topic Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP in Business

Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

dlongltd — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 23:22:05 GMT

Hi all,

Not really a PN question but hope you can all help, infact I cannot even login to the forums with my PN business plusnet account for some reason so using my old home phone line account!

With the closing of business phone and broadband I have an issue and hope you can all help.

Currently have a copper fttc 78Mb line and phone, this enters the house and I use a Bt VDSL modem to connect to the PN router and a copper cable for the phone line down to my garden office some 20m away from the incoming point. (Router and phone physically in the office)

Now with a new BT Business FTTP connection the termination point will be in the house, not the garden office.

Due to extensive building works there is no way I can get a fibre patch cable to the office from the house meaning the router and voip phone will be in the house and not the office!

Obviously the network to the office is not an issue using existing Cat6 cables and a network switch, it the darn VOIP phone that's the issue, existing BT wireless phones cannot really make a sensible connection to the office from the house

So in essence my question is.

Is there a way for BT FTTP router be installed in the office via a device similar to the FTTC Vdsl modem and a Cat 6 cable?

Hope that all makes sense?

Also one last question, we currently divert the existing PN landline to mobile phones an awful lot, whilst the BT Voip voice can be transferred using their app I see no really good reviews! does it work well or should I avoid for as long as possible, currently transfer the landlines between two different mobiles phone quite regularly using *21* etc

Progress isn't always straight forward

Thanks for any input or help on this.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

bobpullen — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 01:13:54 GMT

@dlongltd wrote:
Currently have a copper fttc 78Mb line and phone, this enters the house and I use a Bt VDSL modem to connect to the PN router and a copper cable for the phone line down to my garden office some 20m away from the incoming point. (Router and phone physically in the office)

Can you explain this in a bit more detail as I'm not 100% clear? Are you saying that you have a PSTN/telephone extension run to the office and a modem/router/phone on the end of that?

Assuming the FTTP ONT will be in the house, then you'll need an ethernet run from the house to the office. Could potentially be done using the existing telephone wiring (and different faceplates) but depends what's behind the sockets and what - if any - extensions you have around the house.

Clarity on the wiring will inform any potential solution.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

dlongltd — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 09:06:35 GMT

Bt Mk2 filter master point is in the house and a copper extension for the phone line goes to the office.
From the BT master point in the house the Internet is connected via a Bt vdsl modem, from there via a Cat 6 cable it goes down to the office where the router is sited and connected via the WAN port.

Getting Internet to the office is no problem as Cat 6 is in place.

I was just hoping that a similar device to the vdsl modem was available for a FTTP connection so the router and new voip phone could be in the office.

Hope that helps a little?

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

MisterW — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 09:16:33 GMT

was just hoping that a similar device to the vdsl modem was available for a FTTP connection so the router and new voip phone could be in the office

It is, For FTTP an ONT is supplied, and installed by the Openreach engineer. Effectively this replaces your BT modem. If the ONT is installed in the same place as your modem , then the existing cat6 can be used to connect the router in its current location.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

dlongltd — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 09:17:22 GMT

That's the problem I think.

The supplied Bt Smarthub 2 and phone will be sited in the house and not the office.

The current bt dect phones do not connect from the house to the office, hence the wired connection for the phone line.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

MisterW — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 09:34:51 GMT

So just to clarify, you have both a cat6 and a phone cable from the house to the office?

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

dlongltd — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 09:35:42 GMT

Yes, that's correct.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

dlongltd — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 09:44:54 GMT

Just had a quick look and see I could disconnect the incoming line from the bt master point and use a phone to phone cable to connect the original wire to the office from the new BT hub 2, giving a phone in the office.

OR! can the new BT Viop phones be connected to the wifi in the office, not the wifi of the BT Hub2

Make any sense?

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

MisterW — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 09:57:03 GMT

OK, so in principle it ought to be possible to connect the dect base and the phone extension cable to the SH2 using a phone splitter (the exact connectors need to be thought about)

So the SH2 could be in the house , next to the ONT , the dect base connected via the spliiter. The cat6 feeds the office Internet from the SH2. the phone extension cable feeds an office phone via the splitter.

Needs detailed thoughs but AFAICS it ought to work...

Edit: posts crossed, you seem to have the same idea

The btw voip phones don't use WiFi, they are dect to the sh2

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

MisterW — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 10:37:06 GMT

Ok, to look at some details

( phone connections )

Disconnect the incoming line inside the master socket ( you will probably need to cut one side of either the ring capacitor or the resistor to remove the connection across the line pins 2 & 5 )

A Splitter ( something like https://www.screwfix.com/p/philex-bt431a-double-telephone-adaptor/13071 ) plugged into the SH2 phone port.

