Landline with no broadband

[garybs29]

Thry're not going to put account numbers etc on things sent. Quite frankly, it's up yo you to know numbers & whats on each line as it's your address & the setup you chose

[Jane2018]

I do hope to rationalise the number of lines eventually. We used to have home number, work number, fax number, burglar alarm line, downstairs dial up internet line and upstairs fast internet line number. I am now down to three numbers - as of DV switch recently now have THREE landline telephone numbers rather than just 2 so a record high as at November 2025 for those ones but only three lines now from BT so better than the previous much larger number. I am currently quite happy to be paying for the upstairs and downstairs broadbands - 2 payments a month as if one is down the other works and I don't mind a back up and nothing has enabled wifi to work on both sides of house and on all 3 floors other than that so far.

Today the first bill since the 2nd of the 3 lines moved to DV came in. I don't think I will ever solve why the amounts on the 2 separate accounts/bills differ although one has the £4 a month voicemail charge and other does not so that explains that and one tends to have more landline calls (they are only free at weekends when I never make calls on my  packages).

One is called Fibre with Halo 1 which is £91 a month for the broadband package. The other is called Fibre Halo and Calls and that one has the broadband package of £77.

It is a complicated month for the line that just switched to DV and I see that under Lien Retnal £30.20 a month it has given a refund for line rental for that paid in advance up to 20 November of £13,64 deducted from the bill.

It refser to my new services presumably the DV on one of the 2 landlines on that account (although still analogue on on the other telephone number on that account).

Total bill for that account is £78.17 which was £121.66 last month so that is a big change which I doubt is caused by DV. I will wait to see what  next month's amount is as that will be the first normal bill with no switching to DV in the month.

Finally locally I think people are paying about £60,000 to get Community Fibre to bring us FTTP so I will probably go in for that too when it comes out but keep the 3 BT lines and BB for now and run everything along side. There is only one of my landline numbers I need to keep (of the 3) and unfortunately that is the one that comes in downstairs to my office where community fibre would bring in their service. I suppose if the FTTP works from my office and allows everyone miles away up 2 flights at other side of house to get the internet I could just close that upstairs BT account with 2 landlines and BB on it entirely.  We shall see. 

I will not necessarily rush to FTTP as will want to consider it very carefully. You can pay extra to have it brought in where you want it - eg I want it as with my office number to come in through wall of garage, out the bank, round the back wall quite a way and then directly i nto my home office ground floor back of house. No sign BT/open reach wlil bring us FTTP although been regitsered with them for a good few years now for that. Don't like using new providers with Community Fibre (nor new banks, nor new anythings due to financial risks and less track record but we shall see.

[Jane2018]

Community Fibre must have been working very hard. Tonight I have ordered it and it will be installed next week between Christmas and New Year. However you will not be rid of me as I am keeping my three BT lines (two landlines one of which has digital voice and a landline number) and the other two - one with a landline only on it (analogue still) and one with broadband and a third landline number on it I have never used) as want to see how Community Fibre works first before starting to shut off either of the 2 BT accounts with BT  broadband on them.

Not relevant to readers using BT, but I have taken a service from Community Fibre which is quite fast (premium wifi) and in theory should work around the large house on all floors which currently is not the case on either Hub2 - ground floor right or 2 floors up left. For installation I have paid extra for fibre to the room although I hope they can bring the cable as the BT one goes from telephone pole to house, then outside and then into integral garage and along back wall into my office at back of house, may be using a dead hole in wall which used to have the separate fax line in it. If they can get it that way then I think in theory it is not a fibre to the room service. If they will only install it at front of house I suppose the fibre to room may solve getting in to my PC in my office although not sure where cabling will go in pretty nice area with no current cabling if they must bring it in where I don't want it brought in.  Anyway hopefully paying the most I can they will be able to do what I need. I have already moved today  10 sorage boxes and have about 60 more which are floor to ceiling to move in the garage to mean there is more chance they follow the BT 1990s cabling line.

[Jane2018]

Not a question but an update. Community Fibre installed the FTTP today (no sign of BT/openreach doing so sadly up here otherwise I would have used them as been a customer for decades and remain so).

I will probably keep one of the BT broadband accounts of the two I have with the landline and probably cancel the 2nd BB line and its 2 landline numbers so at least that would simplify things down to  one BT line with BB and landline and one Community Fibre broadband line.  I will wait until my adult sons who live here have had a few weeks to check the Community Fibre wifi is working fine for them first however before starting what will presumably be calls from hell to BT to explain to someone I have two different account numbers with 3 telephone numbers on them and 2 broadband accounts and which I am cancelling and which not. The one I will cancel includes the landline which is not yet on digital voice and another landline recently upgrade to DV and one broadband account.

I have found this forum extremely useful by the way.

For anyone interested the residents (private estate) funded some of the Community Fibre cost £6k initial costs and then I think about £38k and CF paid the rest. This had echoes of the project I organised to get BB here fast enough to watch TV upon when I raised money from neighbours to fund the right kind of power to the box down the road (this is outer London  not outer Hebrides).

All my usual concerns were unfounded today. The man was happy to install it where the BT current cables go and could use the same hole into and out of the garage and then round the back right along the house and then into my home office. I only wanted the service if they would route it that way but you cannot specify that when you order. Anyway it worked fine and I am linked as preferred via ethernet cable from my personal computer to the router . They put three units around this fairly large house (3 story house etc) to help bolster the wifi in various rooms in addition to the router in my office. The box (ONT) on the wall is much smaller than I expected which is great. The route is fairly big but can sit here on the side of my desk as that is better than on the floor

I spent ages preparing, cleaning shelving units from the garage etc but that all paid off as everything was really clear and easy for the man. it took about 3 hours (plus a bit of time first thing today when a different man was bringing the cabling from top of telephone pole on the street down on a coiled reel thing of cable ready to be linked up later that same day. It was a good kick to make me sort out a big section of the integral garage anyway and had 2 trips to the council tip yesterday.

I chose to pay £75 extra when booking for their new "fibre to the room" rather than just fibre to the premises and bought their highest level service just to ensure no problems although it was brought into the back of the house to my office anyway so tghat was the fibre to the right room without needing anything extra cabled inside the house to bring it to a different room.