Do i actual have to have a home phone as i only want BB

[#1]

Hi ive currently got both with plusnet and very rarely use my phone , the only reason I have it is to have broadband , surely I should be able to just have broad band on its own ?
I think its a con myself when they say you need both grrrr

[#2]

You don't need a home phone service but you do currently need a working phone line

[#3]

Hi rogernp20,
Welcome to the forums!
Unfortunately the broadband service is something that's delivered over the active phone line, as such you would need to retain this service to have the broadband.
There are options out there that would allow you to do away with the line although they all have their pro's and con's  
You have 3g/4g mobile services which can deliver a decent speed but you're restricted to using these in areas where mobile signal is attainable. It can also be expensive and isn't great when it comes to latency!
Then you have fibre services from the likes of Virgin which can be delivered without the need for a telephone service however this soon becomes quite costly when you only take the broadband.
There are other options such as satellite and Wireless Wide Area broadband providers however they become expensive and offer low speeds and usage levels.

[#4]

Thanks for your reply's , i might ring them up and see how much off i get if i do away with the actual phone service as ive been with them for over 2 years not so not in contract , although  i bet if i need alter things they would put me back into contract lol
thanks

[#5]

I think Strat may have misled you slightly...

Quote from: Strat

You don't need a home phone service but you do currently need a working phone line

While you don't need a phone service, no-one* will sell you a phone line without one!  Until Ofcom see the need for 'naked DSL' ie a line with nothing on it except broadband then BT Wholesale won't provide it as a product.  I'm in the same position, paying rental for a line all the way back to the exchange with a phone service available on it but only really need the line between my house and the nearest cabinet and no further...
*AAISP come closest in offering a line that you can't make any calls apart for freephone and 999

[#6]

Hi again rogernp20,
A downgrade of your phone plan wouldn't alter anything contractually for you however if you were looking to add in a special offer discount at the same time then it will almost always carry a new contract for the reduction in monthly cost.
If you do wish to explore this then the best department to speak to would be the Customer Options team who can be contracted direct on 0800 013 2632

[#7]

Quote from: pwatson

.. Until Ofcom see the need for 'naked DSL' ie a line with nothing on it except broadband then BT Wholesale won't provide it as a product.

A 'naked DSL' service would surely inherit most of the telephone line rental cost because you have to pay for the upkeep of the infrastructure somehow.

[#8]

Apart from Reed's very correct point - one thing not mentioned, I haven't time to go into detail atm, but there are good technical reasons for having a working phone line and using it, especially on ADSL, but even Fibre if you are some way from the Cab, even if you only use it for inclusive calls, but more importantly for incoming calls. Your favourite search engine should reveal articles with the reasons.

[#9]

Indeed as RR points out....
In the UK the rent/maintenance/repair/upgrades cost of the physical line to your address is dumped into a thing called "line rental" which is put as part of the voice service payment.
The net effect is that voice packages seem very expensive and BB very cheap.
OFCOM could equally say this component should be lumped in with BB charges and then we'd all find BB charges expensive and the add on for having a voice service as optional extra very cheap.
..and wait for the howls of outrage if they did.
Those on the web, and there are millions, who want naked DSL thinking that that means no line rental to pay just the BB charge are living on a different planet as the saying goes:  such a thing is not going to happen.
To be honest to make it clear to everyone we should be paying 3 separate monthly bills
1 to BTOR as network operator for our line and upgrades/repair etc
2. to our voice retailer for a voice service on the line
3. to our BB suppler for a data service on the line.

[#10]

Some very good points , and  I wouldn't have a problem with paying for 1 and 3 , think a lot more people are having more and more minutes on there mobile contracts like me and see no point in using the actually land line.
thanks guys

[#11]

If you do not make calls you are not paying for 2 at present.  Looking at PNs call package charges, only about £2 of the "line rental" charge covers a minimal level of outbound calls.  There is clearly a price to cover the inbound call service, but that is I guess minimal.
Note the voice service is required for line tests and diagnostics.

[#12]

And more less obvious technical reasons!