Phone to phone cable from splitter to master socket front plate, phone connected at other end of extension in office

Dect base plugged into splitter.

( internet )

Cat 6 from LAN port on SH2 to office ( presumably a network switch in office if multiple wired connections needed )

@bobpullen do you see any issues with the phone connections , would the multiple phones exceed any REN constraint on the SH2 for instance ?

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

dlongltd — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 10:42:03 GMT

Ok, so at least possible to get a phone line down to the office.

I see the new BT Digital voice phones connect via pressing the WPS button, hence the thought they might be WIFI connected but I see it is connected via DECT.

So I see no reason to not connect the BT Digital voice phone in the house to the Hub and use the phone adaptor to connect my office phone.

I will repurpose the old Plusnet/BT office hub as a data switch and wifi for the office.

Only one way to find out I think, and that's get it here and see what happens!

With a 10% + 3.9%CPI price hike due in April, I will hang fire on the move to BT until after this date

Thanks all for your help.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

Baldrick1 — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 10:53:19 GMT

Excuse me for butting in with what could be a silly suggestion but doesn’t the Smarthub 2 built in ATA work? If so, is it not just a case of taking the Cat6 cable, plug it into the ONT instead of the old modem, then locate the hub in the office. Then use the ATA to connect the existing phone line back to the house for distribution on. Obviously it will need disconnecting from the PSTN input at the master socket.

Then simply forget the VoIP phone and use the existing analog ones.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

MisterW — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:00:40 GMT

@Baldrick1 that's basically what I was suggesting, the only difference is the location of the SH2. In reality it could be either in the house or the office, it makes little or no difference

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

Baldrick1 — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:16:01 GMT

@MisterW

Yes, totally agree with you, things moved on whilst I was writing my post. I have used the hub ATA on a neighbour’s Sky hub to feed a couple of phones without problems with REN loading. The snag I had with this was that such is the design of the hub that a standard analogue 1 to 2 phone adapter would not plug in to the hub as the ATA socket is recessed. I have never tried it on a Smarthub 2. This needed in a bit of repurposing of an old lead to connect the extension.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

MisterW — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:26:25 GMT

@Baldrick1

The snag I had with this was that such is the design of the hub that a standard analogue 1 to 2 phone adapter would not plug in to the hub as the ATA socket is recessed.

Ah! in that case maybe a 'dangly' one would be better https://www.amazon.co.uk/Telephone-Socket-Adapter-Splitter-Doubler/dp/B076KDTPJ4

I have used the hub ATA on a neighbour’s Sky hub to feed a couple of phones without problems with REN loading.

Useful to know, I would imagine that the SH2 ATA is similar enough for it not to be a problem then...

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

Baldrick1 — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 12:11:00 GMT

@MisterW wrote:
Ah! in that case maybe a 'dangly' one would be better https://www.amazon.co.uk/Telephone-Socket-Adapter-Splitter-Doubler/dp/B076KDTPJ4

Yes, that would be ideal. However, the next snag is that if you want to connect that into a standard phone outlet you need a lead with male phone plugs on both ends. I ended up chopping the female socket off an old extension lead and hard wiring it in to the back of the fixed extension wiring socket.
On reflection, a better solution would be to just plug the bodged cable described above directly into the hub and leave the phone plugged into the original outlet, eliminating the need for an adapter.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

dlongltd — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 12:37:13 GMT

HI Baldrick,

By all means butt in.

I thought the Business Hub 2 would connect to the ONT via a fibre cable, rather than a network cable.

If this is the case that the BT ONT point is nothing more than a network cable point connection then we are all good and the new BT Hub can go in the office.

That makes things a bit easier

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

MisterW — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 12:43:22 GMT

Think of the ONT as a 'fibre modem'. It provides an ethernet port just like the old BT FTTC modem. It's wall mounted and physically similar in size to a BT master socket , although not as deep.

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

dlongltd — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 12:56:25 GMT

Fantastic, so the FTTP ONT is essentially the same as the old BT VDSL modem so straight swap and plug my office phone in to the BT hub 2 router in the office

I think all the confusion for me has occurred because I also have a Hey Broadband 1Gb FTTP connection, and this connection to their modem/router is via a fibre patch cable rather than ethernet.

Thank you all, been an interesting learning experience.

Shame BT couldn't tell me that yesterday when I called, they were adamant the BT Hub had to be sited next to the ONT connection point

Re: Business phone and broadband move to BT FTTP

MisterW — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 13:13:38 GMT

they were adamant the BT Hub had to be sited next to the ONT connection point

Absolute rubbish! Can be up to 100m away using cat5e or better cable will handle up to 1Gb.