Moving To Digital Voice

[SnowyDoc]

When copper landlines are switched off at the end of January 2027, what happens to households who have not yet upgraded to FTTP?

I ask because I am being moved to FTTP next week in order to give me Digital Voice. Looking around online I can see that there are supposedly two ways to get Digital Voice. Either:

1. Upgrade to FTTP, or, 

2. Install a Digital Voice adaptor, pair it with my Smart Hub 2, plug in my phone to that adaptor and then change the settings in the Hub Manager to enable VoIP.

BT have sent me straight to option 1. I haven't been offered option 2. Am I wrong in thinking that option 2. is even an option?

I do have to say that in all the communications from BT about January 2027 their tone has been heavy-handed and aggressive and it's not very nice.

[SnowyDoc]

I have BT Halo 3+ with a Smart Hub 2 that gets me Broadband downloads of about 70Mb/sec, and that is more than enough bandwidth. I also have a landline that I almost never use - I have kept it for an additional backup for telephone banking. These days everything is on my mobile (of which I have 3). I also have a power-bank to charge them if there is ever a power-cut, and if the power-bank fails I can always charge them off the UPS on my server. I'm telling you this to illustrate that I have backup plans in place to keep me connected.

BT and Openreach are coming to install full-fibre in ten days time. I wasn't asked about this - they just sent me Emails and told me when they would be turning up. Their plan, according to their Emails, is to install full fibre to ensure I get Digital Voice. My contract will remain the same.

From doing some research today it seems there are two ways to get digital voice.

1. Move to full fibre with FTTP and then my landline phone plugs into my Smart Hub 2 that connects to the newly installed (in ten days time) Openreach ONT.

2. Have BT send me a digital voice adaptor (or I buy one - they seem to cost almost nothing), I plug my landline phone into the adaptor and the adaptor into a power socket and then pair it with the Smart Hub 2, turn on VoIP in the Hub settings and then all calls route via VoIP.

My understanding is that at the end of January 2027 PSTN will cease working when the copper network is switched off, but this will affect the current PSTN landline phones only. The copper connections between cabinets and homes will still be there and will still be delivering Broadband services for customers on Broadband connections that are FTTC (which is what I have). Is that correct? The phone will stop working but the Broadband will keep on working.

Am I a luddite? Partly. I don't really want fibre - I certainly do not need it for the bandwidth it delivers. I also don't want engineers drilling hole in my walls to install things I don't either want or need. It seems like BT / Openreach have decided to go down the route of most complicated solution there is (i.e., option 1., above) while it looks like there's a very simple solution that is the one that I would choose, (i.e., option 2., above).

Does everything I've written make sense. Have I mis-understood that option 2. is possible, or, have I missed something?

Thanks in advance for any feedback or comments.

[iniltous]

The PSTN (telephony)  switch off and the FTTP (full fibre) rollout are separate programs, many customers will still be on ‘copper pairs’ after Jan 2027 , but they will be on DV (Digital Voice) telephony via the broadband router , this is irrespective of having FTTP or not , DV works fine with copper pair broadband like fibre to the cabinet or even ADSL .

Being asked to move to FTTP is separate but can be combined with DV as FTTP is inevitable , but it’s not the same , refuse FTTP you don’t get cut off from copper or telephony  but you still convert to DV , basically you plug your phone into the router not the socket on the wall .

A digital voice adapter simply converts a corded standard telephone to one that can ‘communicate’ with the BT hub via DECT not WiFi , it’s no different to the DECT cordless type phones people already have in their homes , it’s simply for those that complain that their current corded landline phone is not close enough to the router to plug in directly into it , an DV adapter just means the corded phone and router can be in different rooms if that’s what the customer already has and wants to keep, if you already have a cordless home  phones  you don’t even need this adapter .

[imjolly]

try reading this post as it should answer your questions about DV

Solved: Digital Voice FAQs - BT Community