In reply to a post by tdw42:

Other than BT Retail, with whom I would expect the majority of phone-only customers to be, are there any signs of other providers being interested in providing voice-only services?

There is of course the USO, so I would hope that the regulator ensures no loss of service during the technology change.

Unfortunately I've received that email from JohnLewis Broadband, which must have been initiated by TalkTalk (despite me telling them I wanted a new FTTP install, and absolutely no transfer of existing service).
Now have to do the song & dance with them & JohnLewis tomorrow to ensure that I don't lose the existing service before I have a chance to port the number to Sipgate.

It has not just been imagined, it has been trialled in Salisbury (FTTP) and Mildenhall (FTTC), and it's being rolled out nationally.

For those with no broadband, new SOGEA and FTTP products with 0.5Mbps up and down are being released.

Certainly, the CP will have to provide a router, and someone will have to plug it in, and plug their phone into the router. For those who aren't comfortable doing it themselves, I expect assistance will be available.

I would compare this to the TV analogue to digital switchover, and that was completed successfully.

Fair enough, I am perhaps too cynical

Edited by MilesR (Mon 06-Sep-21 20:24:08)

In reply to a post by candlerb:

Certainly, the CP will have to provide a router, and someone will have to plug it in, and plug their phone into the router. For those who aren't comfortable doing it themselves, I expect assistance will be available.

It is more complex than that if there is more than one wired phone.

Modern router with a low REN on its FXS port may struggle with a house full of ancient analogue handsets.

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Modern router with a low REN on its FXS port may struggle with a house full of ancient analogue handsets.

In this context, the only router which matters is the BT Smarthub - since the people who buy a voice-only phone line will be primarily those who don't know they can buy it from anyone other than BT.

I see the question has been asked, but I see no definitive answer as to the REN provided by the FXS port on the Smarthub:
* https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-phone-including-Dig...
* https://forums.thinkbroadband.com/fibre/4168506-ren-...
* https://www.draytek.co.uk/information/blog/the-end-o...

I very much doubt it will be a problem in the majority of installations, and in the unlikely case that it is, the solution will be either "unplug one of your phones" or "buy a BT extension booster".

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

It is more complex than that if there is more than one wired phone.

And in the digital TV switchover, some houses required their external antenna to be replaced.

At least changing the NTE to do voice reinjection doesn't require climbing on the roof

I don’t think you can buy those BT extension boosters any more? Never had one admittedly but would be quite odd for them to keep selling an accessory as an adjunct for a soon to be defunct PSTN infrastructure 😎

Some providers will sidestep the issue by advising their users to only connect a single phone to the router, as on this recent thread in the Hyperoptic section of the forum. Although the explanation of “phone signals colliding” by the Hyperoptic support fellow made me cringe!

I’d expect the main “easy” way out for CP’s would be to offer a DECT hub and handsets.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

At least changing the NTE to do voice reinjection doesn't require climbing on the roof

In reply to a post by candlerb:

Certainly, the CP will have to provide a router, and someone will have to plug it in, and plug their phone into the router. For those who aren't comfortable doing it themselves, I expect assistance will be available.

I'd expect in this instance 'granny' (unless she was a retired electronic engineer from QinetiQ) would definitely require assistance snipping the passives from the PCB of an NTE

Edited by Pheasant (Tue 07-Sep-21 08:29:09)

As indeed she did when her TV aerial needed replacement for the digital switchover. It's a non-problem: technicians can and will be sent out when required to provide assistance.

Who pays for it, and how it's organized, are the only details which matter.

It's an Openreach-driven migration and primarily affects BT retail residential customers. Since BT owns Openreach anyway, then presumably BT will end up paying in the end.