Resurrecting inactive phone line for BB

[JonE]

I'll be moving from EU to a UK property which has a physical phone line (with master socket in wrong place, of course) but has had no active phone service for many years (last provider was BT on ADSL Max).

It's in WW region (Devon) with WBC exchange now having BT FTTC but just TalkTalk & Sky (so, presumably, 'Now') enabled at the exchange (according to SamKnows). Is there any hidden gotcha (such as exit charges) in opting for initial 12-month contract on LLU outfit such as 'Now''?

Significantly, anyone know how long it may take between placing an order with outfit other than BT and having BB working on a currently non-active line? I suspect that it won't be as straightforward as a switch between BB providers. MiFi device and 3 SIM ready to go but for how long might I be dependent on same?

Cheers!

[pje16]

I'll be moving from EU to a UK property which has a physical phone line (with master socket in wrong place, of course)
Cheers!

Not sure what you mean by the wrong place
I have had mine moved as originally it was to the right of the window at the front of the house
but I have had it moved as my router, PC and TV are in the middle of the room
and with fibre broadband the router has to be plugged in to master socket
The Open Reach guy who did it told me tell any engineeer that comes here in future where it is now, as they will assume it is the one nearest to the street

BT seem to take around 15 days
not sure who else you were thinking of using

[gryffron]

If it was me, I wouldn't try.

If you think there's any doubt about the line being inactive, then go straight to BT. Cos they own all the infrastructure and everything is their problem. They can't fob it off on somebody else. With any of the resellers you get endless arguments, delays, and companies blaming each other for the problems. Let BT make it all work, then shop around when your initial contract expires.

Gryff

[Infrasonic]

If it was me, I wouldn't try.

If you think there's any doubt about the line being inactive, then go straight to BT. Cos they own all the infrastructure and everything is their problem. They can't fob it off on somebody else. With any of the resellers you get endless arguments, delays, and companies blaming each other for the problems. Let BT make it all work, then shop around when your initial contract expires.

Gryff

That was my take years ago when I was a BT customer.

BT own EE and Plusnet now though so I don't know how much leeway you'd get if you were their customer and you got an issue with the infrastructure - it might need a scan of the small print .

[pje16]

BT own EE and Plusnet now though so I don't know how much leeway you'd get if you were their customer and you got an issue with the infrastructure - it might need a scan of the small print .

I have had several issues in the last few years as the cables in cabinet as well as underground connection grid in my road are like a boxes of spaghetti
so when they fix one connection they often break others
Whenever I call Plusnet they get Open Reach here normally within 2 days
I do recall the days years ago when you felt like piggy in the middle between BT and your ISP
doesn't happen now.. well not in my area

[SteelCamel]

If it was me, I wouldn't try.

If you think there's any doubt about the line being inactive, then go straight to BT. Cos they own all the infrastructure and everything is their problem. They can't fob it off on somebody else. With any of the resellers you get endless arguments, delays, and companies blaming each other for the problems. Let BT make it all work, then shop around when your initial contract expires.

Gryff

Unfortunately that doesn't help. The infrastructure is Openreach, which is part of the BT group but completely separate from the retail part of BT. In fact other suppliers may be better as they may have unofficial contacts in Openreach while BT is strictly prohibited from using unofficial channels to talk to Openreach.

[AF62]

go straight to BT. Cos they own all the infrastructure and everything is their problem

Not necessarily - Some of the equipment in the 'BT' exchange might not be BT's but belong to another ISP.

A few years back I got fed up with VirginMedia and decided to go with a 'real' phoneline rather than cable. At the time Sky were doing better deals than BT so I got Sky to install a new phone line in my house as there had never been one - although obviously it was Openreach who actually did the physicall installation.

Roll on a couple of years and BT were offering a better deal than Sky and I thought it would be a trivial matter to swap from Sky to BT, but no, Openreach needed to be involved again to actually move the connection in the local exchange from Sky's equipment to BT's (or Openreach's?).

[didds]

If it was me, I wouldn't try.

If you think there's any doubt about the line being inactive, then go straight to BT. Cos they own all the infrastructure and everything is their problem. They can't fob it off on somebody else

Gryff

well, in my experience BT does fob it of onto somebody else. Because you are speaking to BT Broadband/domestic/phones, and they will fob you off with it being BT Openreach, a separate entity despite both being part of BT etc. That's the reality of it.

