topic Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre... in Home Phone

Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

PNnewbie — Wed, 08 May 2024 15:33:49 GMT

Hi,

My contract is coming to an end in 3 or 4 weeks time. I’d previously had an email reminder from Plusnet and spoke to them this morning. I pay £39.65 (landline/broadband/calls package) at the moment whereas my renewal would apparently be £26.99. Once I’d got over the pleasant shock of something actually going down I called Plusnet only to be told that the £26.99 didn’t include my call package which bought it up to £39.68. I’ve seen this before and it’s just a trifle misleading…

Anyway the lady at Plusnet was trying to get me to go full fibre and forfeit the landline. I could apparently still use my cordless phone but plug them into the router instead of the GPO wall socket. Although I would not now be paying for landline the price would still be the same which I could not understand. Presumably this was because she was going to up my FTTC broadband speed from ~65Mbs to FTTP at ~150 Mbs.

The lady I spoke with was charming and helpful but I’m an antique and I find discussing technical things like this over the phone quite confusing - accents and poor hearing don't help!

Obviously Plusnet can do calls over fibre but then I see recommendations on here to use A&A as call provider... I wish to keep my cordless as we use that more than our mobiles.

I’m confused.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

bmc — Wed, 08 May 2024 15:51:20 GMT

@PNnewbie

Two things before going into detail

Is Full Fibre available to you? Have a look at the following amd see if WBC FTTP is in the left hand column and, if so, what it says to the right. There would also be a narrative below the results window about FTTP.

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

A&A is by all accounts a good VOIP provider. Have a look throught the following, especially the FAQ section. Note that VOIP doesn't work in power cuts so back up power is required.

https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/voip-information/

Brian

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

Mustrum — Wed, 08 May 2024 16:14:52 GMT

@PNnewbie wrote:

I could apparently still use my cordless phone but plug them into the router instead of the GPO wall socket. Although I would not now be paying for landline the price would still be the same which I could not understand. Presumably this was because she was going to up my FTTC broadband speed from ~65Mbs to FTTP at ~150 Mbs.

The lady I spoke with was charming and helpful but I’m an antique and I find discussing technical things like this over the phone quite confusing - accents and poor hearing don't help!

Obviously Plusnet can do calls over fibre but then I see recommendations on here to use A&A as call provider... I wish to keep my cordless as we use that more than our mobiles.

I’m confused.

PN do not offer a voice service over their fibre service, and the router phone point does not work, so she was telling porkies/misleading you.

You could do that with other suppliers, but not PN.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

MisterW — Wed, 08 May 2024 16:20:59 GMT

@PNnewbie

Anyway the lady at Plusnet was trying to get me to go full fibre and forfeit the landline. I could apparently still use my cordless phone but plug them into the router instead of the GPO wall socket.

I'm sorry, but you were given incorrect information, the Plusnet router phone port is non-functional.

Obviously Plusnet can do calls over fibre but then I see recommendations on here to use A&A as call provider... I wish to keep my cordless as we use that more than our mobiles.

I’m confused.

I'm not surprised!. Plusnet do not offer a voip (calls over fibre or Digital voice) service! . If you wish to take fibre broadband with Plusnet and retain a phone service, you need to port the phone number to a third-party voip service. In order to continue to use your cordless phones you will also need an ATA (Analogue telephone adapter).

edit Mustrum types faster than me , so the above repaets some of the information

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

PNnewbie — Wed, 08 May 2024 18:52:57 GMT

bmc – thanks for the links. It appears FTTP is available at this address (I suspected this was so as I think the lady next door had it installed a few months ago). Looking at the A&A pages I find them quite confusing. At the moment I get a phone package from Plusnet which allows me unlimited calls for a fixed amount (£12.69 I think) whereas A&A seem to charge by the second.

Mustrum said:->>> PN do not offer a voice service over their fibre service, and the router phone point does not work, so she was telling porkies/misleading you. <<<

Sadly it wouldn’t be the first time. In their defence maybe it’s my hearing but I do query things I don’t understand or doubt.

MisterW said:->>> In order to continue to use your cordless phones you will also need an ATA (Analogue telephone adapter). <<<

I presume that applies when I eventually move from landline phone?

I have approximately 4 weeks to decide so I suspect that to give myself some breathing space I’ll just renew my present contract (landline/broadband/calls package) and look at VOIP later.

