Telephone line - that swop away from normal copper lines

I’m not with the same supplier but had an ‘upgrade’ recently to full fibre. Wish I hadn’t.

I believe that BT is going to change every last landline to digital. It’s already been done (without notice or advice) in our area. I only found out when I needed to call the electric board in a power cut. No landline, dead! Fortunately I have a mobile as well.
The fact that landlines are not supported in power cuts is one of the things that enrage those without mobiles or are vulnerable.

Eek! to no notice. That ain't right - it's defo down there in writing they are supposed to give at least 4 weeks notice! That would have been awkward - just finding you needed to use your phone in an emergency and it was sitting there cut off!

I know what you mean re mobiles - I simply don't have a techno mind and have tried a smartphone and couldnt even manage the basics on it. I've bought a Chattie phone (ie those ones that are very very basic and anyone is supposed to be able to use them) recently - though I've not had it set up yet thinking "I know I'm due for that 4 weeks notice" - so I guess I'd better hurry up on that in case they try pulling that stunt on me too!

One of their workman I chatted to this morning just said "Oh - emergency battery phone - no problem" and I said "Well that'll do nicely for my 2 hour phonecalls at a time to Ireland won't it!!!" (ie I have a good friend there and we do have regular LONG phonecalls). Yep...that's one of the reasons I swopped to that supplier in the first place - ie because my previous one had started "rationing" time to so much per month and then charging extra. So I swopped to Plusnet - who include southern Ireland in their inclusive tariff and my friend and I can chat away without worrying about the cost.

grandMattie - how are you managing phonewise now? have you had a new computer router and your phone is now plugged into that or what?

CariadAgain
If you got the hang of a smart phone you could FaceTime your friend.

We moved house and the landline was automatically disconnected by Openreach. No forewarning and they did not check that there was mobile reception here. There isn't (or it is very erratic). A 999 call went dead last month. This whole fiasco is unacceptable. But in this brave new world, who cares. Utility companies certainly don't.

Cariadagain so what are you posting on ??? A computer an iPad they are only bigger versions of a smart phone
You can get used to if you want to
My 90 year old friend manages, as does my 100 year old cousin
It’s been on the books for an awful long time that the mainland phones are disappearing it’s not new news

CariadAgain

grandMattie - how are you managing phonewise now? have you had a new computer router and your phone is now plugged into that or what?

I’m with BT. They came (eventually), gave me a new modem, etc. Everything, pc, iPad, and so on work but the landline is still dead in a power cuts. I have a little battery pack for iPhone if there is a power cut and my phone isn’t sufficiently charged.
A bummer, but that is “progress” for you!

BT are soon to convert the phone line at our holiday home but they've said that the engineer will provide all the equipment that is necessary if the old stuff doesn't work. I assume that this means they will replace the phone there too.
I think that everybody who uses the house does have a mobile phone, but obviously in a power cut (which is not unusual in that area) they will not be able to use them for long. I do have a little power pack which can recharge my mobile twice, but then that's it.
I don't think that there are any telephone boxes anwhere now.

BlueBelle

Cariadagain so what are you posting on ??? A computer an iPad they are only bigger versions of a smart phone
You can get used to if you want to
My 90 year old friend manages, as does my 100 year old cousin
It’s been on the books for an awful long time that the mainland phones are disappearing it’s not new news

A computer - which I've had set up for me. There is only the absolute basics on it - finding websites, email, Facebook, YouTube and that is It. That's all I require. That's all I need.

When it stopped completely the other day - cue for a helpful neighbour gave it a thorough clean and it's working again.

Technology is there for our benefit - not theirs.

Whereas other people don't have the mindset I do - ie pretty much big picture and with a dose of intuition chucked in very occasionally but when I need it. Yep....I've even told two people that were having a brief conversation about 50' away from me before now that "You said this and then you no. 2 said that". They were gobsmacked - because that's exactly what they'd just said and I had needed to know it. I've even found someone's house when they wanted me to do so one time (as they were ill) - and they hadnt told me where they lived. Luckily it was a small village - but I found it and they were expecting me. I'll stick with the type of mind I've got - as it's actually much more useful to me...very very occasional as those incidents are...

cc - there are a (very few) phoneboxes around still. Very rare and those few have had to be fought for. A recent video of Totnes, for instance, showed what looked like a working phonebox still in the High Street. I've seen "yay we've managed it" - ie people fighting for their nearest phonebox and they succeeded.

