If PlusNet belongs to BT - where is their landline switchover?

[#1]

"PN will move you to EE FOC if arranged through them."

Ee, by gum..

[#2]

Plusnet were running a Voip ( aka digital voice) trial a few years back - i was on it, this is the welcome message for that service

Welcome to the PlusNet VoIP Beta Trial! 

Your Broadband Phone Beta account is now active. Please take a few minutes to read through this e-mail as it contains important information about your account.

You will need to configure your software or hardware with the following account information before you can begin using the service.

If you do not already have any software, you can download our recommended softphone at this link:
http://www.xten.com/index.php?menu=download

Your account details
--------------------

Your Trial account type:    Broadband Phone 240
Your phone number:          01xxx xxxxxx
Your SIP ID:                88xxxxx
Your user name:             88xxxxx
Your SIP password:         xxxxxxxxx
Your voicemail pin code:    12345

Your server settings
--------------------

Your SIP domain:            sip2.plus.net
Your SIP proxy:             nat.plus.net:5082

You will need to update the server settings in your softphone or VoIP device configuration pages. For more setting information please go to the link below:
http://www.plus.net/support/broadband_phone/info/voip_trial.shtml?supporta=voiptrial#connect

The VoIP Trial Services Control Panel is where you can track your use and manage your account. This can be accessed by visiting -  
http://voip.plus.net

Before you start using your account, we recommended that you change your Control Panel password and SIP password to something more memorable. This can be done using the 'Contact Details' link found in the Control Panel.

VoiceMail
---------

We provide a free Voicemail service. If you are offline, then
messages will be taken and forwarded to you via email. You can
access the voice mail service by dialing *1 from your phone.
Alternatively, you may dial 0870 861 6661 from any telephone line.
When prompted, enter your mailbox number (8810020) and your
pin code (xxxx).

Who Can I Call?
---------------

Once you've got your account working, please try and make some test
calls to a geographic (01/02/03) number. This will deactivate the international call barring applied to prevent and protect you from fraud. You will only need to do this the first time you make a call. After this you can ring any non-premium rate phone number on the public network including international numbers.

You need to have credit on your account if you want to make telephone calls to non-geographic numbers that are not included as part of your monthly allowance. For example, calls to mobile phones and 0845/0870 numbers.

Credit can be added to your account in increments of GBP 5 or GBP 10 by raising a ticket to our support team - 
http://www.plus.net/support/broadband_phone/info/voip_trial.shtml#topup

You can ring your friends, who are also using the PlusNet trial, for free.
Simply dial their SIP ID or their geographic (01/02) number. If you have friends using other VoIP services, they can ring you by dialing xxxxxxx@sip2.plus.net.

You can also ring 160, which is an echo test. This will replay your
voice to you as it is received, so you can determine the latency
on this service.

We also have a speaking clock on 123.

We hope you enjoy using your Trial account and look forward to receiving your feedback. If you have any questions, suggestions for improvement or things you would like to see then please visit our Community Site discussion forums - 
http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/board,9.0.html

If you need to contact our support team then please get in touch by raising a support ticket on your account at the following address - 
http://trials.plus.net

Further details regarding the Broadband Phone VoIP beta Trial are available on our website - 
http://www.plus.net/support/broadband_phone/info/voip_trial.shtml

Thanks for your interest in the trial.

[#3]

@pint 

The fact that Plusnet once ran a trial of VoIP is totally irrelevant. The corporate management of BT has decided that the Plusnet brand shall be a ‘broadband’ supplier only. There is no point in quoting what might or might not have been the Plusnet management aspirations before the brand was fully incorporated into BT Retail.

The die is now cast!

[#4]

I think I will have to go to Age Concern for help understanding if migration to EE will allow me to continue top use my BT200 phone for deaf people.

It is tempting to go with Hyper-optic just to spite the [-Censored-].   

[#5]

I have a voice service running on Voip, the service is from a company called Voiphone and it uses a device called an ATA into which my analogue phones are attached, the ATA was purchased from Voiphone - its unlocked so can be re-configured if i want to change voip provider.

