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BT phone landlines changing to IP technology

(92 Posts)
Bea65 Fri 07-Jul-23 11:51:49

I accidentally heard about this in the Pharmacy when someone was saying she was worried about her home land line phone was changing re new technology...hadn't heard about this and so was concerned and yes, from now until the complete switchover in 2025, your provider of landline is supposed to contact you as some old phones won't work with the new tech.. feeling bit exhausted over this as it seems another big change for the older population to get to grips with ...what do GNs know about this...lots on line to read "Future of Voice" page

PamelaJ1 Mon 10-Jul-23 08:38:41

Oopsadaisy
Same here and they updated our connections last year. It’s better now but occasionally I have to wander around.

bear1 Mon 10-Jul-23 08:44:06

we are with sky and can never get to speak to anyone or get any communication from them we live in an area where mobile signal is hit and miss so have a landline for emergencies so we could end up in dire straits during a power cut which we tend to have quite a lot

Grantanow Mon 10-Jul-23 09:07:44

Pittcity

I think the "Over 70s" bit in the Age UK info meant that younger people would be the first switched and would be more likely to be sent equipment to install themselves.
Your provider should offer help to older people and provide a free connection for those without internet and battery backup if there's no other means of communication. Everyone will be switched eventually but you should insist on help to do so without paying for it.

Yes. I think your interpretation of the 'over 70' point is right but they probably think most of us will have died off by the time they get around to us!

Elusivebutterfly Mon 10-Jul-23 09:36:47

I have a different concern about the changeover.
The internet cuts out frequently here for a few minutes at a time. It doesn't matter much on the laptop as I just wait for it to come back but if it cuts out in the middle of a conversation, it will be much more of a nuisance.

I do use my mobile a lot but some people call me on the landline and it is useful having a phone up and down stairs - you can only have one mobile and it's often not near me indoors. This may be the time to get rid of the landline.

Bea65 Mon 10-Jul-23 10:57:18

Bijou yes we had 1 phone box down the road and always a queue for it…also we had another phone box outside Woolworths which everyone used!

Bea65 Mon 10-Jul-23 11:03:27

bear1 Sky is my provider and have been trying to get thru to them all last week.. am out of contract very soon and searching for alternatives- ?NOW broadband which is cheaper but partly owned by Sky.. and not sure if they charge £5.00 monthly for keeping landline open to receive calls -

cc Mon 10-Jul-23 12:49:43

I discovered that I'm already on this when I called Sky because my landline kept going out. It turns out that if you have a poor wifi signal you can't get calls either.
I'm actually giving up my landline soon, no point in paying for it.

M0nica Mon 10-Jul-23 13:37:59

We moved over a couple of months ago. As far as equipment in the house is concerned nothing much has changed.

The base station is now in the study not the hall and we have telephon extensions in the hall and living room, before the extensions were in the study and hall.

The one problem is that we have a large chimney in the centre of the house and this makes it difficult to get a voip signal if the chimney is in the direct line between phone and base station.

Katek Mon 10-Jul-23 14:59:33

We've been on the new system for quite a while, we have the back batteries etc. only problem is we can - and have had - power cuts of 3/4 days. Batteries don't last that long plus we're in a very poor signal area for mobile connection so we're totally stuffed if power is out and we need emergency services, or even just to let family know we're ok. After storm Arwen we had to drive around until we could find a signal, something you're not going to do in an emergency. Carrier pigeon anyone?

Bea65 Mon 24-Jul-23 13:21:51

Today Engineers installing new cables for LIT optic fibre… never heard of this provider- any views on LIT - there seems to be new providers putting in new cables everywhere!!

TechWorldNews Fri 18-Jul-25 17:18:25

Latest tech news, in-depth reviews, and expert analysis on computing, enterprise IT, cybersecurity, mobile tech, cloud solutions, and industry trends.

Allsorts Fri 18-Jul-25 17:24:49

I had to change over, it costs more to get less, like not using home phone.

Blossoming Fri 18-Jul-25 17:31:48

Ours was changed over a few months ago, we don’t use the landline very often but kept it because the hospital use it occasionally.

Blossoming Fri 18-Jul-25 17:32:39

Oops, just noticed the age of this thread!

TechWorldNews Sat 19-Jul-25 15:25:23

Latest Tech World News in-depth reviews, and expert analysis on computing, enterprise IT, cybersecurity, mobile tech, cloud solutions, and industry trends.
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Blossoming Sat 19-Jul-25 15:41:54

Reported