New fibre and moving landline number

[#1]

I'm delighted that full fibre is now available in my area and have immediately put in my order to upgrade, staying with Plusnet as the service has been amazing for my needs. I'm fine with having to find another provider for our landline number (still have a lot of use for it for work) but I just wanted to check in advance of the change what I need to do to keep the number.

As I understand things, once my new full fibre is up and running I have 30 days to port the number to a new provider like A&A, correct? Do I need to do anything else beforehand?

Cheers!

[#2]

Do I need to do anything else beforehand?

@fusileer2002  -no.

[#3]

@fusileer2002 

The golden rule is not to start the number port until you're told your full fibre service is up and running.

There will be some downtime on your phone service while the number is ported.

If you choose A&A and if I understand correctly the online order page has the option to tick "Port Ceased Number" - this is what you need to choose.

Brian

[#4]

@fusileer2002 

If you need to make a lot of calls for work and want a calls package then do look at other VoIP providers as well as A & A.

You will need either to invest in new digital phones or use your current phone with an ATA. Consider whether to buy a pre configured 'package', including the chosen hardware from your new VoIP provider, or buy it yourself. If the latter, get it ordered and familiarise yourself with the configuration requirements.

In some cases the fibre will not enter your property in the same place as your current phone master socket. If your home working space is elsewhere, be aware that without some rewiring, telephone extensions will not work. Alternatively, you may find it best to install Ethernet cable from the fibre ONT location to allow you to install your Hub or your phone adapter in your work location.

Be aware that in the period between when your Full Fibre goes live and when your phone number is recovered and ported over to the VoIP provider, you will be without your landline phone. I understand that this can take several days. If this affects your work you may need to make alternative arrangements for this period.

[#5]

@fusileer2002 

To follow on from the previous post

If you make a lot of outgoing calls then A&A is probably not the best VOIP provider for you. However, it you can use your mobile for outgoing then it becomes a worthwhile consideration.

The phone port on the Hub2 does not work. You can buy routers that have a working phone port which negates the requirement to get an ATA. Ex Zen routers on eBay are worth considering. The FritzBox has a good reputation.

Brian

[#6]

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@bmc wrote:

@fusileer2002 

If you make a lot of outgoing calls then A&A is probably not the best VOIP provider for you. However, it you can use your mobile for outgoing then it becomes a worthwhile consideration.

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A frequently repeated misconception.

As I suspect Baldrick1 *might* have been inferring in his earlier post, it's possible to use multiple VoIP accounts with the right equipment, so A&A with their low monthly 'hosting' charge can be used for incoming calls, whilst presenting the same number as CLI for outgoing calls using another account.

Accounts are available with no contract or monthly charges but very low or 'free' (for a period) call charges which are suitable for this purpose, e.g.

https://www.freevoipdeal.com/dashboard

https://www.discountvoip.co.uk/dashboard

There are many more.

[#7]

No, I was not inferring the use of different services for making and receiving calls. 
As far as I am aware A & A don’t offer calls packages, but instead cheap call rates. Others offer packages. The cheaper option depends on the time spent making outgoing calls and whether these are to landline or mobile numbers.

[#8]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll be sure to shop around when choosing a voip provider. 

[#9]

We’ll shortly be in a similar situation so following this thread….