I have a house in France which I have not been able to visit for two years due to Covid !
In the meantime, I have learnt that our broadband service is being discontinued because the "county" is removing the subsidy. It will cease in two weeks time ! No alternative solution has been offered.
We are in a very rural area, and our broadband and telephone has only been available through a broadcast system which has been excellent. Effectively, fibre comes into a large factory in the village, from where a fibre cable runs up the Church tower to be "broadcast" to other water towers, church towers and high points within the local community, each with broadcast repeaters. Customers like us have a very small receiver on the chimney. I think there may be something similar in England.
Due to Covid travel restrictions, it is difficult to go over to France at present to try to sort out an alternative, and we are going to have to arrange a replacement service remotely. However, a friend in the village has gone for satellite which sounds expensive but is actually no more expensive than my existing system, which was absolutely excellent. But not being there makes it difficult to find out very much about the alternative system, on which I am dependent for controlling, among other things, the central heating during cold winter periods ! I am sure that the satellite system will not be a problem, but the telephone will be !
Now I have heard that it is possible to "rent" a third party service with which the old telephone number is registered, and which then provides a VOIP type telephone service through the satellite broadband. Does anyone know any more about this subject ? We would like to keep our existing landline number if we can, because so many people know it, but we may have to resort to the mobile phone as a last resort.
Any advice would be most appreciated.
