New Contract - what equipment?

[Beyond-Bemused]

Hi, advice sorely needed. I represent a church which has had an awful/ sometimes non-existent broadband and a phone line for years (with BT). This is on copper, direct to the exchange. We had been out of contract for a while hoping for alternatives. Back at the beginning of the year I decided to get something done. Before a new contract could be started the line needed repair. This has finally been achieved!! I have had so many phone calls at least twice a week (bearing in mind that I am not at church 24/7) from BT's call centre each fobbing me off and not fully explaining what is going on.

What we want is a working phone in another place from the BT Hub and  Wi-Fi extended throughout the premises (think large and thick walls).

A new hub arrived a couple of weeks ago but the hybrid connector they also sent is a waste of space as there's no 4G!

According to the OpenReach people - there have been many-  we need something to plug in to the mains and then plug the old phone into that (?Wi-Fi phone extender). I also need Wi-Fi extenders. (I was to have been sent these but have not!) But, they say a new line is not needed

According to the woman at the call centre, who rings me so often, we need a new line and then will be sent the Wi-Fi extenders but she doesn't explain how the phone will work, sticks to a script. So what happens about the phone? Apparently the recordings of the conversations show that this has been explained. I'm not stupid but the explanations are lacking.

This situation has me at the end of my tether. Could anyone advise what should be needed, in simple English. (I am tech savvy) What would be wrong with the original copper line? OpenReach thought it was OK.  I only found out today that the contract has still not been renewed even though the hub was sent.

I've tried ringing BT to speak to someone else but the wait time is too long. I don't live at the church and frankly BT have pushed me to the limit and I am trying to actually live a life. If there was an alternative we'd be gone, but there isn't (the lack of fibre I guess!!)

Thanks.

[iniltous]

You have dozens of alternatives to BT , BT are  just one provider on Openreach’s network, as are Sky Talk Talk Vodafone etc and dozens if not hundreds of other providers, so to say you have no alternative to BT is wrong, BT and Openreach are not interchangeable terms …don’t like BT , switch to one of the many alternatives available on Openreach.

If you have no alternative to Openreach’s network , that’s clearly neither Openreach or BT’s ‘fault’ , if no other network provider sees your area as a commercially viable proposition and decides not to provide their services in your area .

Its not clear to me what it is you actually want , but I suspect some of your requirements are not actually your providers responsibility but your own ( in that it’s your problem to ‘fix’ no one else’s ) 

You state , 

What we want is a working phone in another place from the BT Hub and  Wi-Fi extended throughout the premises (think large and thick walls).

If you are on DV (so your phone is connected to the hub ) and you want the phone located elsewhere , or an extra extension phone as well as the existing phone , this isn’t your providers problem, although BT do offer a ‘free’ DECT adapter to assist in converting a standard wired corded phone into a DECT cordless one , but they have the same limitations as any other DECT handset…..if DECT is no good , you could employ a third party to run an extension wiring from the hub to your preferred location for a extension and use a corded phone , if you are not on DV but still on PSTN , the extension cable ran from the master socket …either way this not your providers problem, if the ‘free’ hep of a DECT adapter is of no use , perhaps it’s worth considering that most providers don’t even offer this …you are ‘on your own’ from the start , you are not disadvantaged if the adapter doesn’t work in your setting .

It’s probably necessary to point out if you are on DV that the cordless phone isn’t using WiFi , so WiFi extenders will be of no use in extending telephony ….DV ‘cordless’ telephony is DECT the same as the type of cordless phones that have been available for many years ….if DECT is no good because of the construction of the building (solid walls etc ) then a ‘hard wired’ solution for your telephony will be needed .

Hybrid connect has nothing to do with your ‘telephony’ problem and is entirely to provide backup should the landline broadband fail , if you have no 4G mobile service due to either your  geographic location or where the Hybrid device will be sited internally , as it won’t be able to get a 4G signal , then clearly it’s not a suitable product , return it if it was sold on the basis of it having value , obviously no 4G ,  it’s of no value to you .

Wifi extenders extend the broadband WiFi signal to areas within the building with poor WiFi , nothing to do with telephony and potentially not much use if they need to use ‘radio’ to connect to each other or the router  , if the building construction stops regular WiFi reception them the same problem may stop these WiFi extenders connecting wirelessly to each other ….these may need to be hard wired to the router , or each other to be of any use , but again no use for telephony and if they need to be wired , that’s not your providers job to wire them to the hub , if this isn’t possible for you to arrange , no point paying for ‘whole home’ type devices, send them back for a refund.

Openreach are only responsible upto the master socket or ONT , if your service ‘works’ connected here , that really the end of their responsibility, if the ISP provides extra devices usually to extend service around a domestic building and they are incapable of providing that extra coverage in your ‘ non standard’ setting , return the kit for a refund and explore a more business type solution to provide the coverage you need .

I suspect you are speaking to BT Consumer as if they are the business division, if you want business type connectivity it’s not BT Consumer you need to speak to .

[Beyond-Bemused]

I have been in touch with other providers. There is a big issue in our area. True Speed are local but have access problems to get fibre to us even though they are at the premises next door. It's not as easy as you say.

I am fully aware that BT and OpenReach are not interchangeable. I know the hybrid connector is a waste of space. We had something similar before and it caused more problems than it was worth. I know it's nothing to do with the phone line. I am aware that the Wi-Fi extenders may have to be wired.

We are not on DV  (more techo speak!!)  at the moment. The hub is secure behind a locked door, the phone is plugged into an ordinary extension socket in a reception area away from the hub. This is one of the problems I raised with BT, what are the alternatives? This is a building used by the public and security of the hub means a phone can't be plugged in direct. Any mobile phone and app route is impossible because various people use the phone.  Having described the above situation I was originally told a new phone and extenders would be sent at the beginning but now I'm getting contradictory information.

Ok I described how to connect the phone to the hub incorrectly. Sorry, that's because no one is explaining things. The current phone has cordless handsets and these work because in that area the walls are standard and they are close to each other.

Are you telling me that BT Business have no responsibility to provide a system of phone and broadband that works in our building as  described and requested? That no advice is available here either? 

[imjolly · Accepted solution]

as a church do you have a business line and not a residential line as I assume you are treated as a business.  if so you need to post here https://business.forums.bt.com/ as this is a residential forum

[Beyond-Bemused]

Thanks. I thought i was on business but was wondering after the previous answer.

[imjolly]

this is a customer help customer forum and you post does not go to BT.  everyone here is a customer so would have no idea you were business customer until your post

[iniltous]

I asked a pretty clear non  technical question about you having (or not having )  DV , by asking if your phone is connected to the hub or not,  any accusation therefore of technobabble is nonsense.

As this is a BT Consumer forum , the reasonable assumption is you are a consumer ( even if it’s not a normal consumer environment) but as you now ask about BT Business responsibility, if you are a BT Business customer then this consumer forum isn’t the appropriate place for your questions, the business forum is (obviously you need to be sure what your tariff is ) 

As far as BTBusiness responsibility, if you are a customer of theirs ,  the consumer based equipments you describe as being sent are not the ‘usual’ business type bespoke solutions that many businesses that BTB deal with often require…if you want a bespoke business type solution they come with much higher costs and likely wouldn’t be appropriate for such a small undertaking, obviously a hairdresser isn’t going to need the same communication solution as a data centre but both are businesses .

There are many independent networking or telephony wiring businesses, many probably ex ‘BT’ engineers provide the sort of cabling you apparently require, and will be more cost effective to use someone like that , but fundamentally your assumption of what is provided with a basic service is unrealistic.