Line Rental - Migrating Questions

Hi all. I've got a couple of questions about line rental with fibre broadband packages which I hope you can help with. I've tried searching, but haven't found definitive answers. I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.

Currently my fibre package has separate line rental (i.e. it's not included with the broadband supplier). I pay for the broadband service and my partner pays for line rental.

I've just signed up to switch broadband suppliers to one which includes line rental with their package, and I'll be paying for it.

1) Do I or my partner need to do anything to cancel the existing line rental after we switch to the new fibre package, or will the new ISP we're moving to handle that for us?

2) Will the fact my partner currently pays for the line rental and I'll be paying for it with the new ISP cause any issues?

I didn't see anything about this during the signup process for the new ISP so I just assumed it would be handled by them behind the scenes, along with the move from my current/old ISP to them. However, now I'm a bit worried, so if anyone could help out with the questions about I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

This might seem irrelevant, but is your new package FTTC or FTTP? And is the new phone service over copper or VOIP, (such as BT's Digital Voice)?

Does the landline number matter to you at all?

(Note: FTTC still runs everything over copper as far as the cabinet, but I'm meaning from the cabinet to the exchange(s) which can be different. The new FTTC voice service could go either way depending on your package. FTTP and its voice service does not use copper at all after exiting your premises. It is always VOIP).

Edited by pluralist (Sat 25-Dec-21 20:11:13)

Hi, thanks for your reply. Both the existing package and the new package are FTTC. There hasn't been any change to the phone service for years, so it should be over copper. It would be better if the landline number stays the same, and there was a mention about this during the sign up process for the new ISP (PlusNet), which said it should stay the same.

Edited by linerentalq (Sat 25-Dec-21 20:20:41)

Is the phone number being transferred to the new provider….if so , that will trigger the cessation of the phone account , and the type of broadband service you have cannot be maintained without an associated line , the broadband will cease as a consequence , if you have accepted a new number , or a broadband service without telephony, it may be worth checking with the old phone line and broadband provider that they are aware you are leaving , this isn’t usually a good idea , but your SMPF ( shared metallic path facility) laying separate line rental and broadband is pretty rare these days

Plusnet allow broadband, including FTTC, with the phone line elsewhere. As long as they schedule Openreach to do the broadband migration (preferably the day) before the phone line there should be no technical problem.

Same day should be feasible but opens up the possibility of OR screwing up.

The trouble with scheduling the day before is that the different start dates for the two services could confuse the accounts system if line rental saver is being included, although it handles it fine, (or used to), if added during the broadband contract. Though I seem to remember something has changed wrt LRS.

It used to be 12 months, with bb ones 12/18/24 months, which was confusing.

In reply to a post by Iniltous:

Is the phone number being transferred to the new provider….if so , that will trigger the cessation of the phone account

The existing phone number should be kept with the new ISP, yes. Could you explain why this would trigger the cessation of the phone account, please? Is it because we're migrating from having separate line rental and broadband to having a single package containing line rental and broadband? Or is it because of the difference in who was previously paying for the line rental and broadband?

In reply to a post by Iniltous:

if you have accepted a new number , or a broadband service without telephony, it may be worth checking with the old phone line and broadband provider that they are aware you are leaving , this isn’t usually a good idea , but your SMPF ( shared metallic path facility) laying separate line rental and broadband is pretty rare these days

The old/current provider (Vivaciti) didn't include line rental with their broadband when I signed up in 2016, but when I checked their site now it says they do include it. I wonder if this is a further complication or shouldn't matter? I also guess this means we've been overpaying an extra ~£20 per month for line rental separately to BT when it should have been part of the fibre package from Vivaciti, but we were never made aware of this change to their fibre package.

In reply to a post by pluralist:

Plusnet allow broadband, including FTTC, with the phone line elsewhere. As long as they schedule Openreach to do the broadband migration (preferably the day) before the phone line there should be no technical problem.

Same day should be feasible but opens up the possibility of OR screwing up.

The trouble with scheduling the day before is that the different start dates for the two services could confuse the accounts system if line rental saver is being included, although it handles it fine, (or used to), if added during the broadband contract. Though I seem to remember something has changed wrt LRS.

It used to be 12 months, with bb ones 12/18/24 months, which was confusing.

So, would you expect Plusnet to be able to get BT/Openreach to move the line rental from the current separate BT service (paid for by my partner) to be included with the fibre package without any intervention from me? Meaning we wouldn't need to do anything, and we'd save the ~£20 per month that line rental currently costs.

It wouldn't be the end of the world to be without Internet for 24 hours if there's a messy switchover (could do portable hotspots with phones using minimal data just to get through it), but you've got me wondering if there's anything we should do (e.g. contacting BT/Openreach) to try and make the transition more likely to go through without a hitch.

I guess this situation we're in isn't that common, because I haven't been able to find any straight answers. Thanks for your help, again.

In reply to a post by linerentalq:

So, would you expect Plusnet to be able to get BT/Openreach to move the line rental from the current separate BT service (paid for by my partner) to be included with the fibre package without any intervention from me? Meaning we wouldn't need to do anything, and we'd save the ~£20 per month that line rental currently costs.

Yes.

This will make life easier for you in a couple of years (2023) time as the phone service only product (WLR) stops being sold.

Buying voice services from your broadband provider will be the only way to get a phone service.

Edit This reply was intended for @pluralist

I think you may be a bit behind the times with Plusnet policies, for a long while now any new orders have to be a combined phone line and broadband contract, and Line Rental saver has been discontinued.

So I would say if the OP orders a new FTTC service on the existing phone number Plusnet would request to take over the line, subject to the 10 working days anti-slamming rule. Any broadband service on the line will be ceased and replaced with the new Plusnet service. They should be able to perform a simultaneous phone/broadband order so the phone line and broadband become active on the same day. These orders sometimes don't go as smoothly as they should usually due to BT wholesale ordering system quirks.

Edited by Realalemadrid (Sun 26-Dec-21 13:15:47)

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by linerentalq:

So, would you expect Plusnet to be able to get BT/Openreach to move the line rental from the current separate BT service (paid for by my partner) to be included with the fibre package without any intervention from me? Meaning we wouldn't need to do anything, and we'd save the ~£20 per month that line rental currently costs.

Yes.

This will make life easier for you in a couple of years (2023) time as the phone service only product (WLR) stops being sold.

Buying voice services from your broadband provider will be the only way to get a phone service.

Interesting, thanks for the info about WLR too. I hope it goes smoothly, because we've been putting off the move for a while due to the unknowns about what might happen. It had to be done though, because at the moment we're paying over the odds for the fibre itself, then the extra ~£20 a month for line rental on top of that.