Using BT digital phones with a different VOIP provider

[JillW]

My elderly mother has BT broadband and phone, and is on Digital Voice (using a BT essential digital home phone). We've thinking of moving to a third party VOIP provider for the phone element. Does anyone know if the BT digital phones work with other VOIP providers or are they 'locked' in some way to BT? Just trying to work out if we need an adaptor from the new provider.

[jac_95]

Hi JillW,

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[licquorice]

BT Digital Voice is totally proprietary, if you switch to a different provider you will need an ATA supplied by them.

The BT phones use a DECT base station built into the hub.

[Keith_Beddoe]

@JillW 

Ceasing or moving your phone service, will cancel your broadband.

[JillW]

Thanks for your response. I'm not techy so could you explain what an 'ATA' is?

Secondly, what is a DECT base station which you say is built into the hub?

[JillW]

Not necessarily, if you have a new phone number with the VOIP provider. It runs over the internet so isn't the same as a normal landline service, so I wouldn't be ceasing or moving the phone service

[licquorice]

Why would you want 2 phone services?

Unless you cancel DV (which will also cancel your broadband) you will have 2 services if you also go for a third party VoIP provider.

ATA, Analogue Telephone Adapter, the interface between your router and a telephone.

DECT is just normal cordless telephone technology.

[JillW]

Thanks for explaining the techy bit.

While it might sound counterintuitive to have 2 phone services, there are third party VOIP providers who offer a more comprehensive service than BT (eg online contact book so that saved numbers are not lost if the handset plays up, umlimited call duration - BT is only up to an hour) and are cheaper.

BT doesn't offer broadband without a landline option, but moving to another broadband provider is a hassle as it would involve a new router etc and prices are comparable to the BT most basic package anyway.

So all in all, it would be cheaper for my mum if we could simply renew the BT broadband (including the phone, even though we don't want it), and to then take out a VOIP contract with a different VOIP provider, and she'd have a better phone service than she has now. It would mean having a new phone number, with the BT one essentially dormant.

However, it only makes sense if we can use the same handset as buying new phones cancels out the savings. But it sounds as if that isn't possible from what you've said, and having also spoken to the potential VOIP provider.

The key thing I really want is for the numbers saved in my mum's BT handset to be backed up somewhere as she keeps having problems with the phone and the only option that BT can offer is to reset the handset which means all the numbers are lost and we have to re-enter them manually which is very laborious and time consuming. This will be the second time this year we have had to do this, hence thinking about moving away from BT for the phone side of things.

[iniltous · Accepted solution]

If your intention is to remove the ‘phone element ‘ that’s the BT DV service, but keep BT Broadband, as stated , this can be tricky to arrange without having a break in broadband service  ( as it’s changed from a broadband with DV voice service to broadband only service ) , something to have in mind , it probably won’t be a seemless transfer .

If you do cease BT  DV , ( which ceases broadband ) and get BT broadband reinstated ( as standalone broadband )  the  phone port on the BT Hub will be ‘dead’ , any alternative supplier of VoIP Telephony ( as stated ) will need you ( or them ) to provide the ATA to access their phone service , if you have a BT DV ‘handset’ it won’t ‘work’ with this other VoIP provider either .

You could run a third party VoIP service and BT DV at the same time , but that seems pointless, porting the existing telephone number to a VoIP provider ( assuming the existing phone number is important and needs to be provided by the third party VoIP company ) will result in the associated BT broadband being ceased .

[VeteranISPUser]

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@JillWwrote:

The key thing I really want is for the numbers saved in my mum's BT handset to be backed up somewhere.

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Hi @JillW   Unless I am mistaken, you said it was a DV HD phone? In which case the contacts are stored on the SH2 and can be backed up and restored. It wouldn’t matter if the handset completely failed. A new DV HD phone would load the saved contacts.