In reply to a post by Rebecka:

It is good to know that those other means exist in case they are needed, but as I said at the start of the thread, using the phone is a problem for me (so I only use it with my dad, and which is why I want to keep my phone number for him to use in emergencies) so I do rely on email. And with a set of connected questions it is much easier to write things out that try to go through things interactively in chat. Certainly for me, anyway.

Understood, it is strange not to have a reply, I only use them for VoIP (previously L2TP) as the openreach connection to my home is very poor, but they always replied to my emails fast and resonsive. I was suggesting perhaps trying another method to see if they find out why either a) they didn't reply, or b) the reply didn't make it to you.

I finally placed my order today, though I am anticipating more problems.

There do not seem to be many options for VOIP supporting modems. And it is not that manufacturers do not make any, they just do not offer them in the U.K. for some reason. So I settled on buying a DGA4134, I much preferred the Frtiz!Box, not least as it is also a DECT base station. But it costs more for a slower wifi speed, and if I do end up with Zen at some point they will give me one for free anyway, so I could not justify it. I can just move the phone from the wall socker to modem and use my existing handset anyway.

I am not entirely impressed with the modem, it feels cheap and is a weird design with ports out the back, so I have no idea how anyone is supposed to use the wall mount it, while the lights on the side where they are impossible to see. Certainly where I have it, which is also why I wanted an upright design rather than the slab style of the DGA0122, which also limited choice. On top of that, the Technicolor sites says they do not offer any support but you should contact your ISP, despite having bought a stock model.

Anyway, it is up and running with my old Sky connection so I am now ready for a switch to VDSL. So I have ordered AAISP today, and will then move to IDNet in a month's time. Do AAISP charge pro-rata for incomplete months, or will I need to order IDNet to migrate me exactly a month after I am first switched over? First that needs to happen, but I was never asked for any account details for my B.T. line. So now I am worried they are assuming they match my payment details. And unfortunately they do not.

Have a look at my recent posts in the AAISP section here.

I have been an A&A broadband customer since ADSL, now FTTC and wanted to get ahead of the game re BT (who supplied my line and telephony) going to Digital Voice.

It has been a couple of months now, good service from A&A both via email and phone. Cheaper overall too! One bonus is that with having my own ATA (Analogue Telephone Adaptor) is that I can set my own line levels for incoming and outgoing volume. So now those I call can hear my soft voice and I can hear incoming calls clearly (I am slightly deaf).

Cheers!

I think it is fair to correct this thread regarding AAISP, as it turns out they had not been ignoring my emails but my address kept bouncing for them. It seems to me that the way their mail system works and how my host's server is configured (using standard cPanel options to configure EXIM) are incompatible.

Maybe that was the case when I emailed Zen a while back too, but unfortunately my host only keeps delivery records for a month so I cannot check. Though it appears to be a rather uncommon problem as it has otherwise only affected a few spam messages, and that out of thousands.

I have also resolved the issue with them from the signup process, so everything now seems to be okay. I have a suitable modem and a switchover date, so hopefully the only outstanding issue will be switching to IDNet, which I will likely still do even though I no longer have any concerns with AAISP.

I am surprised how many internet providers are still offering PSTN phone services rather than VOIP, it seems to be only Zen and AAISP who do not offer it. For me it is just about cost when not using the phone enough (pretty much never) to justify the cost of a normal phone service, but it is also good to be ahead of the coming switchover.

It is the same reason I expect to move my broadband to IDNet even now the problems I had with AAISP have been cleared up. Now that I have been able to get through to them my impressions are very good, and I would accept worth extra for that. But an extra £9 per month plus the quota, as I am still am not certain I would be under, is quite a difference.

It will be interesting to see where I am after a month just to find out my usage, as that could change things. In just three days the Technicolor modem claims I have downloaded 27GB, but it also says I have sent 60GB so I am not sure how much I am willing to trust that!