Loss of Landline

SpellowHouse

SpellowHouse

SpellowHouse

Soldato
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I was reading the other day that BT is going to switch off exchanges in a few years time, which will kill most landline phones.

Despite that this isn't that far away, it's extremely difficult to find any details anywhere. My own supplier, Zen, for example, doesn't seem to say anything or have any policy. So my question is really about the impending voip.

The difficulty I have is that I don't use a mobile and so don't have an emergency backup, nor would I want to use their router ( in fact they never sent me one but that's besides the point ). I assume, though, I can use any voip equipment? Can someone point me in the direction of equipment I should be looking at? I have old phones so would want to plug those in to individual sockets ( I know I need converters ).

The entire thing seems really expensive. I mean the converters are £50 each. A voip box with four sockets is £90. That doesn't even touch on potential UPS' for the router, modem and voip box?

See!? I need help on this!
 
They are going to start in 4 years time and completion will head into the 2030's.

That's the main reason you have little information right now.
 
AFAIA you won't 'loose your landline', it will simply change to an 'IP phone'. Similar to most office phones these days. You can pick up a cheap sip phone for ~£40, the Yealink SIP-T31 for example. I use Sipgate as my provider. Presumably ZEN will provide a service as well?

By the end of 2025, the current copper based PSTN network used for decades for calls and data services will be replaced fully by digital networks that carry data traffic using Internet Protocol (IP networks). In these new networks a telephone call is becoming just another data application using IP technology.
 
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ODuffer said:
AFAIA you won't 'loose your landline', it will simply change to an 'IP phone'. Similar to most office phones these days. You can pick up a cheap sip phone for ~£35, the Yealink SIP-T31 for example.

By the end of 2025, the current copper based PSTN network used for decades for calls and data services will be replaced fully by digital networks that carry data traffic using Internet Protocol (IP networks). In these new networks a telephone call is becoming just another data application using IP technology.
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I didn't say I would lose my landline, I said I would lose my landline phone.
You see, I use vintage phones that will not be compatible. Converters cost £50 per phone and will require a voip adapter for the house that plugs in to my router.
Secondly, I don't have a mobile so a power failure will leave me without a phone.
All in all this adds up to considerable additional cost and new boxes needed for the job. Not to mention re-wiring the fixed sockets in the house!
 
SpellowHouse said:
I didn't say I would lose my landline, I said I would lose my landline phone.
You see, I use vintage phones that will not be compatible. Converters cost £50 per phone and will require a voip adapter for the house that plugs in to my router.
Secondly, I don't have a mobile so a power failure will leave me without a phone.
All in all this adds up to considerable additional cost and new boxes needed for the job. Not to mention re-wiring the fixed sockets in the house!
Click to expand...
By vintage do you mean pulse dial?
 
"Secondly, I don't have a mobile so a power failure will leave me without a phone."

Yes this could be tricky, Perhaps keep one modern SIP phone for emergencies, my Mitel 5320e takes its power from the RJ45, so perhaps a small UPS for the router?


 
You've got multiple things going on here and have sort of packaged them together into a single grievance. Zen will handle the PSTN shutdown on your behalf, they will send you out a router that can work with the service, and touch-tone telephones will work with it.

The additional costs which you deem to be high are caused by wanting to use handsets over 40 years old, and not wanting to use the ISP-supplied router. They are costs that you're creating for yourself, so I find it difficult to sympathise too much. If you want to do this yourself without using any Zen equipment then you just need an ATA - you only have one phone line at the moment, so you don't need a 4 port ATA to mimic that, you just need a single port. You can then split this in the same way your current phone sockets are wired. You may even be able to use a single pulse to DTMF converter for multiple phones, though you'd need to ask the manufacturer of the devices for clarification.
 
Caged said:
You've got multiple things going on here and have sort of packaged them together into a single grievance. Zen will handle the PSTN shutdown on your behalf, they will send you out a router that can work with the service, and touch-tone telephones will work with it.