BT has a minimum use number of calls set and if that minimum number is reached then they keep the phonebox working. Though I do notice they've sneaked away one heck of a lot of working phoneboxes - either the box has vanished altogether or it's been changed to something like a mini free library.

Hmm....thought just struck me that a lot of these phonebox battles that have been won recently on the one hand and yet they are threatening "All copper lines gone by end of next year latest". Wonder what will happen to those phoneboxes then? Do they HAVE to keep the copperlines for them - as people fought for them to stay - or what?

One thing for sure, this changeover is of no benefit at all to the customer.

I am with VM. I lost my "proper" landline a while back, not because of the changeover directly, but because Virgin weren't maintaining their roadside switch boxes (in anticipation) and my landline became unusable.

My actual telephone is wireless, with two handsets. I had the primary in the hallway, the secondary in the main bedroom and a seperate, wired, handset (a radio/telephone/clock) via a splitter from the wall socket, with the line going up the stairs and round into the bedroom.

I have lost the ability to have my phone in the hall. I have lost the ability to have a phone in the small bedroom, unless I ditch my current instrument and fork out for one with three wireless handsets. The phone has to be directly connected to the broadband hub, which is in the livingroom. I used to have it upstairs in the small bedroom but had to have it moved downstairs, because it so often needed rebooting and because that was where my phone would have to be relocated to so they could connect it to the fibre cable for the TV (which they couldn't in the hall).

I had to move my laptop to my dining table as the little computer table with its ergonomic chair is now fully occupied by the hub, the phone and the battery driven "emergency phone" which will supposedly still work if the Internet goes down (it connects to a mobile network via the fibre).

Unfortunately, on two occasions since it was all done, the Internet has failed due to a fibre line fault - which has also cut off the phone and the emergency handset. I had no way of contacting VM to tell them there was a problem and was without any way of communication for several days, until my daughter realised there was a problem and contacted VM herself on my behalf.

On one occasion a recurring period of "low Internet signal" kept cutting off my landline, but the emergency phone did work. If anybody needed to ring me while it was out, they couldn't unless they knew the "mobile" number of the Emergency handset. They never even told me it wasn't the same number as my Landline when they installed it, so I didn't know.

The Emergency handset is supposedly only available to "vulnerable" people, i.e. people like me who don't have a Smart Phone because we are too old/stupid to use one.

I would like to switch from the overpriced VM internet to Toob, but they don't do phone services. I would need to sign up to a secondary provider such as Vonage (according to a Google search) to get a "landline" (VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol) service.

grandMattie

I believe that BT is going to change every last landline to digital. It’s already been done (without notice or advice) in our area. I only found out when I needed to call the electric board in a power cut. No landline, dead! Fortunately I have a mobile as well.
The fact that landlines are not supported in power cuts is one of the things that enrage those without mobiles or are vulnerable.

Exactly the same thing happened to us. No notice at all, just a dead line. Nobody else in the road was changed then. Now about five months later, neighbour has gone digital. Plenty of notice, a visit from an engineer to sort out the adapter so she can use phone anywhere not necessarily next to hub, and a free extra phone with an extra answer phone! Meanwhile, I still cannot get my adopter thing to work and so have to have our base unit next to hub and keep missing answerphone messages as rarely go in that at room. Coupled with appalling broadband this last week, I think BT is getting a phone call tomorrow.

Ilovecheese

One thing for sure, this changeover is of no benefit at all to the customer.

This change to optic had to happen. The old copper system couldn’t cope for much longer with the old system.
It’s comes down to usage and volume.
If we stayed in the dark ages ( which some people would love ) we would be queuing up to send an email and that could take hours to send to the recipient.

I doubt the switch from landlines BT copper to Internet is of short term benefit to subscribers. In the long-term maybe.

We swapped to full fibre to the premises with Gigaclear and have had no Internet or phone problems (we kept our existing number) but we do also have mobile phone access with a good signal.

Basically - as I understand it - They could have thought "Okay - the existing phonelines are getting old now and need replacing" and just done it, ie like-for-like (old copper to new copper). But it's a cost thing - and They want to save money - at our expense.

