Cancelling my landline?

[T i m]

We have had a BT Landline for 40+ years now but like many, we mostly use
our mobiles and in our case, have broadband via cable (never had ADSL
etc, it was DU before that). We also have FTTP rolling out round here so
I don't see a reason to keep the copper LL.

In fact, I don't think our phone line actually works (people have said
it just gives them engaged tone and I CBA to fault-find it) and it has
to be a couple of years since we tried to make a call from it.

But before I ask BT to remove it, is there anything I can / should do?
Like, what of those people who might only have our landline number,
could I port it over to a VOIP supplier (I still have a couple of
Sipgate numbers)? Or maybe it could be forwarded to my mobile and if so,
is that likely to be expensive?

Would BT *give* us a VOIP line / phone in the foreseeable, if we have a
LL now?

Cheers, T i m

[Andy Burns]

Post by T i m
could I port it over to a VOIP supplier (I still have a couple of
Sipgate numbers)?

Yes, probably cost you a couple of quid/month to keep the number.

Post by T i m
Or maybe it could be forwarded to my mobile and if so,
is that likely to be expensive?

Depends, if you leave the line with BT and then forward it you'll pay
their mobile rate/minute, unless you have a call bundle that includes
mobiles (sounds unlikely from your description).

Post by T i m
Would BT give us a VOIP line / phone in the foreseeable,

Give no. Provide yes, at the same price you currently pay, they might
chuck in a phone.



[don't know why I'm replying, you probably won't see this]

[Andy Burns]

FWIW Andy, I don't have anyone killfiled yet, just that I can (and do)
ignore people where, for whatever reason I choose to not associate with.
In your case it was because I respected you, your skills and knowledge
but our morals were so far apart (re your treatment of other animals)
THAT I couldn't happily associate with you any longer.

Well, I don't understand that *AT* *ALL*.

I thought you had blanked me because of our different positions on
Brexit, specifically your wish to retrospectively add a supermajority
condition to the referendum result.

For the record I don't eat meat, do eat dairy products, do wear leather,
and play with other peoples' pets, that's about the limit of my
"treatment" of animals ...

[T i m]

Post by Andy Burns

FWIW Andy, I don't have anyone killfiled yet, just that I can (and do)
ignore people where, for whatever reason I choose to not associate with.
In your case it was because I respected you, your skills and knowledge
but our morals were so far apart (re your treatment of other animals)
THAT I couldn't happily associate with you any longer.

Well, I don't understand that *AT* *ALL*.

Ok ...

Post by Andy Burns
I thought you had blanked me because of our different positions on
Brexit, specifically your wish to retrospectively add a supermajority
condition to the referendum result.

Whilst I didn't (don't) accept the whole Brexit debacle as being the
democratic 'will of the people' (morally rather than technically etc)
I'm not sure I care enough if an ignorant minority sell our cow for some
magic beans to go as far as ignoring someone I respect here over it?

Post by Andy Burns
For the record I don't eat meat,

Ok, so don't kill animals directly.

Post by Andy Burns
do eat dairy products, do wear leather,

So do kill animals indirectly.

Post by Andy Burns
and play with other peoples' pets, that's about the limit of my
"treatment" of animals ...

Hmm. Have I got you confused with another then (from the d-i-y group)?

Are you not a keen woodworker and skilled woodworker who *happily* uses
shellac and who has relatives (you fully support) in the livestock
industries?

Sorry though if I have you confused with another.

Cheers, T i m

[Andy Burns]

Post by T i m
Hmm. Have I got you confused with another then (from the d-i-y group)?
Are you not a keen woodworker and skilled woodworker who happily uses
shellac

My woodworking is at the level of building 2x4 partition walls and
hanging doors.

Post by T i m
and who has relatives (you fully support) in the livestock
industries?

The farming stock on my mother's side were all arable not livestock

Post by T i m
Sorry though if I have you confused with another.

I think you have ...

[T i m]

Post by Andy Burns

Post by T i m
Hmm. Have I got you confused with another then (from the d-i-y group)?
Are you not a keen woodworker and skilled woodworker who happily uses
shellac

My woodworking is at the level of building 2x4 partition walls and
hanging doors.

