Telephone line switch off ?

[Anonymous]

Hello, I keep hearing about telephone lines being 'switched off' by 2025 and the move to VoiP only services.  I don't fully understand what this means?

I don't have BT Broadband and just have a phone line and only occasionally make voice calls on it. Nothing more.

Will my telephone line still work after the "switch off"? Do I have to do anything? Do I have to change the telephone line? Is it compulsory for everybody or just those that choose to do it?

Will it be like the analogue television switch off and we all have to change?

😀

[gg30340]

See links

Digital Phone Lines | Openreach

We’re pausing our Digital Voice plans for Consumers, while we work on a more resilient rollout (bt.c...

[licquorice]

To answer your last point first, yes, it will be like the analogue TV switch off, you will have to change at some point.

Your phone won't suddenly be cut off, there will be provision for those that purely have a phone service without broadband. The details for that service have yet to be determined but you will be informed nearer the time of the change.

It is only customers with broadband that are currently being moved to Digital Voice.

[-Richie- · Accepted solution]

@Anonymouswhen the time comes, line only customers (who have no broadband) will be sent a Smart Hub 2 to connect to the master socket (NTE), you'll then plug your phone into the back of the Smart Hub 2, everything else will continue as normal.

A special SLT (Service Line Type) is used to provide a broadband connection to deliver the broadband needed for Digital Voice, it might sound complicated but it's really not, there will be support available if you need it as well 🙂

[Bob1001]

@Anonymous  Eventually everyone will have to move to Digital Voice, if you don't have Broadband will either have to provide you with a Smarthub2 (locked so you can't use it for the internet) or an adapter that will allow you to use Digital Voice. Once set up you will have the same telephone, the main difference is that you will have to dial the complete number include the area code.

[Anonymous]

Just some problems I would like to point out!

I have 3 phones in the house, 1 main phone and 2 extensions, so would I have to have a smarthub for every phone!

Would these hubs need to be plugged in? The telephone sockets aren't always near electrical sockets.

I'm not having a smarthub just to make a phone call with a telephone line that doesn't get broadband in the first place! And if it's a smarthub for every phone, rather than just one hub per household  that is ridiculous!

I haven't signed up to BT Broadband and my telephone line is aluminium and would have to be changed if I signed up. I've been told that many times by BT Engineers over the years, so using the same line for broadband isn't an option. With that in mind, if I signed up to BT Broadband Engineers would have to change the line, fair enough, but I haven't signed up, so will this mean my telephone line will have to be changed for those that don't have good enough phone lines for broadband? Or will fibre optic lines be given out?

I get very low VDSL so would VoiP work, with a telephone line that wasn't compatible with the internet?

Many people's telephone lines will have to be changed with a telephone  line more suitable for a broadband connection to make this work, meaning extra work for BT Engineers. 

I don't like the sound of it at all. 

[iniltous]

Your line is almost certainly capable of 0.5Mb , that’s all the bandwidth needed for telephony over broadband, so that isn’t an issue , you would ( on request ) be provided with a compatible phone or adapter to use with whatever ‘broadband’ device is supplied ( it probably won’t be a SH2 ) …your current internal setup ( extensions etc ) remain as they are now, your responsibility, but probably can be easily be connected to whatever is supplied.

You state your line can’t have have broadband , but also state you get vey low VDSL , both statements  cannot be true .

If you get poor speed ( or would get poor speed if you had broadband) and it’s your ‘line’ that limits the speed , it is primarily the line length , not the material it’s made of , that dictates line speed. The VDSL speed you could get , if you had VDSL broadband , will be sufficient for telephony.

If you are a BT Consumer customer and don’t currently have VDSL,  or even ADSL , then you probably don’t need to concern yourself for the best part of 3 years, as you would be the last group of consumers to be converted to DV

[jac_95]

It would be one smart hub 2. Where you can connect your existing phone into the phone port (ATA) on back of it.

You can then get:

* BT Digital Voice handset that connects wirelessly to the smart hub 2 via it's built in DECT receiver.

* BT Digital Voice adaptor that allows you to connect an existing phone wirelessly to the Smart Hub 2 via it's built in DECT receiver. 

[iniltous]

Perhaps you can point to a link that states telephony only customers will be provided with a SH2.