My mother has recently received a pendant/alarm system that has a box with sim card and it works very well. Even the smoke and heat alarms are registered to the box and trigger a call back when activated.

In reply to a post by CJT:

And who would the "right provider" be?

I am guessing it's NOT Zen based on your previous comments....

You would be 100% correct making that assumption, if you want a black box solution then not Zen, I would even suggest Sky or Vodaphone are a better choice than Zen.

In reply to a post by broadband66:

My mother has recently received a pendant/alarm system that has a box with sim card and it works very well. Even the smoke and heat alarms are registered to the box and trigger a call back when activated.

I am glad to hear they provided such an option. Thankfully at present we have not had to have a pendant alarm for Mum but it’s good to know an option like this exists.

In reply to a post by PCJM40:

In reply to a post by CJT:

And who would the "right provider" be?

I am guessing it's NOT Zen based on your previous comments....

You would be 100% correct making that assumption, if you want a black box solution then not Zen, I would even suggest Sky or Vodaphone are a better choice than Zen.

Tried Sky as overpriced for call plans as BT/EE and for some bizarre reason the higher speed package, which she has NO need of was cheaper then the speed she can get! Vodafone are a potential option.

Out of mild curiosity what is your issue with Zen?

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

As naff as it is, I think people will have to get used to mobiles, it is possible to get mobiles like the TTfone TT190 that have large numbers and other things that can be got on a normal phone.

Even an inexpensive 4g "feature phone" will allow a little web browsing depending upon sufficient data allowance. Possibly handy if the SoGEA or full fibre service is down? 3g mobile broadband usb dongles will soon be totally redundant so rather than invest in a 4g/5g LTE data only solution, as broadband backup, one might as well find a suitable "feature phone" and sim deal. A "smart phone" may well an "over the top" solution for voice, text and where only limited broadband backup is required.

Personally I would look at mobiles for voice etc. rather than VoIP but the OP considers a DV/VoIP solution to be more suitable and that's fine.

In reply to a post by CJT:

[Hi [b]4M2,

I am really glad to hear you were able to move your Aunt over to using her Mobile more and if it's more economically viable that's even better. I am going to encourage my Mum to make sure hers is charged and on (and somewhere she can find it at home) going forwards just in case of an emergency. However as per my reply to DFScale I don't have hope in her moving over entirely, so for now DV is the better option for her.

I can fully understand the situation and your need to keep things as manageable as possible. Certainly broadband and VoIP from differing providers may over complicate things especially if a powered ATA is needed. If she is happy with a DV/VoIP and broadband bundled deal from a provider such as Zen and keeping her mobile accessible and active then that's fine. She may in due course find that a mobile phone might be sufficient for her needs and just have that account for voice/text.

Good luck.

In reply to a post by CJT:

Out of mild curiosity what is your issue with Zen?

You make it sound like I have a beef with Zen

For your relatives use case, I don't believe Zen are the correct provider, add that to Zen's own backhaul being problematic it doesn't bode well. I've said my piece I won't raise my concerns again I promise

In reply to a post by broadband66:

My mother has recently received a pendant/alarm system that has a box with sim card and it works very well. Even the smoke and heat alarms are registered to the box and trigger a call back when activated.

That is good, but would be a problem for someone who did not have a good mobile signal. As i said above, it is the way things are going with no landline, but a reliable system need to be put in place first., I think now that it is all being rushed and communication have been naff. Just because ISPs may have known about this for a few years, the majority of people did not.

In reply to a post by 4M2:

Even an inexpensive 4g "feature phone" will allow a little web browsing depending upon sufficient data allowance. Possibly handy if the SoGEA or full fibre service is down? 3g mobile broadband usb dongles will soon be totally redundant so rather than invest in a 4g/5g LTE data only solution, as broadband backup, one might as well find a suitable "feature phone" and sim deal. A "smart phone" may well an "over the top" solution for voice, text and where only limited broadband backup is required.

Personally I would look at mobiles for voice etc. rather than VoIP but the OP considers a DV/VoIP solution to be more suitable and that's fine.

As I said above, it is fine as long as the mobile signal is good, there are still many places where mobile phone signal is naff, even in this city I live in, there are places where mobile signal drops to virtually Zero.
Where my partner live, the only signal I can get there is 2G if I am lucky, granted she has fibre so i can use Wi-fi calling.

In reply to a post by PCJM40:

You make it sound like I have a beef with Zen

For your relatives use case, I don't believe Zen are the correct provider, add that to Zen's own backhaul being problematic it doesn't bode well. I've said my piece I won't raise my concerns again I promise

I apologise if I misunderstood your responses, it appeared to look as if you disliked Zen but I appreciate everyone’s input including yours.

I understand Zen has had well publicised backhaul issues, but these seem to be behind them if you’ll pardon the pun.

As you have said you don’t feel Zen are a viable option, who would you suggest are a viable option in my Mum’s circumstances?