Landline changeover

Thu 20 Mar, 10:48

Just to update things - we've now been changed and presumably our voices are all digital ....

Wed 19 Mar, 08:23

Burford library also has a drop in event on Thursday April 3 https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/events/libraries/burford-library-digital-voice-switchover-bt-collaboration-neighbourhood-watch-burford-library

Mon 17 Mar, 15:50 (last edited on Tue 18 Mar, 10:54)

All landlines will be changed to digital by 2027, not just BT landlines. People can still keep their landline numbers the only difference is how the call is carried. Rather than use the traditional copper wire, calls are carried over broadband (also known as VoIP) You will receive a letter giving you about 30 days notice that you are due to be switched over. Rather than plug your phone into the old telephone socket you will need to plug this into a router instead and that is it. BT are supplying all customers with a router free of charge if they don't already have a suitable one. The majority of phones will work using Digital Voice unless it is really old (20 years plus) This change won't cost customers anymore. You don't have to have fibre or in fact broadband if you don't want it and don't already have it. Solutions are in place for these customers. 

It is true that the phoneline won't work in a powercut. For most people, they will have a mobile they can use. If they don't have one, or the reception is poor, they can get a Battery Back Up Unit that will power the phone line in the case of a power cut. These cost around £80 but BT supply them free of charge to over 75s and vulnerable customers. People will need to check with their own telecom supplier what provisions they are making.

I work for Neighbourhood Watch and we are currently liaising with BT to try and help the community with the switch to digital. 

Mon 17 Mar, 11:01

Thanks Colin for your reference to the Which report. At least I am beginning to understand broadly what is going on. It will take some time to work out what I need to do. I hope my grandson will be able to help me out.

Mon 17 Mar, 10:25

I have a TP Link router which works very well with decent wifi coverage on several floors - this is in a close to 200 year old house with some stone walls close to 2 feet wide.

I got the BT router in the post, and in my experience they have always been POS. So I decided to keep my TP Link router to see what would happen. Works absolutely fine. I no longer have a landline, which is fine for me as I never used it anyway. I do appreciate many people are dependent on a landline for a variety or reasons. 

Mon 17 Mar, 09:49 (last edited on Mon 17 Mar, 09:56)

Hi Charlie,

So BT will use the copper of your phone line to get to the cabinet for internet ( this is called ZDSL). The PSTN exchange will be turned off in 2027 ( the 50V of the copper phone line will be gone). All landline calls will be implemented with a Voice Over Internet Protocol devices using your broadband connection. What BT don’t tell you is that the default solution for the BT digital voice device you are given is unencrypted and that the traffic is special routed internally (this simplifies set up and allows for bulk surveillance). The BT router has custom BT firmware that means it is incompatible with third party DECT phone repeaters. In old houses the new system is worse getting through walls. The emergency back up power time that you need on both router, base station is very short. More powerful UPS that can give a longer time backup are available but are very costly.  Lots of fall alarms and emergency buttons built for the old land line system will not work with digital voice.  It seems that the vulnerable were an after thought by the financial decision to turn off PSTN.

The general technology of digital voice may provide a clearer call but generally speaking it is not as reliable as PSTN.

It is possible not use the default offering for digital voice on BT and Gigaclear but it takes a lot of effort and research. My solution ended up with a Grandstream HT812 connected to a Draytek Vigor 2865 router and a vetted VOIP provider. The research for this took over a year. I managed to back feed the power from the HT812 PSTN connector into my old house lines ( now disconnected from BT) so the old land line phones work too as well as the gigaset DECT phones do. I pay just under £10 for my phone and about £36 for the 200mbps for the fibre ( and fixed IP ). I do need a bigger UPS as it is only 700VA which wont last that long without power.

From Which which may help...

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/broadband/article/digital-voice-and-the-landline-phone-switch-off-what-it-means-for-you-aPSOH8k1i6Vv

Sun 16 Mar, 09:01 (last edited on Sun 16 Mar, 17:35)

I have been wondering about this. Some weeks ago I got a robot voice call which I quickly put down, as I do not tolerate such calls - they are usually trying to sell something. I need my landline for my internet connection. It works fine as it is. I may try their chat service online, unless I can find an 0800 number for BT.
UPDATE: I spoke to a BT person this afternoon. I take what I was told with a rather large pinch of Sodium Chloride:

1. I asked how, under the new system, I would make an emergency call during a power cut, because the present system is powered by a 50 Volt supply from the exchange. His reply was that the power for such a call would come from the battery within the NEW phone that they would supply for free. I asked if this new phone would cost me anything. No, he said. This is ridiculous for too many reasons to list.

2. I asked if it would mean any changes to my internet connection from my landline. No, he said.

By the way ... if you want an 0800 number to call BT on, it is 0800 800 150. Be prepared for a wait.

Sun 16 Mar, 08:49

I do not understand any of this. What is a digital voice? What is it saying and to whom? Was the talking clock a digital voice?

Sun 16 Mar, 00:10

I voluntarily switched my BT landline to EE in March last year and came close to throttling someone.  I believe that this switch to EE happens to all domestic users.  Here's a little of what happened: 

- A BT engineer was booked (by them) to make something happen with the…

Long post - click to read full text

Sat 15 Mar, 20:00

Adding to what Meryl has posted in the News section, a few days ago BT sent us a new broadband router equipped with an output socket for the phone.  The bumph that came with it says that we'll be switched over to Digital Voice within the next 30 days, so maybe that applies to Charlbury in general - or perhaps just to the green box that feeds our line?  Not clear.

BT has also been sending unintelligible voice-text messages to our landline - presumably to inform us about the changeover.  We are guessing that a future message will tell us precisely when this will happen, which would be fine if we could actually interpret the garbling.  A bit of a lack of joined-up thinking on that one, perchance?