Thanks for your help.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

MisterW — Wed, 08 May 2024 19:12:57 GMT

I presume that applies when I eventually move from landline phone?

correct

I At the moment I get a phone package from Plusnet which allows me unlimited calls for a fixed amount (£12.69 I think) whereas A&A seem to charge by the second

you can voip packages which include calls

However unless you make lots of calls then PAYG is likely to be cheaper. For instance A & A is 1.5p/min and don't forget there is no call setup fee like landlines. So you would get the equivalent of around 800 mins for your £12.95.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

PNnewbie — Fri, 10 May 2024 13:40:45 GMT

Mustrum – “Plusnet do not offer a voice service over their fibre service, and the router phone point does not work”

Does it not work because Plusnet do not offer a voice service over their fibre OR is the actual physical port inoperative? Plusnet used to use similar routers to BT and I presume the BT router would allow a phone to be plugged in (assuming BT could/can do voice over fibre).

With advice I’ve received on here I’m thinking of moving over to A&A for my phone calls, as MisterW says I’ll get ~800 minutes for what I pay Plusnet now so if the move from Plusnet to A&A is fairly painless that’s probably the way to go.

With A&A do I plug the mobile phone base to the Plusnet router, perhaps with a small interface that I’ve read about or can I just plug it in?

Sorry for appearing so dim…

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

Mustrum — Fri, 10 May 2024 14:34:46 GMT

@PNnewbie wrote:

Mustrum – “Plusnet do not offer a voice service over their fibre service, and the router phone point does not work”

Does it not work because Plusnet do not offer a voice service over their fibre OR is the actual physical port inoperative? Plusnet used to use similar routers to BT and I presume the BT router would allow a phone to be plugged in (assuming BT could/can do voice over fibre).

Both. Although based on a BT Router the functionality is not included in the PN router firmware.

With A&A do I plug the mobile phone base to the Plusnet router, perhaps with a small interface that I’ve read about or can I just plug it in?

It's not your mobile phone you use , but your existing standard phone plugged into an adapter (ATA) which in turn would be plugged into one of the routers ethernet ports. …Other options are available, but for now just to keep the explanation simple.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

PNnewbie — Fri, 10 May 2024 14:49:12 GMT

Mustrum - "It's not your mobile phone you use , but your existing standard phone plugged into an adapter (ATA) which in turn would be plugged into one of the routers ethernet ports..."

I'm sorry - I did mean cordless - Its a BT cordless with call blocker and three handsets and its base is conveniently placed near the router.

If the functionality is not included in the PN router firmware will I need to change the router? Plusnet are trying to persuade me to go FTTP (FTTC at present) so presumably if I do so the router will be upgraded - and will be suitable for having my cordless base connected into an ethernet port?

So many questions - sorry...

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

MisterW — Fri, 10 May 2024 14:56:43 GMT

@PNnewbie as @Mustrum said earlier, to use your existing cordless base, you will need an ATA (Analogue telephone adapter) into which your cordless base is plugged. In addition, this has an ethernet connection to one of the router LAN ports. All (well almost all) routers provide suitable LAN ports, certainly all the PLusnet supplied routers do.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

PNnewbie — Fri, 10 May 2024 20:07:09 GMT

Mustrum/MisterW – thanks for your input – and patience…

I’ll probably ask Plusnet to upgrade my FTTC to FTTP and look around for an Analogue Telephone Adaptor (ATA), they seem to cost ~£50, presumably they all do the same? I think I’m right in saying that with FTTP Plusnet will supply a different router. If I understand correctly I should then be able to connect my cordless base via the ATA to a suitable LAN port on the new Plusnet router.

Reading various threads seems I’m not the only one who is confused – makes me feel a ‘little’ bit better!

Probably a call to A&A in the morning, I wonder if they sell ATA boxes?

Thanks again.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

HPsauce — Fri, 10 May 2024 20:20:36 GMT

Yes A&A sell a selection of kit, including the Grandstream HT801 ATA.

They're not the cheapest, but if you buy from them you'll presumably get all the setup support you'll need. Might even be pre-configured, but check.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

Mustrum — Fri, 10 May 2024 20:37:50 GMT

@PNnewbie wrote:

Mustrum/MisterW – thanks for your input – and patience…

Seems you are getting there though.

As others have said A&A or others can sort out all the voice elements, and PN or others the broadband/internet stuff.