Post by T i m
and who has relatives (you fully support) in the livestock industries?

The farming stock on my mother's side were all arable not livestock

Post by T i m
Sorry though if I have you confused with another.

I think you have ...

Hmm, ok, so maybe it was a Brexit thing then?

Thanks for the clarification.

Cheers, T i m

[Graham J]

Post by T i m
We have had a BT Landline for 40+ years now but like many, we mostly use
our mobiles and in our case, have broadband via cable (never had ADSL
etc, it was DU before that). We also have FTTP rolling out round here so
I don't see a reason to keep the copper LL.
In fact, I don't think our phone line actually works (people have said
it just gives them engaged tone and I CBA to fault-find it) and it has
to be a couple of years since we tried to make a call from it.
But before I ask BT to remove it, is there anything I can / should do?
Like, what of those people who might only have our landline number,
could I port it over to a VOIP supplier (I still have a couple of
Sipgate numbers)? Or maybe it could be forwarded to my mobile and if so,
is that likely to be expensive?
Would BT *give* us a VOIP line / phone in the foreseeable, if we have a
LL now?

If you port the landline number to a VoIP service that will
automatically cancel the landline (and any associated FTTC or ADSL service).

If you cancel the landline first, it is supposed to be possible to port
its number to a VoIP service in the succeeding 4 weeks. This follows an
Ofcom ruling sometime about last Easter. But I would not trust the process!

If you keep the landline you can forward it to your mobile. You
continue to pay the line rental, and you will pay the call cost of the
forwarding, so the fee for the call from our location to the mobile.
Could be very expensive unless you have a calls package that discounts it.

If you port the landline number to a VoIP service, you pay a one-off fee
(about £24) then a monthly charge for the service (I pay £3.60 to
Voipfone for this). If you forward incoming calls to your mobile it
costs typically 7p or 20p per minute depending on the destination mobile
provider (figures from Voipfone).

A lot depends on the quality of your mobile service. In my case the
mobile only works on high ground outside the house, so it's virtually
useless except when away from home. My (quite old) handset does not
support calling via the internet, and I've no enthusiasm for replacing
it - it does everything else I want.

[T i m]

<snip>

Post by Graham J

Post by T i m
Would BT *give* us a VOIP line / phone in the foreseeable, if we have
a LL now?

If you port the landline number to a VoIP service that will
automatically cancel the landline (and any associated FTTC or ADSL service).

Thanks, that's the sort of 'gotcha' I was hoping to learn. ;-)

Post by Graham J
If you cancel the landline first, it is supposed to be possible to port
its number to a VoIP service in the succeeding 4 weeks.  This follows an
Ofcom ruling sometime about last Easter.  But I would not trust the
process!

Agreed.

Post by Graham J
If you keep the landline you can forward it to your mobile.  You
continue to pay the line rental, and you will pay the call cost of the
forwarding, so the fee for the call from our location to the mobile.
Could be very expensive unless you have a calls package that discounts it.

I don't and if that means keeping and so paying for the / a line, then I
can't see any advantage there.

Post by Graham J
If you port the landline number to a VoIP service, you pay a one-off fee
(about £24) then a monthly charge for the service (I pay £3.60 to
Voipfone for this).  If you forward incoming calls to your mobile it
costs typically 7p or 20p per minute depending on the destination mobile
provider (figures from Voipfone).

Given the LL hasn't worked for 'a long time' now, I have no idea what
sort of traffic level may be involved if I do get it back online, and /
or if it's too late to capture those people who may not know / use my
current mobile number.

Post by Graham J
A lot depends on the quality of your mobile service.

It's pretty good (good enough for me to consider replacing my VM BB and
going 4G). I can see the 'main' mast from my front door and it seems
there are several more around us that we use etc.

Post by Graham J
 In my case the
mobile only works on high ground outside the house, so it's virtually
useless except when away from home.

;-(

Post by Graham J
  My (quite old) handset does not
support calling via the internet, and I've no enthusiasm for replacing
it - it does everything else I want.

Yup. A mate has only just got himself a smartphone from one of the
little chocolate bar dumb phones but that was partly from my prompting
re the advantages of Whatsapp and for similar reasons to you, that his
home mobile service was a bit unreliable (mast issues more than signal etc).

