Thank you for all the reply, it makes me wonder why all the talk about FTTP that this issue has not been pointed out, i think for the time i will just get signed up with Zen and use my mobile, when FTTP is more available the whole phone and broadband package will be one I will upgrade

Edited by idmanager (Sat 27-Jul-19 14:07:43)

In reply to a post by burble:

As I will be moving to FTTP, this thread atracted my interest, there are several suggestions for VOIP providers, so looked them up as I will be needing something to replace my TalkTalk anytime UK landline/mobile call package which costs £6.50 a month, I can't find anything even close. Maybe you could direct me towards a similar value package?

As I said earlier you're not currently paying just £6.50/m for the voice part on TalkTalk, there's also the voice line rental which you're paying (at least £15 /m). So the total cost is £20+ /m which is considerably more than what VOIP providers charge for a similar voice package. Just because TalkTalk (& other ISPs) no longer show the line rental charge separately, it doesn't mean its magically disappeared. This is down to an ASA ruling from 2016 (see here) which states that broadband providers must include the line rental in their monthly pricing.

Btw the cheapest VOIP service with unlimited landline/mobile calls i can think of is Sipgate @ £9.95 /m, around half the cost of your TalkTalk service (incl line rental).

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

there's also the voice line rental which you're paying (at least £15 /m).

To be honest I think its difficult to say how much you actually pay for a telephone service nowadays because of the combine pricing for both broadband and telephone services from one supplier. When I was last checking out some prices I did only see a £2 /m difference between broadband with and without a telephone services.

In reply to a post by dect:

When I was last checking out some prices I did only see a £2 /m difference between broadband with and without a telephone services.

Prices here include the optional £10.00 per month for a copper pair

I agree, now that providers must show an all inclusive price it can sometimes be difficult to see how much you're paying for the line rental component.

However looking at BT's voice only prices, they're showing a monthly rental price of £19.99 /m and the likes of TallkTalk/Sky/Vodafone et al are only a few quid cheaper. I believe TT continue to offer a voice only service (ie without broadband) though you have to call them up to get this as their website only lists broadband + line rental packages.

https://www.bt.com/landline/

Edited by deleted (Sat 27-Jul-19 16:43:06)

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

In reply to a post by Blmcg:

Openreach have (now publicly) announced a stop sell on FVA from March 2020, so don't expect it to be around in a couple of years.

Thanks, that probably explains why the voice port no longer exists on the latest ONT (1+0).

Is that very new? The last install I saw a couple of months ago was the combined enclosure with a BBU and HG8110 ONT with sockets for one ethernet and one POTS connection.

Ditching FVA in light of the withdrawal of copper and aspirations of full fibre seems backwards - for those people only requiring a phone service having a single box installed by Openreach to which you connect a phone would not be dissimilar to now:
POTS socket on an ONT is the equivalent to that on an NTE,
FVA is the equivalent of the voice copper circuit,
Voice LLU is equivalent to the telecoms provider running their own SIP server to terminate the FVA connection,
WLR3 is equivalent to the telecoms provider buying in SIP services - I seem to recall BT Wholesale did trial this, or certainly issued a consultation.

If you just want a "landline" phone then a 3G desk handset (~£30) and an unlimited calls SIM (~£10 pcm) is cheaper and a better option for most people. A lot of people already don't use their landline for calls another 5 years and it will be even fewer.

In reply to a post by jabuzzard:

If you just want a "landline" phone then a 3G desk handset (~£30) and an unlimited calls SIM (~£10 pcm) is cheaper and a better option for most people. A lot of people already don't use their landline for calls another 5 years and it will be even fewer.

I'm thinking more of older people who can find change difficult, and then there are those with wired emergency call alarms too. Over time this will change, but in the timescales mooted there will still be a sizeable number of users.

Mobile isn't necessarily the answer, I suspect the percentage of homes which have indoor 3G coverage is less than those which fail to meet the broadband USO criteria (I'm sure Mr S could rummage and find some figures).

In reply to a post by tdw42:

I'm thinking more of older people who can find change difficult

I agree change is difficult for some and its not necessary the elderly, remember back to when we switched from analogue to digital TV (I think it was 2012) there are always those that put it off until the last minute or are not sure exactly what to do but we did get through it and everyone now has digital TV.

Other than on the broadband websites I have not seen any mention of the switch off, it needs to start being discussed across the country via all media channels so people know what their choices are going forward. Maybe all customers affected by it should have information sent with every bill between now and 2025.

In reply to a post by burble:

Back when this site was ADSLguide and did modem reviews, off the back of one of those reviews I brought a Zoom modem with socket to plug phone in and make VOIP calls, at the time it was by far the cheapest way to phone family members around the world. Times have moved on and haven't used VOIP for years relying on emails, sms, and Skype calls for international and cheap packages for UK calls.

As I will be moving to FTTP, this thread atracted my interest, there are several suggestions for VOIP providers, so looked them up as I will be needing something to replace my TalkTalk anytime UK landline/mobile call package which costs £6.50 a month, I can't find anything even close. Maybe you could direct me towards a similar value package?

Using VoIP in a domestic (as opposed to business) environment I pay what I consider a very small amount per year for my VoIP calls, but I don't use any of the VoIP companies mentioned so far, at least not for outgoing calls.

Other people do the same as me, but before I go to the effort of explaining how it's done, would you mind giving us an indication of the quantity and type of calls you wish to make to see if the accounts/methods used would be suitable for your use?

IMO Skype is not cheap unless you're using it to make free calls to other Skype users, and that obviously excludes calling normal telephone numbers.