How does SoGEA work?

My current ISP have just passed on an OR price rise for the PSTN part of my broaband (FTTC). This has inspired me to look at cheaper alternatives...
Two questions:
FTTP isn't available to me yet, so I guess SoGEA is the second best option. Can a standard PSTN/VDSL combo be 'converted' to a SoGEA line? Or is it a case of ceasing the PSTN line and intalling a separate SoGEA line?
A lot of ISPs now say "phone line not included" (e.g. Zen) - Am I right in assuming that means the phone number, rather than the phsyical line? Or will I need to pay for a phone line still (e.g. A&A)?!

I'd like to port my current landline number to a VOIP service and just continue as-is with broadband, but it seems very complciated at the moment....

SOGEA is, essentially, a D side only FTTC product , with no dial tone from the exchange.
Some service providers will offer a VOIP based phone service via a port on the supplied router.
Port your number to a separate VOIP provider (SIP Gate for instance amongst others) then just select whichever SOGEA supplier you wish, this way you won’t be ‘tied’ to one supplier … as was the issue faced by people who used a CP supplied email address back in the day.

A lot of ISPs now say "phone line not included" (e.g. Zen) - Am I right in assuming that means the phone number, rather than the phsyical line? Or will I need to pay for a phone line still (e.g. A&A)?!

Yep, they mean they mean the old exchange based voice service. These are beginning to be being switched off with a ‘stop sell’ on new orders at various exchanges in the coming months. All ought to be complete by the end of 2025.

Edited by Zarjaz (Fri 07-Jul-23 14:59:07)

Yeah just FTTC minus the dial-tone + voltage.

Got a Tempo FED (far end device) this week. Allowing a range tests and ting to be carried out sans the exchange test heads

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Got a Tempo FED (far end device) this week. Allowing a range tests and ting to be carried out sans the exchange test heads

I see they've got their own "Openreach" subsection of tools on the website...

https://www.tempocom.com/openreach/products/

Ooooh …. got it, got it, want it, got swapsies.

😅

Have a look at A&A.
I have been with A&A for a few years now, but until last year they provided my broadband on my conventional BT line where I had BT telephone service.
Last year I had A&A transfer my number and line to themselves, my number went onto their VoIP service and initially the FTTC was on what they call wires only but now this year on their SoGEA.

I am very pleased with the end result, one bonus is that there is no crackling or hiss on my analogue phones since the telephone part is all in house, (my house) from the ATA into the previous existing wiring.

Price wise I am better off than I was before with the BT & A&A combination and A&A do not have these RPI + X% price increases.

Cheers!

The biggest issue with migrating an existing PSTN + FTTC connection to SOGEA + VOIP is if you migrate to different suppliers there will be a loss of service, or potentially number:

If you migrate the PSTN number to VOIP it will cease any broadband service as these use the PSTN number as the identifier, it will no longer be be assigned to the physical circuit when ported to VOIP. You then order SOGEA broadband from the other supplier which will use the existing copper line.

If you migrate the FTTC broadband to SOGEA the PSTN number is released. Supposedly a recent change in the rules allows recently ceased PSTN numbers to be ported (IIRC within 30 days, but I don't know how reliable this is so you could potentially loose the number), so you then order VOIP from the other supplier.

If you migrate to a provider which supports VOIP (often called Digital Voice in their marketing/advertising), e.g. BT, Sky, Zen, AAISP, etc. they will link the migrations so it just a case of installing their provided router and plugging any phones into the router instead of the existing Openreach master socket. One thing to watch out for is that some providers consider the services to be linked so you can't then move the VOIP service without it ceasing the broadband, even though there is no technical reason for this. AAISP and Zen do not have this restriction.

Most providers charge a VOIP rental fee which includes inclusive minutes - obviously this is only worthwhile id you actually make outgoing calls. AFAIK AAISP are the only provider offering PAYG VOIP. It is also worth considering what equipment the providers will supply free or at cost vs. having to source your own.

In reply to a post by tdw42:

Most providers charge a VOIP rental fee which includes inclusive minutes - obviously this is only worthwhile id you actually make outgoing calls. AFAIK AAISP are the only provider offering PAYG VOIP. It is also worth considering what equipment the providers will supply free or at cost vs. having to source your own.

Wrong there, Voipfone has a PAYG service and probably quite a number of other VoIP providers as well.