BT Smart Hub 2 usable on phone extension?

[RKMC]

Thanks. But given the alarm system is connected as an extension to the master socket and the SH2 will be in my office where I have power and the equipment, I will not be able to connect the alarm to the SH2. I will discuss alternative solutions (such as mobile) with the alarm company to remove dependencies on any analogue phone connections so I can move over to SH2 and DV phones before I order.

And yes I will be moving to Fibre 2 FTTC - not Full Fibre 2 FTTP which is not available here yet (and when it is I will get the master socket sorted out then so it is no longer in its difficult-to-use location).

[imjolly]

When you move to FTTP then the master socket is no longer used and position is immaterial 

[rbz5416]

Have you been through the order process & were offered DV? It's not something that you can just choose to have if not.

If the alarm isn't too old there should at least be a GSM module for it, as long as you have reasonable mobile coverage. More modern systems also provide for direct connection to your Internet.

When the time for FTTP comes your master socket will become redundant, as a new fibre connection will be made to the property & an optical modem installed, hopefully somewhere more convenient!

[licquorice]

Digital Voice is VoIP, however, the Hub2 also incorporates a DECT base station in order to connect to the VoIP service. It also incorporates an ATA accessed via the green socket at the rear of the hub allowing older analogue phones to be connected.

[RKMC]

Yes, the alarm company did mention there was a GSM option last time they were out. Hopefully it is not 3G which is being switched off shortly, but that is another story. In any case my thinking is to bite the bullet and sort out the alarm now since it needs to be done sometime soon anyway with DV coming down the track, as well as being an issue in to moving to SH2.
Thank you (and everyone else) for your patience with all my technical questions. I hope this discussion will also help others with master sockets (with single sockets) in inconvenient places.

[JohnRH]

I wonder if you solved your alarm issue?

I ask because I'm going down the same road but appear to have found a way to use my conventional alarm dialler with DV.

Basically the "phone socket" on the rear of the SH2 is what it is, it's a conventional phone socket. Any phone can be plugged into this and so can any conventional speech dialler and a quick search around the internet confirms this.

I find it particularly annoying that many people are spending large sums of money to install a GSM dialler when there appears to be absolutely no need.

John

[licquorice]

As stated in message 14 of this thread back in January

[JohnRH]

licquorice

Yes I know but was just interested if he followed through with this or went down the GSM route or what.

However a question for you if you wouldn't mind.

I have FTTC and my master socket in a newish house is on an internal wall, not simply the internal face of an external wall so somewhere cables coming from the outside, theres the standard grey BT covers over a cable that enters the building. So I assume that at the time of building the house a cable routes its way through the first floor floor and drops down a partition wall to go to the master socket. Ok?

Now at some time in the future I assume I will go to FTTP. Yes?

Now at that time I assume Openeach will install a fibre cable but will be unable to take it anywhere other than the internal face of the external wall. Which in my case is a down stairs toilet. Hence why the master socket isn't there.

The reason I ask is because I can see that DV is going to make me alter how my house is wired for data and for comms. So the last thing I want to do is alter it now and alter it again when FTTP comes along.

My problem is that I need to maintain an alarm and a autodialler. My router is on the end of an internal extension in my office upstairs and not at the master socket. And in order for my alarm to work under alarm conditions everything needs to run off my UPS (uninterrupible power supply) inc the router.

Thanks

John

[licquorice]

The location of the ONT whilst preferably located on the inside of an external wall, it doesn't necessarily have to be. The fibre can be run internally within reason. Also, the fibre can be run externally from where the CSP (the splicing point between external and internal fibre) is located to a suitable location for the ONT internally.

Also, the ONT and router don't have to be co-located, you can run Cat5e or Cat6 Ethernet cable up to 100metres between them.

Ignore last para as you want them to be co-located for ups purposes.

[RKMC]

Hi John,

I got my alarm company to replace the communications board for the alarm with a GSM (4G) board and comms box.  It was really the only solution other than doing a lot of wiring back from the router phone socket to the alarm which would have been a real pain.  And would have added a layer of complexity and dependency best to do without.  Unit wasn't expensive in any case - from memory around £100 - and took maybe 30 minutes.  Another option would have been a wireless unit but the alarm company said the manufacturer and they weren't supporting that any more.  I think they also said no-one was recommending phone line calling either - mobile comms doesn't have any dependency on phone lines or power being down or disrupted.

Ray