Full disclosure: When I discovered my very old FritzBox Fon WAN VoIP /
ADSL / Cable router was throttling my VM cable BB service, I removed it
and just used the VM HUB and some Ethernet AP's. In so doing I also lost
the 2 x VoIP ports / 2 x Sipgate lines the FritzBox provided and whilst
I think I asked here a while back about VoIP handsets, I never really
pinned down a replacement solution.

Now I could probably hang the FritzBox VoIP router off the VM one and
just use it to provide the VoIP solution to the two DECT phones I still
have here but it was getting old and I was hoping for something more
energy efficient (for that job) and self sufficient?

So the main goal is to *somehow* still be able to receive any calls
still coming though to my old LL number, if only sufficiently to inform
the caller of my mobile number. If they are genuine / wanted people I
have no issue paying for any call forwarding but obviously not if they
are spam calls.

I might also like the opportunity of an independent way of making calls,
possibly over WiFi that would be independent of my current EE mobile
service.

My main mobile is on a SIM only contract, spare 1 is on a basic Smarty
monthly deal (I sometimes use it as a mobile hotspot when in hospitals
and they don't have good public WiFi and I may make that service /
number my main one in the future) and I still have an old Samsung phone
on a GiffGaff SIM (in case I need to lend daughter a phone etc).

Talking of daughter, she dumped Plusnet and is now using Smarty mobile
BB via my TP-Link MR600 router (that she needs to replace) and has both
a better (faster / more reliable) service at a cheaper price (and no
long contract).

At the first shot I think I like the idea Theo mentioned about a
SmartPhone VoIP app and maybe porting the BT number to that VoIP
service. I already have the phone and Sipgate (if that is the same price
as alternatives) or just go with one of the suggested alternatives and
see how we go. It may be that I don't get any further calls on the old
LL number so could simply forget it?

Is there any particular benefit going to Voipfone (technical / features)
over the cheaper alternatives suggested so far, or is it just what you
happened on at the time Graham?

Worse case it looks like I will be £15/m better off, not that you can do
much with that these days but as mentioned, might pay for some new kit. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Graham J]

T i m wrote:

[snip]

Post by T i m
Is there any particular benefit going to Voipfone (technical / features)
over the cheaper alternatives suggested so far, or is it just what you
happened on at the time Graham?

I first used Voipfone in 2010 to support some business clients. One
client could only get internet via satellite but even with the latency
of that connection the Voipfone service worked well. I found them
knowledgeable and easy to deal with.

At the time I set up a personal account for testing. Since 2010 I never
used the personal account, but they re-enabled it for me in January 2023
when I wanted to port-in my (two) landline numbers.

Other providers might be cheaper - worth doing the research.

Voipfone send sensible bills, so in that respect they are easier to
understand than BT. Call quality is good - generally better than a mobile.

In a year's use I've seen one problem, on 9 January, when their website
would not accept logins. Their status page showed the problem, and
their progress towards resolving it.

This compares with FTTP when the service failed at 18:36 on 3 February
and was not restored until 21:28 on 4 February - Zen told me that this
was a problem within Openreach that Zen had no power to force Openreach
to fix any quicker.

By contrast I've not seen a landline failure that broke the voice
service since the highways drainage contractor cut the undergound cables
back in about 1990. ADSL and later VDSL would drop out for a minute or
two every few days in response to lightning strikes or Openreach
technicians touching the wrong wires.

[Theo]

Post by Graham J
[snip]

Post by T i m
Is there any particular benefit going to Voipfone (technical / features)
over the cheaper alternatives suggested so far, or is it just what you
happened on at the time Graham?

I first used Voipfone in 2010 to support some business clients. One
client could only get internet via satellite but even with the latency
of that connection the Voipfone service worked well. I found them
knowledgeable and easy to deal with.

Voipfone and Andrews & Arnold are the two most common mentioned here. Very
roughly:

Voipfone:
£3.60 per number per month
Pay per minute or bundled call packages (NNN minutes per month or unlimited)
PPM rates: Landlines: 1.2p/min, Mobiles: 8.4p/min
Virtual fax service available


A&A
£1.44 per number per month
Pay per minute only
PPM rates: Landlines: 1.5p/min, Mobiles: 4p/min
SIP2SIM available (put your number on a SIM card and use it on a 3G/4G mobile
network with their tariff plus 2p extra)


Support from both seems to be generally good.

