile network was down, (two of my family have medical problems that have required ambulance attendance in the past), and also for our home alarm dialler.

It only cost £12 to port our easily memorable number to A&A, and £1.44 per month ongoing "line rental", which I thought was good value.

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[#10]

@nmdrex 20mbps is more than enough to watch Sky sports unless you're planning multiple (and I means LOTS of) HD screens or paying for an Ultra-HD service and screen!

"Not reaching the living room" is more likely a WiFi limitation. Upgrading to full fibre won't solve that.

[#11]

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@nmdrex wrote:

Thanks a lot for all the answers. Seems like the best solution for them is switch the phone to A & A, and upgrade the plusnet to full fiber. I want to get Sky Sports for my father anyway, so i guess that will require full fiber (currently they're on 20mbps, and it struggles a bit to reach the living room)

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Whatever you do, don't transfer the phone to an independant VOIP supplier until Full Fibre is up and running. There will be some downtime (7 - 10 days) for the phone.

Do your parents use PN email addresses?

What type of phone do they have? Do they use any phone extensions in the house?

With A&A you should look into the costs of an ATA. The FitzBox mentioned earlier can usually be obtained second hand on eBay. It is a well regared unit and has the required ATA built in (one less power source required). It may even be cheaper than buying a stand alone ATA.

If your parents don't use PN email addresses have a look at other ISP's who do a combined service. If they move at the end of their contract there is little or no downtime on the phone. I've mentioned Zen as one, but have a look at Sky Broadband. If they do phone services you might get a good deal on Sky Sports.

Finally with Full Fibre a completly new cablle is laid to the property. Is the phone line currently deployed at the front or rear of the property and is it overhead or underground?  It terminates in a box on the outside wall (CSP) and then is brought in to connect to an ONT (power required). There is some lee way on where the ONT is situated.

Brian

Look carefully at all options before you / they take a decision.

[#12]

Sky are recommending, 30mbps, so you're probably right and 20 would do if it's a good connection. And the wifi is the biggest issue, as it gets substantially flakier closer to where the TV sits. 

I'll get the full fiber anyway - i want to get them really good internet in the house as my father just got a smartphone, started using iplayer etc. and i don't want him put off by a [-Censored-] connection. If the signal with the new (supposedly improved) router that comes with full fiber is better then maybe thats good enough. Otherwise, we'll look for a solution to get the router in the living room, which is where they spend almost all their time now anyway.

[#13]

Thanks for the ATA info. I'm not the most up to date on the tech. I guess a stand alone ATA makes sense - I'm assuming i can connect that to basically any router? Or are you recommending the fritzbox as it's an all round better router anyway?

As far as timing, I'd rather not wait until the contract ends in April/May. My mother's got rapidly worsening dementia, and it leaves my father a bit isolated. At least having some sport to chat to his friends about would improve things a bit. If the house phone is out for a week or so it's not a big issue, as he got a smartphone this year anyway. 

[#14]

The Frtizbox is an excellent device.  If one can get to grips with its functionality, it eliminates the the need for an ATA and if the current handsets DECT, it also replaces the DECT base station.

It offers highly functional call answering and management facilities, including number rejection, auto-forwarding and (in the case of DECT phones) call routing to specific handsets.

[#15]

@nmdrex 

Others can / have commented on the FritzBox. As I understand it the functionality of it is as good or better than the Hub2. If the WiFi is better then it should be considered. Especially if you can find one cheaper than an ATA.

Other can comment on a suitable ATA (I don't have VOIP). If purchased there's always help on here on how to set it up. It connects to the router via ethernet cable. One thing to remember is with an ATA you need 3 power sockets  - ONT, router, ATA.

PN will happily upgrade the account to Full Fibre at any time at the cost of a new contract.

The router is connected to the ONT by ethernet cable so it can go anywhere you're happy to run cable. If the current copper feed is overhead at the back then a possibility is you might persuade the OR engineer to run the fibre round the outside of the house so the ONT / router is in the front room. If desired, it might be an idea for you to be present for the install so you're happy with what's done. Unfortunately you never know until the day what can / cannot be done as regards location of the ONT.

An account can be set up with A&A in advance with a local number. This allows you to confirm whatever VOIP set up you have works. Once FTTP is installed you port the original number in.

Brian