Confused about phone line with Full Fibre FTTP package

[garybs29]

@pippincpI honestly don't get why people hate so much on the BT router which is supplied. I've had the smarthub 2 since day dot (part of the testing in the trial to begin with) & it's been absolutely fine with no issues.

Also on the digital voice there is a battery backup which at the minute lasts for 60 minutes but I'm sure they're looking to improve the timing on as they know it needs to be better

[pippincp]

I didn't think this was coming in until next year. It looks like they are accelerating getting people off the PSTN service. It's understandable as they want it retired by 2025.

[Balderdash]

Try to think about this from the point of view of an elderly person who doesn’t understand the technology...

 o they know historically that the landline phone works during a power cut, and even if they have cordless phones they will (should) have a wired/line-powered phone to use in emergency.

o It’s also much easier for them to dial “999” on a big button phone than a mobile device.

o They may also have an alarm or care monitoring system which relies on the current landline.

These are the main reasons why I would prefer my parents stayed on copper for phone rather than be forced onto a voip service.

[pippincp]

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@garybs29wrote:

@pippincpI honestly don't get why people hate so much on the BT router which is supplied. I've had the smarthub 2 since day dot (part of the testing in the trial to begin with) & it's been absolutely fine with no issues.

Also on the digital voice there is a battery backup which at the minute lasts for 60 minutes but I'm sure they're looking to improve the timing on as they know it needs to be better

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I don't hate the BT supplied hub, it is a "one size fits all"  for the majority of customers and works well. When it comes to more advanced settings for advanced users it is not all that good. I haven't used an ISP supplied router for over 10 years. But that is because of my needs which aren't the same as the majority of users.

I don't use a home phone but felt I had to point out that as the BT hub becomes the base station for digital voice the hub has to be used.

[pippincp]

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@Balderdashwrote:

Try to think about this from the point of view of an elderly person who doesn’t understand the technology...

 o they know historically that the landline phone works during a power cut, and even if they have cordless phones they will (should) have a wired/line-powered phone to use in emergency.

o It’s also much easier for them to dial “999” on a big button phone than a mobile device.

o They may also have an alarm or care monitoring system which relies on the current landline.

These are the main reasons why I would prefer my parents stayed on copper for phone rather than be forced onto a voip service.

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I agree entirely but like it or not the copper service is being withdrawn. Even with a low battery a mobile will still be able to call the emergency services and will use whichever network is available, not necessarily the network subscribed to.

[Balderdash]

That’s a good point about any available network being used...

I just wish this topic of copper vs. fibre for landline was more transparent to the end customer - before and during the full fibre ordering process...

And what the implications are for each type of service...

[Beejay51]

I recently got FTTP installed from pole to house.Existing copper line is still to same pole and both are run in tandem to pole at road.The copper line is still in use for phone and fibre for broadband with no issues raised,may change in future though as lines get updated /renewed etc.Saying that we have no phone connected and our phone tariff is PAYG because all our calls are by mobile,forgot to mention our broadband includes line rental which seems to include the phone copper line as well.

[ZaphodBeeblebrox]

Hi,

We had Fibre To The Premises installed couple of weeks ago. Before that we had Fibre To The Cabinet, which was about a mile away, and then copper to the house. As part of the deal we got 2 new VOIP handsets. These work really well. 

The old copper wire was taken down from the poles, I watched the installer roll it all up and put it in the van. So we now only have a fibre connection.

I have just tried plugging one of our old telephone handsets into the 'Phone' socket on the back of the new BT Home Hub. It works as well as it ever did. Its a very old phone, complete with a chrome dial and pulse dialling, possibly a GPO 332 from the 1950's similar to this one

Bakelite Phone 332L with drawer, antique British GPO dial ...worcesterantiques.co.uk

So pulse dialling isn't dead yet!