Switching from Virgin

I am a trustee for a small charity and Virgin currently supplies our phone service. We want to switch to a new supplier (Virgin's costly and unreliable) and add broadband.

It is imperative that we keep the old (Virgin) number, but I can't find a supplier from all the usual suspects which will let us keep it.

Does anyone know if there's an ISP which will let us keep our Virgin number?

Do you mean Virgin Cable, or normal landline?

Well, I think it's a cable since it was transferred from NTL/Telewest and it's at least 10 years old. Does it matter?

I believe so. And yes, NTL/Telewest is cable.

If it had been landline it should have been feasible. As cable I reckon that's why no "usual suspect" can do it.

At least if it can be done, the people that know how may be able to help, and the ones like me that aren't sure will stay out of the way. Without knowing it is cable you could have been deluged with a lot of well-intended useless help.

Any service provider you ask probably needs to know as well.

If you think Virgin expensive or unreliable, then when you are back to ADSL (using a BT line, which most other providers are stuck with) you will find that this will be much worse! Virgin is by far the fastest broadband, is highly reliable here, and also is competitive with the others. You can move phone numbers to any network AFAIK - you might try asking Ofcom if told otherwise.

While phone numbers are in theory portable, often BT are the only ones that fully play ball.

Of course you can have the phone line with BT, and the broadband from a variety of other providers if you want.

In reply to a post by Florestan:

I can't find a supplier from all the usual suspects which will let us keep it.

I'm having the same problem.

Best solution I can find is to get a new line installed for ADSL and get your old number transferred to a VOIP supplier.

HTH?