Did I miss anything?

Theo

[Bob Eager]

Post by Theo

Post by Graham J
[snip]

Post by T i m
Is there any particular benefit going to Voipfone (technical / features)
over the cheaper alternatives suggested so far, or is it just what
you happened on at the time Graham?

I first used Voipfone in 2010 to support some business clients. One
client could only get internet via satellite but even with the latency
of that connection the Voipfone service worked well. I found them
knowledgeable and easy to deal with.

Voipfone and Andrews & Arnold are the two most common mentioned here.
£3.60 per number per month Pay per minute or bundled call packages (NNN
8.4p/min Virtual fax service available
1.5p/min, Mobiles: 4p/min SIP2SIM available (put your number on a SIM
card and use it on a 3G/4G mobile network with their tariff plus 2p
extra)
Support from both seems to be generally good.
Did I miss anything?

Worth mentioning that AAISP charge a full minute for the first minute or
part thereof. Then they charge by the second, rounded up to the nearest
1p. So actually cheaper than it looks.

[T i m]

Post by Bob Eager

Post by Theo

Post by Graham J
[snip]

Post by T i m
Is there any particular benefit going to Voipfone (technical / features)
over the cheaper alternatives suggested so far, or is it just what
you happened on at the time Graham?

I first used Voipfone in 2010 to support some business clients. One
client could only get internet via satellite but even with the latency
of that connection the Voipfone service worked well. I found them
knowledgeable and easy to deal with.

Voipfone and Andrews & Arnold are the two most common mentioned here.
£3.60 per number per month Pay per minute or bundled call packages (NNN
8.4p/min Virtual fax service available
1.5p/min, Mobiles: 4p/min SIP2SIM available (put your number on a SIM
card and use it on a 3G/4G mobile network with their tariff plus 2p
extra)
Support from both seems to be generally good.
Did I miss anything?

Worth mentioning that AAISP charge a full minute for the first minute or
part thereof. Then they charge by the second, rounded up to the nearest
1p. So actually cheaper than it looks.

Sorry Bob, so AAISP is a third option here, a variant of A&A or the same
thing as A&A? (I can research more later).

Cheers, T i m

[Theo]

Post by T i m
Sorry Bob, so AAISP is a third option here, a variant of A&A or the same
thing as A&A? (I can research more later).

"We are Andrews & Arnold Ltd, a limited company, registered in England &
Wales, company number 3342760. We also use trading names of AAISP and A&A."

https://www.aa.net.uk/

[Bob Eager]

Post by Theo

Post by T i m
Sorry Bob, so AAISP is a third option here, a variant of A&A or the
same thing as A&A? (I can research more later).

"We are Andrews & Arnold Ltd, a limited company, registered in England &
Wales, company number 3342760. We also use trading names of AAISP and A&A."
https://www.aa.net.uk/

Yes, I generally say AAISP because I'm lazy!

[T i m]

Post by Bob Eager

Post by Theo

Post by T i m
Sorry Bob, so AAISP is a third option here, a variant of A&A or the
same thing as A&A? (I can research more later).

"We are Andrews & Arnold Ltd, a limited company, registered in England &
Wales, company number 3342760. We also use trading names of AAISP and A&A."
https://www.aa.net.uk/

Yes, I generally say AAISP because I'm lazy!

That's how one of their confirmation texts came up addressed as. ;-)

BT number being ported to them as I type and I have a Yealink Voipphone
and base on their way from eBay.

I can then take 6 DECT phones offline. 4 were connected to my LL v my
1x4 PSTN and the other two to Sipgate via my Fritzbox! Fon WAN router.

I believe I can also add the Sipgate accounts to the Yealink VOIP phone
so that should tidy all that up (and save some energy). ;-)

OOI, has anyone here used the W60B / W53H combo and can offer any tips /
gotchas please? (Assuming they are compatible with A&A etc)? I don't
think I'm really going to use it in earnest so it just needs to 'work' etc.

Thanks again to all those who replied so far.

