Timing of FTTC to FTTP with landline VoIP port

I'm currently with BT FTTC but can order FTTP from any Openreach provider (Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone etc). I really want to keep the landline number so for simplicity going forward, porting it to A&A seems like a good idea. Much more flexibility in choosing a provider in the future.

With Black Friday coming up soon I don't mind cancelling my BT contract early (apparently it's really cheap to cancel anyway) but what's the best timing method for this? I don't mind paying an extra month or so if it means the landline gets ported to VoIP but I want to make sure I always have internet. I don't really want to buy a 4g router and unlimited sim either but should I?

I want to try TalkTalk due to them being DHCP. Tired of all this PPPoE. If they have a Black Friday deal on the 150 package (I'm hoping around £25 plus voucher) I'll take it. Vodafone have offered 500 for £28 last week so if that goes lower I guess I would go with them even if it would be PPPoE.

It seems like a minefield trying to understand if ordering FTTP will cancel my FTTC. Some say yes and others say no depending on what provider I ask. Vodafone for example when signing up ask if I want to keep my landline number.

Should I preemptive port the landline in preparation for black friday deals or only port after I place the FTTP order with whatever provider?

Edited by gammuinn (Mon 30-Oct-23 18:41:25)

To provide the best resilience order a new FTTP connection (not a transfer from FTTC to FTTP). This will mean that you will have both FTTC and FTTP running simultaneously which is an extra cost but will avoid the risk of losing your internet.

Once you are happy that the FTTP is working properly, you can then port your landline number from your FTTC account to your VoIP provider of choice. This will then cause the cancellation of the FTTC contract and the cease of the copper line.

How can I order a FTTP connection with a provider and make it so that it's not deemed a transfer? I never saw such an option during the order process for any provider.

Thank you

Order it. It’s not a transfer, it is an entirely different technology.

Thank you. I just get confused as some providers on the sign up page (such as Vodafone) ask if you want to port in your landline number or get a different number. I don't want to press port in as that would defeat the purpose and I don't want to select get a different number as that might still mean a transfer (if that makes sense).

My ultimate question then. Will every FTTP ISP I sign up for treat it as a new order and allow FTTC to coexist or should I stay away from Vodafone etc for the above reasons?

Thank you

Edited by gammuinn (Tue 31-Oct-23 00:21:00)

Note if you are staying with Openreach and ducting to your property is required this may well take some time. It took 7 weeks in my case and I know others where it took longer. And depending on your circumstances you may even lose your landline cable in the process. With me chap doing the final installation did the internal wiring side (including chopping the landline to use the same hole through the wall) before finding the ducting jammed which potentially would have left me with nothing, thankfully he managed to wriggle it through. Moving to a third party supplier such as City Fibre avoids this as they will do nothing to the Openreach installation.

In reply to a post by gammuinn:

Thank you. I just get confused as some providers on the sign up page (such as Vodafone) ask if you want to port in your landline number or get a different number. I don't want to press port in as that would defeat the purpose and I don't want to select get a different number as that might still mean a transfer (if that makes sense).

Select "get a different number". This means it's completely independent from the original line, and is not a migration.

Vodafone service includes a phone number, whether you want it or not.

Once you've ported your original phone number to VOIP (which cancels the FTTC), you'll still have the Vodafone number, which you ignore - simply by not plugging a phone into their router.

How do I know if I will require ducting? The BT checker says "Single Dwelling Unit Residential OH Feed with no anticipated issues". 1 Stage.

OH is shorthand for overhead. So no duct. Pole fed.

Yep. all overhead, so you won't have any issues with fibre blockages in ducts.