Or of course you could leave it all to one supplier, but not PN. The choice is yours, and no doubt you will have preferences. BT/EE, Sky, Talk Talk and A&A to name a few would do it all for you.

On a personal note, I find the whole thing very disappointing - over 10 years ago my "work" supplied me a VOIP system that I could answer/make calls from my desk, laptop softphone if I was in another office, another phone if signed in at home or any other phone in a corporate office, or even on my mobile if I was on the move. I know that is available from some suppliers now, but tends to be more for business users, I guess the mobile operators and lower costs have stopped that one - bit like Betamax / VHS maybe!

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

greygit1 — Fri, 10 May 2024 21:51:19 GMT

I have worked for a company that used a bit of VoIP. They managed to get calls from Nigeria presented with a UK number.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

HPsauce — Fri, 10 May 2024 22:10:11 GMT

In business (and outside it these days) you can pretty much present any number you want irrespective of the calls origin. VOIP or PSTN.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

PNnewbie — Tue, 14 May 2024 16:01:27 GMT

Just a quick update.

Spoke to Plusnet yesterday and Open Reach will be here next Monday to install FTTP Full Fibre 145, I've been on FTTC for a couple of years. Plusnet records show I have a Hub 2 router so I was told I won't need a new one.

A very helpful lady at A&A said to call back once the install is complete and she will port my number. Apparently that should take 4 – 5 days. I will also get an ATA box from them.

I’ll post when it’s all up and running but it all looks promising.

Thanks to everyone on here for their help.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

bmc — Tue, 14 May 2024 16:19:36 GMT

@PNnewbie

I believe you can set your A&A up in advance (a few quid for a dummy number). This lets you check you phone works and get the billing with A&A sorted out.

Then when FF is installed you phone, get the number ported and cancel the dummy number.

Remember to use your mobile for calls whenever possible to use any "package" you have with your mobile provider.

Brian

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

PNnewbie — Wed, 15 May 2024 07:59:53 GMT

bmc

A&A said that porting my number would take 4 to 5 days so probably not worth me doing anything else in the meantime but thanks for the suggestion. I’ll plug everything in – cordless phone into the ATA and ATA to Hub Two and it will hopefully be OK - I'm sure it will - everyone on here assures me it will!!!

I have a pay as you go mobile with Vodaphone so sadly no ‘package’ of free or cheap calls. Maybe when all this is over I may search around for a different mobile deal.

Thanks again.

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

PNnewbie — Mon, 20 May 2024 15:02:19 GMT

Just had the OpenReach Engineer here this morning connecting me to FTTP. When he’d finished he checked the speeds on his mobile which he showed me and said that it seemed ok.

I have two desktop Dell PCs in the back room each connected via ethernet cable to a D-Link switch, this in turn is connected to my Hub Two router again obviously via ethernet cable. My speeds have been ~68 Mbps down and ~15Mbps up for a couple of years (on FTTC). I also have a Dell 7490 laptop in the front room and it’s also given me virtually identical speeds to the desktops, via it's WiFi.

After going onto FTTP both PCs still show similar speeds - but ~94 Mbps down and ~22 Mbps up. I’m on Plusnet’s Full Fibre 145 so this is way down on what I was expecting… When I queried this with the OpenReach Engineer he said it might take a few days to settle down.

Now here is where it gets interesting – I did a speed check with my Dell 7490 laptop and it shows ~149 Mbps down and ~29 Mbps up – the sort of speeds I was expecting.

Couple of things I’ve tried:-

The Hub 2 router has 3 internet ports on the rear, well 4 really but one is marked WAN and has a lead going to the small box the Engineer fitted. I’ve tried all three ports and get the same results.

I’ve also tried turning the router on and off – nothing changes.

I was hoping this move to FTTP would have been straight forward then I could have phoned A&A to port my landline number, as it is – slight hiccup!

Does it look like a Hub Two problem?

Re: Renewing contract and maybe moving home phone to fibre...

MisterW — Mon, 20 May 2024 15:11:43 GMT

I have two desktop Dell PCs in the back room each connected via ethernet cable to a D-Link switch, this in turn is connected to my Hub Two router again obviously via ethernet cable.

After going onto FTTP both PCs still show similar speeds - but ~94 Mbps down and ~22 Mbps up.

@PNnewbie check that

1) your PCs have gigabit ports

2) your switch has gigabit ports

3) all your cables have all 8 cores