Cheers, T i m

[Graham J]

Post by T i m

Post by Bob Eager

Post by Theo

Post by T i m
Sorry Bob, so AAISP is a third option here, a variant of A&A or the
same thing as A&A? (I can research more later).

"We are Andrews & Arnold Ltd, a limited company, registered in England &
Wales, company number 3342760.  We also use trading names of AAISP and
A&A."
https://www.aa.net.uk/

Yes, I generally say AAISP because I'm lazy!

That's how one of their confirmation texts came up addressed as. ;-)
BT number being ported to them as I type and I have a Yealink Voipphone
and base on their way from eBay.
I can then take 6 DECT phones offline. 4 were connected to my LL v my
1x4 PSTN and the other two to Sipgate via my Fritzbox! Fon WAN router.
I believe I can also add the Sipgate accounts to the Yealink VOIP phone
so that should tidy all that up (and save some energy). ;-)
OOI, has anyone here used the W60B / W53H combo and can offer any tips /
gotchas please? (Assuming they are compatible with A&A etc)? I don't
think I'm really going to use it in earnest so it just needs to 'work' etc.
Thanks again to all those who replied so far.

My only experience with the Yealink W60B / W53H combo is with a system
provided by "BT Cloud Voice Express" where BT did not provide the
username/password to allow me to change anything.

I would think that A&A should be able to resolve any problems.

[T i m]

On 08/03/2024 12:25, Graham J wrote:
<snip>

Post by Graham J
My only experience with the Yealink W60B / W53H combo is with a system
provided by "BT Cloud Voice Express" where BT did not provide the
username/password to allow me to change anything.

I was actually the default 'administrator' to a local shops BT Cloud
Voice upgrade (so did have all the authentication etc) but can't
remember that the handsets were now.

Post by Graham J
I would think that A&A should be able to resolve any problems.

Yeah, I have already 'tested' the online chat function and provided them
some info about the power consumption of the Yealink phone / base combo. ;-)

I'm assuming there should be configuration guides for different models,
especially given they offer the Yealink W60B + phone combos themselves.

I need to get back onto my Sipgate account and confirm the settings from
there as well.

I am slightly cautious re the gear I have ordered as I noticed some are
marked 'unlocked' so I'm guessing these could be provided 'locked' to
the likes of BT?

Cheers, T i m

[Graham J]

T i m wrote:

[snip]

Post by T i m
I am slightly cautious re the gear I have ordered as I noticed some are
marked 'unlocked' so I'm guessing these could be provided 'locked' to
the likes of BT?

I suspect that "locked" means that a reset to factory default will
restore the mechanism whereby the base station downloads its
configuration from a BT server. If you were to discover the required
username / password and then successfully log in, any changes you made
would be lost following any automatic firmware upgrade.

[T i m]

Post by Graham J
[snip]

Post by T i m
I am slightly cautious re the gear I have ordered as I noticed some
are marked 'unlocked' so I'm guessing these could be provided 'locked'
to the likes of BT?

I suspect that "locked" means that a reset to factory default will
restore the mechanism whereby the base station downloads its
configuration from a BT server.

OK.

Post by Graham J
If you were to discover the required
username / password and then successfully log in, any changes you made
would be lost following any automatic firmware upgrade.

I was wondering if these things were sometimes cheaper / subsidised when
branded / locked to a particular provider (like BB routers locked to Sky
/ 3 / whoever) .

Fingers crossed then. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Post by Graham J
[snip]

Post by T i m
I am slightly cautious re the gear I have ordered as I noticed some
are marked 'unlocked' so I'm guessing these could be provided 'locked'
to the likes of BT?

I suspect that "locked" means that a reset to factory default will
restore the mechanism whereby the base station downloads its
configuration from a BT server.  If you were to discover the required
username / password and then successfully log in, any changes you made
would be lost following any automatic firmware upgrade.

Phone arrived today and I configured it onto my one of my Sipgate lines
and it seems to work both ways. ;-)

When I reboot the shows something about 'Update ... skipped' and looking
online, there is a later firmware version available.

It's currently running V 77.83.0.85 and it looks like there is a
77.85.0.25 available (W53P (W60B+W53H)).

https://support.yealink.com/en/portal/search?keyword=w60b%20firmware&type=software&order=score

I might check first with the eBay seller ...

