Using a USB ADSL modem (not router) when changed to BT Voice?

[imjolly]

digital voice only works with BT SH2 and this must be connected direct to broadband connection

[gg30340]

You do not need to use BT Digital Voice. You can use any VOIP phone provider that you want if you wish to retain a landline phone.

[iniltous]

If you are on a legacy shared metallic path facility ( SMPF ) and you pay BT for ‘line rental’ and another company provide your broadband, that is these days extremely rare , you say it’s better value , although that is debatable but what you actually pay per month with both bills combined and your setup not using a router is not really the issue. 
You will be one of the last BT customers having to  convert to DV , or you will have to make other arrangements, because of your now incompatible setup ( SMPF ) , but you will eventually have a choice , want to remain with BT as a phone only customer, ( this will not be your current PSTN phone service) you will have to give up your SMPF broadband, and you will be provided with a DV phone service that runs on a 0.5Mb BT broadband service that won’t allow ‘internet’ access ,but will deliver DV , you obviously could becomes a BT customer for both phone (DV) and broadband ……or you can leave BT.

After the PSTN switch off ( end of 2025 ) you  will not be able to have a BT phone service and someone else’s broadband on the same ‘line’ .

Want to keep broadband with whoever supplies it , you would have to move to whatever non SMPF broadband they can supply you with , BT ( and therefore DV phone ) will not be your concern because you won’t be a BT customer, your telephone service ( if you chose to have one ) will be supplied by your broadband company or you will organise one yourself with a third party VoIP provider.

[Squirrel898]

That's a helpful reply, thank you. I have run the numbers (I check them every year) and my current setup is cheaper.

I know my situation's odd but I'm trying to avoid getting inferior service, or sacrificing a landline, either of which will cost more, for a change which is not of my choosing, when I currently have a stable and perfectly working setup.

Will BT need to check the strength of the local area wi-fi signal for the VOIP connection, if I stay with them?

[iniltous]

No point discussing the relative value of your current setup , if you think it’s good value, that’s fine.

There is no such thing as ‘local area WiFi signal for VoIP’  ,  I cannot imagine what you think that is.

Basically,  this ‘problem’  depends on your choice , if it’s to stay  with BT as phone only customer , the equipment supplied for that isn’t yet public ( hence why your move to DV will be later rather than sooner )  , so it’s only speculation, but I would think it’s a ‘box’ that plugs into the mains and a phone plugs into that, no WiFi , possibly has DECT for cordless landline phones ….the BT broadband behind the scenes that delivers this is 0.5Mb ( probably less than your current SMPF broadband ) so easily has the bandwidth to handle telephony but you won’t be able to use it for anything other than telephony, but the price is only what a phone service costs ( cheaper than broadband ) 

only or join BT as a broadband and telephony customer, you will get the current SH2 router that delivers broadband and DV, you won’t be able to keep BT and someone else’s broadband on the same line.

Any other choice that means BT won’t be involved , so that option wouldn’t really have anything to do with this forum

[VeteranISPUser]

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@Squirrel898wrote:

Will BT need to check the strength of the local area wi-fi signal for the VOIP connection, if I stay with them?

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Hi @Squirrel898   Your question doesn't make any sense. BT Digital Voice does not use WiFi. Traditional phones simply plug into the Smart Hub 2 which will be your new master socket for telephony.

[rbz5416]

If you're happy with what you have now then it's probably best to worry about the implications of PSTN closure when it happens for you. As @iniltous has alluded to, that's probably still a couple of years away in your case.

Personally I'd be much more concerned with using hardware with no firewall, so you're entirely reliant on a software firewall on the PC. Even more so if that PC is running an unsupported legacy version of Windows.

[Squirrel898]

Apologies, let me re-word it: firstly putting aside my ISP and my broadband as irrelevant now, and sticking with the BT telephone service.

Is BT's Digital Voice service provided via 4 or 5G connection, which originates from 4 or 5G transmitted signal in my area, and is then received by a BT Voice wi-fi receiving device, and sent to a base unit which converts it for telephony use?

Or will BT lay new fibre lines which can provide broadband signal, converted inside the user's property to Digital Voice telephony (and/or for internet access if they also pay for that) to every home?

Or is BT going to use existing connections  currently supplied by copper wire, right up to my side of the wall socket, to send a broadband (only) signal, which it then converts to a VOIP service for telephony use?

If the latter, the entire process seems a little baffling.

[gg30340]

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@Squirrel898 wrote:

Apologies, let me re-word it: firstly putting aside my ISP and my broadband as irrelevant now, and sticking with the BT telephone service.

Is BT's Digital Voice service provided via 4 or 5G connection, which originates from 4 or 5G transmitted signal in my area, and is then received by a BT Voice wi-fi receiving device, and sent to a base unit which converts it for telephony use? No

Or will BT lay new fibre lines which can provide broadband signal, converted inside the user's property to Digital Voice telephony (and/or for internet access if they also pay for that) to every home? It will at some point in the future. Could be years away.

Or is BT going to use existing connections  currently supplied by copper wire, right up to my side of the wall socket, to send a broadband (only) signal, which it then converts to a VOIP service for telephony use? It will be a broadband only signal along copper cable from the fibre cabinet until the above happens.

If the latter, the entire process seems a little baffling.

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[iniltous]

No , DV is not delivered by mobile communications ( 4G/5G) , it’s not ‘mobile ‘ .

BT will not provide FTTP for anyone, Openreach may ( and eventually most will have it ) but it’s not essential, your existing copper pair will provide the connectivity for DV , it already provides your broadband.

DV is necessary because the PSTN network is past it useful life , IP telephony ( Internet protocol ) needs a broadband connection, you already have one , but it cannot continue on a shared basis , with two companies delivering products on the same ‘line’ 

Your choices have already been pointed out