 The whole set up was incredibly simple - infact too simple as i like to have a little look at things and a bit of a tinker ( as long as i can go back to the last good config)

1: Signed up with voip provider and then soon after purchased the ATA  from them

2:ATA box arrived in post, pre configured (Grandstream HT801)

3: ATA  is powered by a micro USB lead - got loads of these floating around, plugged one of these into the back of my routers USB port to power the ATA, and plugged the ethernet cable into the Ethernet port on the ATA, voiphone packaged a BT plug to RJ11 adaptor, the RJ 11 end was plugged into the ATA, and phone to the other end

4: Ported landline number to Voiphone 

5: it just works - the supplied ATA was password locked, and  voiphone supplied the username/admin log in details, logged into it, left the settings alone and the whole thing just works.

Its something that could be easily sold on a plug and play basis by the likes of BT and would work on any ISP adn would easily resolve the issues that people will have if they are told their  voice service is being ceased/closed etc.

 It wouldnt take much to pair it all up with  a simple UPS that could even be powered by a basic powerbank that offers quick charging so vulnerable people can easily get new batteries in the event of a prolonged power cut

[#6]

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@ColdharbourDave wrote:

I think I will have to go to Age Concern for help understanding if migration to EE will allow me to continue top use my BT200 phone for deaf people.

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Why not ask BT? see links in here: 

https://www.bt.com/content/dam/bt/help/legacy-ug/phones/5405-bt-big-button-200-ug-v5-ed1.pdf

It is tempting to go with Hyper-optic just to spite the [-Censored-].   

---

Yout choice. Remember that if staying with a company that runs on the Openreach Full Fibre network, you have a wide choice of ISPs that you can easily change to in the future, should you choose.

Many Altnets, I believe including Hyperoptic, have their own exclusive fibre network. Changing ISP would require the installation of a new, separate Full Fibre connection to your property.

[#7]

Are you saying that I should migrate to BT - AND wave goodbye to 6 months of my monthly contract fee?

(Apparently ee take you on without sacrificing the 6 months contract if migrated via PlusNet)

Are you saying that ee or BT would provide fibre to cabinet - when PlusNet will only provide Full Fibre (as we in SW98SE) have now been designated a FULL FIBRE AREA so PlusNet can no longer serve copper to house connections (they say)?

The physical layout of my (copper) connection between the house, my next door neighbour and the exchange seems to make it inevitable that any Full Fibre connection will have to be a new connection top my house. I don't have a picture (photo) - but I am charging my camera battery in case you ask for one! 

In my opinion the main issue here is can ee provide Full Fibre which is compatible with my BT 200 telephone.

Their website lists that phone for sale https://ee.co.uk/products/bt-big-button-200-home-phone

but provides no information as to whether it is compatible with Full Fibre services.   

[#8]

@ColdharbourDave 

I take it the phone you mention is analogue.

So for BT/EE a digital voice adapter is available or the green port on the BT/EE Hub can be used

https://www.bt.com/help/user-guides/phones/digital-voice/digital-voice-adapter/ 

https://ee.co.uk/help/home-phone/getting-started/setup-use-digital-home-phone-adapter 

[#9]

This ee device is nearer what I want.

So now - I want to go through a multi-stage process of tranferring to ee and keeping my phones.

At what stage will I lose my email?

Will ee send an engineer round to sort it all out?

This is what BT wrote to my friend in Ipswich

On switchover day

We'll contact you once your Digital Voice is switched on. All you need to do is follow these three simple steps:

• Step one — disconnect. If there's no dial tone, you're ready to switch. Remove your phone cable from the wall socket but don't disconnect your broadband cable or filters
• Step two — reconnect. Plug your phone into the green Phone port on the back of your Smart Hub 2. Your Digital Voice service will only work with our hub
• Step three — you're ready to go. If you hear a dial tone, you're ready to make and receive calls. Remember to use the area code on all Digital Voice calls

[#10]

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@Dan_the_Van wrote:

@ColdharbourDave 

I take it the phone you mention is analogue.

So for BT/EE a digital voice adapter is available or the green port on the BT/EE Hub can be used

---

I recommended @ColdharbourDave  to check with BT as this phone has a built in amplifier and hearing aid compatible wireless interface. Whilst it also has batteries, it’s not clear from the instructions whether it also needs power from the PSTN, and if so, it’s within the REN capability of the BT/EE ATA.

[#11]

@ColdharbourDave 

Here is the link for the phone product details

https://www.bt.com/help/user-guides/phones/inclusion-phones/bt-big-button-200

The Phone adapters support tone dialing so hopefully it should work with this one

Still suggest you check yourself to be sure.