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

On 09/03/2024 22:35, T i m wrote:
<snip>

Post by T i m
It's currently running V 77.83.0.85 and it looks like there is a
77.85.0.25 available (W53P (W60B+W53H)).
https://support.yealink.com/en/portal/search?keyword=w60b%20firmware&type=software&order=score
I might check first with the eBay seller ...

And he came back pretty quickly to say 'yes, safe to upgrade and the
'unlocked' is simply indicating the units he supplies units aren't
locked (to a particular provider).

So I updated both the Yealink W60B base to FW 77.85.0.25

and the W53H handset to FW 88.85.0.20

As it's an EOL product (W53P) the chances are they will be the last.

I think the BT LL number port will be happening on 14/03/2024.

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

On 10/03/2024 00:02, T i m wrote:
<snip>

Post by T i m
So I updated both the Yealink W60B base to FW 77.85.0.25

And have since found and upgraded the base to: FW 77.85.0.160

I like the way the handset tells you the base is being upgraded and not
to turn it off. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Roger Mills]

Post by Bob Eager

Post by Theo

Post by Graham J
[snip]

Post by T i m
Is there any particular benefit going to Voipfone (technical / features)
over the cheaper alternatives suggested so far, or is it just what
you happened on at the time Graham?

I first used Voipfone in 2010 to support some business clients. One
client could only get internet via satellite but even with the latency
of that connection the Voipfone service worked well. I found them
knowledgeable and easy to deal with.

Voipfone and Andrews & Arnold are the two most common mentioned here.
£3.60 per number per month Pay per minute or bundled call packages (NNN
8.4p/min Virtual fax service available
1.5p/min, Mobiles: 4p/min SIP2SIM available (put your number on a SIM
card and use it on a 3G/4G mobile network with their tariff plus 2p
extra)
Support from both seems to be generally good.
Did I miss anything?

Worth mentioning that AAISP charge a full minute for the first minute or
part thereof. Then they charge by the second, rounded up to the nearest
1p. So actually cheaper than it looks.

Not exactly . .
A&A do indeed charge by the second, but there is a minimum per call
charge of 2p+VAT (2.4p). So calls to landlines lasting less than 1.6
minutes or to mobiles lasting less than 36 seconds will cost 2.4p, and
then at the pro-rata per second rate thereafter.

[Tweed]

Post by T i m
We have had a BT Landline for 40+ years now but like many, we mostly use
our mobiles and in our case, have broadband via cable (never had ADSL
etc, it was DU before that). We also have FTTP rolling out round here so
I don't see a reason to keep the copper LL.
In fact, I don't think our phone line actually works (people have said
it just gives them engaged tone and I CBA to fault-find it) and it has
to be a couple of years since we tried to make a call from it.
But before I ask BT to remove it, is there anything I can / should do?
Like, what of those people who might only have our landline number,
could I port it over to a VOIP supplier (I still have a couple of
Sipgate numbers)? Or maybe it could be forwarded to my mobile and if so,
is that likely to be expensive?
Would BT *give* us a VOIP line / phone in the foreseeable, if we have a
LL now?
Cheers, T i m

Consider Andrews and Arnold. You can port your number to them. There is a
£15 one off fee. Monthly cost thereafter is £1.44

If all you want to do is mop up the odd inbound call set up the line on
their control panel to go straight to voicemail. Voicemail can be
configured to email you the recording as a WAV attachment. You can add a
voip handset if you want to do more with the line.

Sipgate have been blowing hot and cold on what they want to do. New
customers have to pay at least £10/month and there were threats to move
existing free customers to this, but it has yet to happen. My own view is
that free is never a long term solution. £1.44/month seems not that
painful.

[Theo]

Post by Tweed
Consider Andrews and Arnold. You can port your number to them. There is a
£15 one off fee. Monthly cost thereafter is £1.44
If all you want to do is mop up the odd inbound call set up the line on
their control panel to go straight to voicemail. Voicemail can be
configured to email you the recording as a WAV attachment. You can add a
voip handset if you want to do more with the line.
Sipgate have been blowing hot and cold on what they want to do. New
customers have to pay at least £10/month and there were threats to move
existing free customers to this, but it has yet to happen. My own view is
that free is never a long term solution. £1.44/month seems not that
painful.