That all said, Gryff is pretty much right. Whoever you go to for your b/b and phone line etc ultimately its Openreach who get the line running. And AIUI there is no such thing as B/B on a non working phone line. They both basically "have" to be in place.

as far as i understand it anyway. Delighted to be wrong cos then i'll bin off the landline that we dont use for calls either incoming or outgoing!

didds

[SteelCamel]

That all said, Gryff is pretty much right. Whoever you go to for your b/b and phone line etc ultimately its Openreach who get the line running. And AIUI there is no such thing as B/B on a non working phone line. They both basically "have" to be in place.

as far as i understand it anyway. Delighted to be wrong cos then i'll bin off the landline that we dont use for calls either incoming or outgoing!

Not any more. Analogue phone lines are going away - they're already off sale in some places, and will go off sale everywhere next October. If you've got an analogue phone line and don't get rid of it beforehand, by December 2025 the service will be withdrawn. It's now possible to have broadband without a phone line in some places and with some ISPs - and in fact I think Sky now make this the default wherever possible. "SOGEA" is the magic word if you want to read more about it.
If you have one of these services, and still want a phone, it usually plugs into the back of the broadband router. Or you can get a VoIP handset, use an app on your mobile/PC/tablet, etc...

As to reactivating a line - it doesn't really matter who the supplier is. Openreach will do most of the work. If the line has a dial tone, this could be as simple as turning it back on in software at the exchange. If not, it will need connections made in the DP - which is in a street cabinet or up a pole depending what kind of cabling you have. Either way the engineer will probably want to visit the house so they can run a test on the line and sign off that it works - they usually plug in an automatic tester that runs a whole battery of tests to make sure the line is in spec.

[didds]

cheers for that steel camel.

So if one has got such a non analogie b/b, and can ditch the landline... does that mean the line rental charge goes as well ? Or do you pay line rental as well as b/band still?

didds

[swill453]

My parents just got Virgin cable TV, broadband and phone installed in their new house. They now do it with no separate phone line. Only the cable co-ax comes into the house, and the phone plugs in the back of the modem/router.

Scott.

[JonE]

Some of the equipment in the 'BT' exchange might not be BT's but belong to another ISP.

Exactly so. As I wrote, it's an LLU exchange but only TalkTalk & Sky have enabled equipment in it (and I expect that 'Now' would use the Sky equipment).

I thought it would be a trivial matter to swap from Sky to BT, but no, Openreach needed to be involved again to actually move the connection in the local exchange from Sky's equipment to BT's (or Openreach's?).

So it may take a little longer to switch from LLU equipment to OpenReach equipment and there's the possibility of, say, new provider charging a supplement to cover their costs in that transfer. Still, that's down the line = whenever I wish to switch from initial supplier (if that is via Sky or TalkTalk equipment) so perhaps I'd just wing it.

I'm still wondering how far in advance to order so as to have BB fairly soon after I arrive. 2/3/4 weeks - or could it stretch out much longer given that it's not just a switch of a existing supply but rather more like provisioning a new supply over the existing physical copper pair to the house.

Cheers!

[SteelCamel]

cheers for that steel camel.
So if one has got such a non analogie b/b, and can ditch the landline... does that mean the line rental charge goes as well ? Or do you pay line rental as well as b/band still?

There haven't been separate line rental charges for years - you'll be quoted a single price that includes the rental and services. Ofcom insisted they are quoted that way after some providers advertised really cheap broadband with the high "line rental" in the small print.

I think it's unlikely you'll see any major reduction in price for not having an analogue phone line. While Openreach may complain about the cost of maintaining the exchange, the biggest part of of the cost has always been the cost of maintaining the cabling. In this new world, you still have just as much cable - the only difference is that it's a fibre cable rather than copper, at least as far as the cabinet.

[didds]

which makes total sense!

next question as you seem knowledgable and my brain is now working overtime...

If somebody (eg my Mother in law) doesnt have broadband at all, ever etc but does have a phone line... when analogue lines disappear, they/she will just be provided with the necessary kit to work over digital, or is it they/she'll see no change at all form her perspective?

didds

[pje16]

It's not clear at the moment


Ofcom has stressed that telecoms providers have an obligation to ensure all households have access to the emergency services.
This means firms may need to provide customers with a free mobile phone or battery packs.
from

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -cope.html
but this was last August

PS my dad's in the same boat (ie no internet)

PPS ths page has more comforting info
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-ad ... elephones/

[AF62]

There haven't been separate line rental charges for years - you'll be quoted a single price that includes the rental and services. Ofcom insisted they are quoted that way after some providers advertised really cheap broadband with the high "line rental" in the small print.

Perhaps someone should tell BT as my bill from them separates the line rental from the broadband charge.

I pay the line rental in a single annual payment with their ‘line rental saver’ option which saves a months line rental cost and the broadband charge (Fibre 2 80/20) is then £2.44 a month.