Part of the "Britain is being rundown for maintenance" - as we all notice what else is being cut/run-down/you name it. It's frustrating - when one can see the money is there....lots of it (but still in only a few hands - Jeff Bezos/Tony Bliar (Blair)/etc/etc. Us "ordinary oiks in the street" (as my father would call it) can "get what we're given - and be expected to be thankful for it".

Lots of us with Internet and I've never had any queueing to send an email. Internet was absolutely fine back in home city with Virgin Cable I had there. So glad I knew what it was supposed to be like when I moved here and had no choice but to swop supplier. I had to have BT engineers in about 50 times!!!!!!! complaining my service wasn't "normal" yet - as it played every which game going (which started with me saying "Why do I have the feeling someone else is talking on MY phoneline sometimes when I'm using it....and I'd hazard a guess they are elderly and speaking in Welsh and that would match my next door neighbour". Cue for it was a party line!!!!! (that thing from history books) and hence I had to have a new line at that point - just to make it normal. Mainly they came in again and again and again and again...ec for I think I know the reason 1. they wouldnt listen to me telling them and telling them "That is the main phone socket there (in my study) and that is the secondary one (in my sitting room). I don't know why you are calling them differently - as that is how it actually is". Mr Engineer was in for about call no. 50 at end of one week, still a problem, her next door (who knew everyone!) moved out Saturday, same guy came in again on Monday for visit no. 51 and this time listened to me for once saying "this is how it is" - rather than trying to tell me how it is and it was sorted - only took about 6 years for them to listen to me expecting the normal service I'd always had back in my own city and no social calls on the next door neighbour.....grrrr...

Meanwhile I had loads and loads of Internet problems - just whilst I was trying to research for and then find tradespeople to renovate the house (which I had to totally gut - apart from the windows and interior doors - which were passable).

So there's no excuse for them going "Dark Ages for you matey - unless you do what WE want and blow you". They could swop our copper phonelines to new ones - but they've just chosen not to to suit their finances.

A computer - which I've had set up for me. There is only the absolute basics on it - finding websites, email, Facebook, YouTube and that is It. That's all I require. That's all I need.

And all that would be on a phone and you could have someone set it up for you and show you the very basics
If you can use a computer you can use a smart phone it’s your fear that’s stopping you

We have no phone boxes in our town I thought they had all gone or in use as community libraries etc

Just that little thing - wireless!!!!!!!

My computer is (deliberately) wired-up. I knew years ago about the health hazards of Wi-Fi.

and I was only asking to be taught the very basics on the secondhand "as new" phone I was buying from an ex-friend and I don't think it was just his "autistic/all about him" mindset he had that I wasn't understanding that phone he mis-sold me after hours of explanation.

I don't need or want a smartphone - a very basic mobile phone will do for me (for whilst out and about - eg calling a taxi). I should be okay with that tiny little bit of wifi exposure - for my sake. I don't want a lot of wifi exposure - for the sake of the companies etc.

BlueBelle

We have no phone boxes in our town I thought they had all gone or in use as community libraries etc

Nope - we havent either. But I've seen very recent things on "phone protest group" Facebook groups saying "Yay - we've just saved this one. We've just fought to save that one". They basically protest by proving to the phone company that there are as many people (or more) that use that phone according to the guidelines on minimum usage that the phone company has.

I don't recall the minimum user and "you keep it"...think it might be 20 calls or similar per day and they won't stop it.

Hence there's a working one still - unless I'm much mistaken - in Totnes High Street. Average Totnes mindset - more monied than many, more intelligent than many, more "activist" minded than many and Totnes is still a pretty normal town - after all "cutbacks and Lockdown". Hence I'd identified it as "mine" - but I could never afford it - and now that main street being a pretty steep hill is putting me off. Yep...would-be Totnesian here and hence why I keep tabs on it....

CariadAgain
As we can see you use chat bots for information.
Are you aware that a ChatBot uses ( roughly) ten times more bytes than a Google search?
Multiple that usage trillions of times over the uk 🤷‍♀️
Why do you think we had shared telephone lines back in the dark days? because the system couldn’t cope with the system we had then
It’s not rocket science.

Good post Petra Cariad you have to stop digging your heels in and move on like all the rest of the world