I think there's likely to be a world of pain trying to route a DrayTek router via a SH2 without a bridge mode. They charge for DV so if they won't provide a real landline I think we'll just go without a landline and use mobile. Maybe if enough people refuse DV they will change their restrictive practices and open up the service to other routers. Or provide an adapter that can be plugged into other routers.
No they won't. It is a deliberate decision in order to provide a more secure VoIP solution.
Like many others, you have failed to understand that BT is a mass market ISP and for 99% of its customer base it provides all their requirements. They are not going to change their business model and spend money to suit a very tiny minority of their customers.
This is affecting all providers.
The reason for this, is explained on this two page website.
https://www.draytek.co.uk/information/blog/the-end-of-analogue-phone-lines-pt1
Oh well, it sounds like it will have to be a mobile-phone based "landline" then. Saves me a bit of money paying BT for DV I suppose.
It won't save you a lot I'm afraid, possibly a maximum of £5/m if that.
How “Smart” is the Smart Hub 2? Does it let you set up port-forwarding/redirection to different devices on the LAN? And have Dynamic DNS support built in? Is there a manual online describing all its functionality. The HomeHub was pretty hopeless but before rejecting the SH2 I should at least check out whether it’s equally feature-free or has improved since the HH.
Yes, it has port forwarding capability and limited DDNS support (DynDNS, NoIP, ChangeIP, EasyDNS, Zoneedit DNS-O-Matic). The DHCP range can be amended and has address reservation capability (although that can sometimes be a bit flaky, better to use static addresses)
The big downside for many is the inability to give the WiFi bands different SSIDs.
Thank you for the information. That's a bit more encouraging than I thought it might be.
Let's be honest, it's a deliberate decision to provide vendor lock in, not a more secure VoIP solution. As any security expert will tell you, open standards get far more scrutiny and are inherently more secure than proprietary, closed standards. BT could have chosen to adopt an open standard here, which would have allowed customers more flexibility when choosing their equipment, including handsets, which will just end up in landfill now when people move to a new provider.