+1 to that. Also to note you can install a SIP app on your mobile(s) and
have the VOIP number ring the mobiles when there's an incoming call. First
to pick up gets the call. If nobody picks up it goes to voicemail and the
recording can be emailed (A&A send you an MP3 not a WAV, and they're usually
a few hundred KB so not massive).

Theo

[Tweed]

Post by Theo

Post by Tweed
Consider Andrews and Arnold. You can port your number to them. There is a
£15 one off fee. Monthly cost thereafter is £1.44
If all you want to do is mop up the odd inbound call set up the line on
their control panel to go straight to voicemail. Voicemail can be
configured to email you the recording as a WAV attachment. You can add a
voip handset if you want to do more with the line.
Sipgate have been blowing hot and cold on what they want to do. New
customers have to pay at least £10/month and there were threats to move
existing free customers to this, but it has yet to happen. My own view is
that free is never a long term solution. £1.44/month seems not that
painful.

+1 to that. Also to note you can install a SIP app on your mobile(s) and
have the VOIP number ring the mobiles when there's an incoming call. First
to pick up gets the call. If nobody picks up it goes to voicemail and the
recording can be emailed (A&A send you an MP3 not a WAV, and they're usually
a few hundred KB so not massive).
Theo

Just checked and my voicemail attachments are wav. Perhaps it is
configurable.
I use A&A not only for my former landline but also for my deceased mother’s
number. Mine has always been ex-directory and gets few spam calls. My
mother’s has been in the directory for many decades and usually gets two or
three spam calls per day. Without fail they terminate the call after the
beep of please leave a message after the tone. I presume they use some sort
of beep detection. I’m hoping A&A get some micro fee for answering the
call.

[Mark Carver]

Post by Tweed
Sipgate have been blowing hot and cold on what they want to do. New
customers have to pay at least £10/month and there were threats to move
existing free customers to this, but it has yet to happen. My own view is
that free is never a long term solution.

My experience of Sipgate's basic service is it's rubbish. Lousy quality
calls, and a delay of 30 seconds actually cancelling a call after you've
hung up.

It's fine for my application, to catch occasional calls from <cough> our
still surviving eldery relations to phone us on, because they only feel
comfortable dialing us on an 01xx number !

The VoIP phone I bought will probably end up on ebay before the end of
this decade.

[Woody]

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Tweed
Sipgate have been blowing hot and cold on what they want to do. New
customers have to pay at least £10/month and there were threats to move
existing free customers to this, but it has yet to happen. My own view is
that free is never a long term solution.

My experience of Sipgate's basic service is it's rubbish. Lousy quality
calls, and a delay of 30 seconds actually cancelling a call after you've
hung up.
It's fine for my application, to catch occasional calls from <cough> our
still surviving eldery relations to phone us on, because they only feel
comfortable dialing us on an 01xx number !
The VoIP phone I bought will probably end up on ebay before the end of
this decade.

I have two Sipgate circuits and they work (and have worked for well over
a decade) like a dream.
I don't know Mark if it will make any difference but are you using the
ports that Sipgate now recommend - in the 40000 range rather that the
5000's? I had the odd issue way back but since I went into the 40k's its
been perfect.

[Bob Eager]

Post by Woody
I have two Sipgate circuits and they work (and have worked for well over
a decade) like a dream.
I don't know Mark if it will make any difference but are you using the
ports that Sipgate now recommend - in the 40000 range rather that the
5000's? I had the odd issue way back but since I went into the 40k's its
been perfect.

I seamlessly ported my Sipgate number to AAISP. It's only £1.44 a month.
And Sipgate refunded my unused credit in full!

[David Wade]

Post by T i m
We have had a BT Landline for 40+ years now but like many, we mostly use
our mobiles and in our case, have broadband via cable (never had ADSL
etc, it was DU before that). We also have FTTP rolling out round here so
I don't see a reason to keep the copper LL.

