What happens to my POTs-based broadband when POTs dies?

[#1]

My POTs line rental and broadband contract ends Aug 2024. But I hear that POTs dies in the Spring of 2024 for East Anglia. So what happens to my contract and connection?

[#2 · Accepted solution]

@OldLes  POTs - as you call it - is the telephone component of your service, which means your phone will no longer work 'over the copper network' as it does now, you will have to investigate getting a Voice-over-Intenet-Protocol  (VoIP) service if your landline is important to you. Your broadband should continue, as the actual copper cables will remain in place for some tine to come.

[#3]

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Broadband to  Everything Else

[#4]

@OldLes 

There is a great deal of confusion being caused by BT retail. 
POTS is programmed to be switched off at the end of 2025. In preparation for this, BT customers, not Plusnet ones are having their landline phones switched to digital in East Anglia next spring, see https://newsroom.bt.com/bt-announces-regional-rollout-schedule-for-digital-voice.

[#5]

So if my landline phone is going to be broken after Spring 2025 you would think Plusnet would mention it at least.☹️

My router doesn't have a telephone jack (output) so any VoIP phone would have to plug into an RJ45. Given that Plusnet are contracted to supply a phone line that doesn't sound reasonable. Maybe BT have to hook up something like they do for people without broadband so the phone still works. But again you would have thought Plusnet, as my supplier, would have mentioned it by now.

It is not clear (to me) how many fibre networks there are. I think Virgin had a separate network to the BT one. Do other suppliers just rent capacity on a main fibre backbone? I know my mum had a virgin fibre installation (years ago) and they dug a thin trench to bury the fibre. But surely if you change suppliers they don't dig in a new fibre?

[#6]

Plusnet are not going to provide any phone connection (PSTN aka POTS, or VoIP) when the PSTN service is fully withdrawn (starting now for any product change!).

Although BT has some areas where they are already moving customers to VoIP, other ISPs will have to make their own plans to transfer customers - some already run VoIP services themselves, others will team up with third party VoIP providers.

Plusnet has decided that in the future they will only offer plain residential broadband - no phone lines, no VoIP, no e-mail, no business broadband, no mobile, no web hosting, etc.

Plusnet will arrange to migrate any customers that want to keep a phone line to EE.

Although the PSTN is being withdrawn, the copper lines will be around for a decade or so, and non-FTTP broadband will continue to be provided using the copper lines wherever FTTP is not yet available.

[#7]

@corringham Slightly OT, but the decisions as to what the PN brand will offer (or not) is made by BT Consumer.

[#8]

On the same subject.

Although I have decided to eventually dispense with my Plusnet PSTN service, it would be useful to have some idea when and how the service will be withdrawn. PSTN closure will be within the span of my next contract.

I guess some of the possible scenarios are:

1) PN withdraw the service when I re contract in April.

2) PN have a planned programme of phased withdrawal which they will share.

3) PN do nothing and let the service disappear when OR turn off the PSTN in general.

Associated questions are:

• On what basis is the service provided if 2 & 3 apply? i.e. what would the contract look like?
• If there was a PSTN fault during the next contract, would it be repaired and what rules would apply?

If anyone can offer any clarity or opinion I would be grateful.

Thanks.

[#9]

@jab1 , as you point out Plusnet is now just a brand name used by BT, rather than a separate company that is competing for customers. When I say "Plusnet has decided" I really mean "it has been decided that Plusnet".

I suspect it has been decided that Plusnet will be wound down completely and any remaining customers transferred to EE before too long...

[#10]

@Archer wrote:

I guess some of the possible scenarios are:

1) PN withdraw the service when I re contract in April.

If you make any change to services other than just renewing exactly what you have that will certainly be the case. It is possible that they will only offer you SOGEA, but that would mean they have to make a decision and they aren't very good at that.

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2) PN have a planned programme of phased withdrawal which they will share.

Not sure whether they have a plan - but I doubt they would share it with customers. They don't even share their plans with staff e.g. the date of business broadband closure and date of mobile closure are still undefined.

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3) PN do nothing and let the service disappear when OR turn off the PSTN in general.

I think that will happen to the majority of customers. To be fair, many customers don't use the land line - but I suspect that a good few that do will be taken by surprise when the phone goes away.

The contract allows them to withdraw services without penalty.

OpenReach are already becoming less enthusiastic regarding phone faults, and I have read of some cases where they have declared the fix uneconomic. I imagine that will become the norm.

[#11]

You could be correct, @corringham  - fortunately that won't worry me, except, possibly, for the loss of the wealth of knowledge within these forums, which will disappear.

[#12]

The original posts highlights the confusion caused by BT moving their customers to Digital Phone and the turning off the old landline service over copper. Copper cable will survive this switch off as it still required for FTTC with no landline phone (SOGEA) probably beyond the 2025 PTSN switch off.

From a plusnet customer point of view, making limited or no announcements on their product range future is really poor and should be seen as discourteous to us the customer, I've been one for 20 years.

With the evolution of broadband from analogue to digital does indeed result in new skills being required, but for those who like to help less to do, this trend has already started with issues with the end users equipment causing problems rather than the connection to the property.

Maybe John (@jab1) we need a new hobby?

[#13]

@Dan_the_Van You are probably correct about needing a new hobby. To be truthful, I am getting rather tired of this forum turning into a clone of the BT Broadband one, the lack of response from most who ask for help, and the obvious underhand way it is being 'managed' - see the fiasco which is https://community.plus.net/t5/Community-Site-Feedback/Forum-quot-Who-s-Online-quot-is-broken/td-p/19... .

[#14]

@jab1 , @Dan_the_Van , I agree these fora have become much less useful - apart from yourselves and a few others there is very little response to most posts asking for help/advice, and noticeably decreasing involvement by staff (and many staff responses are from scripts that are inappropriate or just plain wrong for the question asked).

I'm in the process of migrating my last SIM to another provider, and then I'll no longer be a Plusnet customer.

And since now the ONLY product they have available for me is sub-USO ADSL so I'll never be a customer again - so I'm not long for these fora...

[#15]

Sorry to hear that, @corringham . As you may (or maybe not) be aware, I am no longer a PN customer, merely staying on the forums to help those customers who ask for help.