The additional costs which you deem to be high are caused by wanting to use handsets over 40 years old, and not wanting to use the ISP-supplied router. They are costs that you're creating for yourself, so I find it difficult to sympathise too much. If you want to do this yourself without using any Zen equipment then you just need an ATA - you only have one phone line at the moment, so you don't need a 4 port ATA to mimic that, you just need a single port. You can then split this in the same way your current phone sockets are wired. You may even be able to use a single pulse to DTMF converter for multiple phones, though you'd need to ask the manufacturer of the devices for clarification.
Click to expand...

I am not looking for sympathy, I am just looking for a solution.
I guess though I am griping about the cost, because I find it pretty typical that a service changes without any consideration to the exceptions. There must be other people out there who need their own router and have old phones!
It is good to know that I only need a single socket on the voip box. I suppose I was...well... actually it doesn't matter why I was worried.
I will ask about the converters. Thanks for the input on those too.
 
Can you make any recommendations for a an ATA? I just spoke to Zen and in fact I can get the full service now, so this has suddenly become an interesting project!!
 
The Cisco ATA191 is a good device, though I would run any questions past Zen as it's to be used with their service and you will want them to be able to support you.
 
Caged said:
The Cisco ATA191 is a good device, though I would run any questions past Zen as it's to be used with their service and you will want them to be able to support you.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yes I will. The main thing here is I want to use my own router so I won't be using their fritzbox. So I need to sort out an ata. Zen usually help with such things although of course they recommend their own gear. I just need to be able to go to them with an alternative.
 
Well, I spoke to Zen and unfortunately they can't help. It seems that they will not guarantee their voip to even work with anything other than the Fritzbox. This is because they have had trouble with some routers and devices so the don't have a "compatible device list" at the moment.
This means I would have to take the voip service from some other company.
Can anyone suggest a home voip service that's good value?
 
We use 8x8, but you have Vonage, Ring Central to name a few all doing the same thing.

I think 8x8 and Ring Central are more business aimed, whereas Vonage is the main leader in home voip. You obviously also have BT directly, but they seem to advertise their business offerings.
 
Haze said:
That's your personal choice though? Not because you can not get one?
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No wasnt my choice has letters through the door about digital voice coming in 6 months, you could choose a free new phone to use with it.
Then a letter a week before the copper line was being switched off, and to explain where to plug your phone into the router.
Now in my area you need to have digital voice be that via FTTP or FTTC. No old style dial tone.
 
Hmm I am not sure what to do. Most companies talk in terms of office use, there seems to be zero online stuff about residential voip. And the cost is about the same as a landline - so kinda useless really.
 
I get why you might want to use vintage phones and the rest of this post you’ll no doubt shoot down in a blaze of glory.

Here goes anyway, surely the solution here is to just buy a mobile phone at a fraction of the cost and complexity of all this voip stuff. For under £8/month you can have unlimited calls.

If you don’t have signal from any networks in your house you can normally be provided with a femto cell and piggy back off the fibre you’ll have installed to replace the copper.

You’ll also get all the benefits of having a mobile that you can use well almost anywhere.

I’ve just got my grandparents off their landline and onto a mobile, a smart phone no less. They were 100% all in on the landline and didn’t want to touch a mobile. Once I got them on the smartphone, there literal comment was ‘if only I had done this a decade ago….’.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
I get why you might want to use vintage phones and the rest of this post you’ll no doubt shoot down in a blaze of glory.

Here goes anyway, surely the solution here is to just buy a mobile phone at a fraction of the cost and complexity of all this voip stuff. For under £8/month you can have unlimited calls.

If you don’t have signal from any networks in your house you can normally be provided with a femto cell and piggy back off the fibre you’ll have installed to replace the copper.

You’ll also get all the benefits of having a mobile that you can use well almost anywhere.

I’ve just got my grandparents off their landline and onto a mobile, a smart phone no less. They were 100% all in on the landline and didn’t want to touch a mobile. Once I got them on the smartphone, there literal comment was ‘if only I had done this a decade ago….’.
Click to expand...

I have a collection of vintage phones and I really want to keep using them. So I am just in the market for a voip service that doesn't cost too much. Zen do one that is £7 pcm but the issue as I have said is that you are forced to use their router - which is not something I can do. I think I will start a simpler new thread which is just asking for recommendations for a voip service.
 
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