Yet another Digital Voice Question

[Jane2018]

One one my BT accounts I have broadband on one telephone line (over copper wires, Halo 1) and on another telephone line no broadband at all and just the long standing telephone line. The total is about £100 a month. Both telephone line numbers including the one that only has broadband on it show on my bill.

When London is moved to Digital voice this year is the following what is likely to happen for that account:-

1. Landline only telephone  number - BT will send some kind of basic hub product for me to make calls.

2. Broadband account telephone line - BT will do nothing so we keep the old hub (not a hub 2) as that line counts as a line with only broadband.

The above sounds logical to me.

It is an interesting situation because I suspect a lot of very inert long standing BT customers like I am probably do have a separate broadband line from the days when you could not use your dial up internet whilst also talking on the telephone which is why they will have my set up above.

if there are lots like I am then a more logical thing for BT would be to move the broadband service to over the landline number, ditch the other telephone number not used that provides the broadband service and send the customer a hub 2. However I suspect that will not be how their computer systems analyse accounts with one landline with no BB on it and another line just with BB.

I will just wait to see what happens as my sons will "kill" me if I do anything to affect this upstairs broadband they need for work, gaming and all sorts.

[jac_95]

Hi Jane2018,

Thanks for the post and welcome to the Community.

This is an automated response as I can see you have a question about BT’s Digital Voice service. Rather than waiting for a response from the Community, you may find an answer to your question by using the search bar on the Community homepage. We also have a thread that contains a wealth of info related to BT’s Digital Voice, click this link to take a look, Digital Voice FAQs.

To learn more about the nationwide change to this Internet based voice service visit landlinesgo.digital

If you have already looked for the answer to your question and have not found anything that can help, then please ignore this message. One of our Community members will be along shortly to help you further.

[licquorice]

You have to be pro-active, BT can't second guess your requirements.

If you do nothing, things will just continue as they are. Line 1 (voice only) will be supplied with a low bandwidth device and remain voice only. Line 2 will remain broadband and voice.

You need to decide what you want going forward.

[Jane2018]

Thanks. Line 2 is a separate telephone line but does not have voice on it so we will end up with for this account the old hub with broadband on it on one line and the new low bandwidth device for the line with only voice on it

There is nothing wrong with the above particularly as it is no more expensive to have those 2 lines and  rather than just the one line with the BB and voice on the same line but it just seems a bit complex and expensive for BT to have legacy customers with a telephone and a separate BB line from the dial up days out there getting tehse voice only new devices when they don't really need one.

(I have a separate account too with a different number but kept that off the post for simplicity).

[David500]

@Jane2018  You said “particularly as it is no more expensive to have those 2 lines and  rather than just the one line with the BB and voice on the same line”. But it is more expensive as you’re effectively paying line rental on both lines.

1. Telephone only: line rental + calls package or PAYG
2. Broadband which also includes line rental

As you said you have Halo 1 are you are out of contract? Also I suspect that the broadband line may also have a phone on it. If you connect a phone to the broadband master socket do you get a dial tone?
Also you will be paying line rental on your 3rd line.

[Jane2018]

You are right.

On one of my accounts with two telephone numbers one of which has landline and the other has broadband I just checked the bill and that has £26.35 and last month 1.50 of call charges on it. So I think you are right that for that account with 2 numbers on it that costs an extra £26.35.

I probably could call BT and ask them to remove it.

I think the upstairs broadband line does not have a working telephone number on it as I checked in the past and I do not use that number anyway  - we never have.

Both accounts are on Halo 1 without a hub2 but an older hub in each case. I am pretty sure we are out of contract. I have been with BT in this house since the 1990s and rarely changed anything other than putting in a fax line and a separate BB line back in the day and later ceasing the fax line, the burglar alarm line and another of our 6 lines about 5 years ago.

I suppose I could call BT (gosh I wish they would accept emails instead which take 2 seconds instead of ages of time, or wish I could do it by 2 clicks on line).... and ask them to cease the landline number we don't use and doesn't have BB on it. I wonder what the odds are the cost will remain exactly the same rather than I save the £26.35 a month line rental charge? I suppose that is my worry - everything is on the phone, no written record of requirements or orders made and massive scope for error such as BT turning off the upstairs broadband on that account rather than just the landline number. So inertia and perhaps thinking sometimes having 2 separate landline numbers might be useful has kept me paying that £26 a month.

[David500]

@Jane2018 Just to recap and be sure what you have:

1. Telephone only line.
2. Broadband only line. Please check your bill and see if there is a telephone number associated with the broadband, I suspected there will be which will mean you have 3 separate phone line but only use 2.
3. Telephone only line.

What exactly do you want to end up with? If you only want 1 telephone + broadband then the best option will be to have them on the same line. Do you still want a 2nd telephone line?

[Jane2018]

1. Telephone only line. YES
2. Broadband only line. Please check your bill and see if there is a telephone number associated with the broadband, I suspected there will be which will mean you have 3 separate phone line but only use 2. YES is a number associated with this one too. I thought in the past I could not make outgoing calls just as my son has broadband in his new house and chose not to pay 25 a month extra to have a land line but I just went up 2 flights with a corded phone and you are right - it does have signal on it too. So I suspect the charges for 1 and 2 are broadband including landline as the one over 70 charge and then the 25 a month for the only landline.
3. Telephone only line. This third one has broadband on it too and it is on a separate BT account.    IN SUMMARY I think for the sake of £25 a mo nth I will eave it be until we (a) have digital voice here in London by end of 2023 and probably also (b) until I see what i s happening with FTTP in case we can get it as I may not want to be locked into a new BT contract by changing anything at all for the sake of £25 a month until both those 2 changes go ahead. However at least I am gathering very useful information bit by bit.
4. So I think by end of year BT will send me a basic modem and put some kind of phone only broadband on to the upstairs telephone only line and leave the old hub for BB only line. Then for (3) the downstairs landline with BB on it will send me the new hub 2.  I will then plug both landlines which only ring on my desk on corded phones for the 2 landline numbers  I use into the back of the new hub 2 and the new phone only hub here downstairs in my office. It is a pity we have the two complex perfect storms of digital voice in London by end of 2023 and hopefully if we get it FTTP around same time. If digital voice could have waited until more people had FTTP it might have been simpler given issues over "new accounts" and being tied in for certain periods. I don't even know if the possible FTTP works in our road which apparently are not yet finished and are currently with the private roads owners to look at some hard to follow plans of possible works on the private land,  will be leading to BT making FTTP available or some other provider.

[licquorice]

I have absolutely no idea why you think it costs an extra £25/m to have a landline number. The maximum it will cost is £5/m.

Can't be bothered to read the rest of the wall of text.

[David500]

@licquorice  Because they have 3 separate lines. 1 is telephone only and the other 2 are broadband & telephone.

Edit: sorry just realised that the £25 pounds was for the son saving on his broadband not the cost of the telephone only line.