Moving Landline Phone to VOIP

[a.twiddler]

But since landlines are being dumped by Openreach anyway it makes no odds. Soon everyone will on mobile or phone over broadband but no copper landlines. Think broadband will go down with the powercut just as much as mobile.

Hobson's Choice!

 

[Fastpedaller]

We've given up on the landline and made a monthly saving. We realised how little we used the landline (maybe 2 calls a month), and it will go eventually anyway. I can appreciate the concern if an emergency call needs to be made, and although we live in a rural area with fluctuating mobile signal, if there is a need to make a 999 call, the phone connects to any of the 4 suppliers' networks.

 

[geocycle]

But since landlines are being dumped by Openreach anyway it makes no odds. Soon everyone will on mobile or phone over broadband but no copper landlines. Think broadband will go down with the powercut just as much as mobile.

Yes this is true. I was reluctant to move from the old copper wire network but had no choice. Our area was without power for a week in 2015, no broadband or mobile as the masts were all down. Fortunately the ancient phone we kept for such situations worked and all the neighbours shared it to let folk know what was happening. It does reduce resilience in emergencies.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

@Alien8 I did a short stint during lockdown working for a BT call centre.
I never learned how to do number porting lol, but I remember clearly that there are numbers allocated to providers according to exchange locations.
If you move in an area within a different exchange box (which is not a box, but a building) your number cannot be ported.
About VOP, I know that you must get a new number.
I know this because when I switched to Sky for ISP, they automatically assign you a socket for a phone, even if you have no phone!
Sky said if I wanted to plug in a phone the number is already allocated.
I forget now how to find out your new number, because I only use my mobile, but I guess it would be in your contract.

 

[briantrumpet]

We did the same a few years ago with BT. There was further confusion because open reach forgot to switch off the old copper wire so for a while we had two lines. We now have moved to EE on a broadband only contract and just use the mobile with Wi-Fi calling. Wi-Fi calling works great and is essential because we have no mobile reception in the house.

A good friend of mine is only holding onto his landline because his wife's mother likes calling the landline number, despite having a mobile herself. Old habits, and all that.

 

[briantrumpet]

But since landlines are being dumped by Openreach anyway it makes no odds. Soon everyone will on mobile or phone over broadband but no copper landlines. Think broadband will go down with the powercut just as much as mobile.

It's a recognised problem with getting rid of the copper network, but landlines will soon only go via fibre, with no choice. It's exactly the same in France, despite the worries about emergency calls during power cuts, if mobile masts also go down when the power goes.

tl;dr Having a landline will be exactly the same as mobile via wifi very soon - pretty much exactly the same system except for the landline the VoIP box relies on power too.

 

[briantrumpet]

About VOP, I know that you must get a new number.

I kept my old number when going to VoIP, but wasn't moving to another 'STD' code area.

Still miss my first home number, Tedburn St Mary 223 (in 1985).