Post by T i m
In fact, I don't think our phone line actually works (people have said

it just gives them engaged tone and I CBA to fault-find it) and it has
to be a couple of years since we tried to make a call from it.
But before I ask BT to remove it, is there anything I can / should do?
Like, what of those people who might only have our landline number,
could I port it over to a VOIP supplier (I still have a couple of
Sipgate numbers)? Or maybe it could be forwarded to my mobile and if so,
is that likely to be expensive?

If it hasn't worked for two years why bother? If you want to keep it
both A&A and voipfone.co.uk have cheap plans. e.g.

https://www.voipfone.co.uk/plans/comparison

Post by T i m
Would BT *give* us a VOIP line / phone in the foreseeable, if we have a
LL now?

At some point BT will swap you from copper to their proprietary and
expensive VOIP solution. Even if you have to buy an ATA (voip to
analogue adaptor) you will save more than the cost of it within a few
months. Voipfone have an app for your mobile so you may just wish to use
that...

https://www.voipfone.co.uk/softphone.php

Post by T i m
Cheers, T i m

Dave

[Woody]

Post by T i m
We have had a BT Landline for 40+ years now but like many, we mostly use
our mobiles and in our case, have broadband via cable (never had ADSL
etc, it was DU before that). We also have FTTP rolling out round here so
I don't see a reason to keep the copper LL.
In fact, I don't think our phone line actually works (people have said
it just gives them engaged tone and I CBA to fault-find it) and it has
to be a couple of years since we tried to make a call from it.
But before I ask BT to remove it, is there anything I can / should do?
Like, what of those people who might only have our landline number,
could I port it over to a VOIP supplier (I still have a couple of
Sipgate numbers)? Or maybe it could be forwarded to my mobile and if so,
is that likely to be expensive?
Would BT *give* us a VOIP line / phone in the foreseeable, if we have a
LL now?

The secret is to get the fibre installed and ask for a new number. Say a
month down the road if the VoIP line is working well get the BT line
number ported to the VoIP service. Ergo you still have your old long
standing number but it is on VoIP with a different provider. Worst case
it will cost you a month or two of two services and possibly a switching
charge - which is not the end of the world.

One other point that many people miss. If you change to a fibre provider
from (I assume) VM as your broadband supplier, more of the fibre
organisations don't not provide mail handling facilities. Not a problem
if all of your mail addresses are with the likes of Gmail/Hotmail/Yahoo
etc, but if they are ntlworld/blueyonder/virginmedia addresses then you
will have to find someone else to do it and that will cost albeit again
not the end of the world. I hear good reports of Mythic Beasts but you
need to understand some jargon so that you can get the best out of
talking to them and getting your setup working. I also hear good reports
of IDNet who do provide mail handling.

Finally, if you want to save an awful amount of work notifying your mail
correspondents of your new address, get yourself a domain from a
provider that suppliers free mail forwarding. Then all you have to do
when the move comes is to change the delivery address of any mail sent
to your domain address. Simples?

[T i m]

On 17/02/2024 13:43, Woody wrote:

<snip>>>

Post by Woody

Post by T i m
Would BT *give* us a VOIP line / phone in the foreseeable, if we have
a LL now?

The secret is to get the fibre installed and ask for a new number. Say a
month down the road if the VoIP line is working well get the BT line
number ported to the VoIP service. Ergo you still have your old long
standing number but it is on VoIP with a different provider. Worst case
it will cost you a month or two of two services and possibly a switching
charge - which is not the end of the world.

I was interested in the fibre, till VM reduced their charges. ;-)

Post by Woody
One other point that many people miss. If you change to a fibre provider
from (I assume) VM as your broadband supplier, more of the fibre
organisations don't not provide mail handling facilities. Not a problem
if all of your mail addresses are with the likes of Gmail/Hotmail/Yahoo
etc, but if they are ntlworld/blueyonder/virginmedia addresses then you
will have to find someone else to do it and that will cost albeit again
not the end of the world.

Understood. When I was thinking of leaving VM and going 4G I migrated
most of my email contacts / subscriptions to my domai8n.

Post by Woody
I hear good reports of Mythic Beasts but you
need to understand some jargon so that you can get the best out of
talking to them and getting your setup working.

Ok.

Post by Woody
I also hear good reports
of IDNet who do provide mail handling.

I may look into them in the future.

Post by Woody
Finally, if you want to save an awful amount of work notifying your mail
correspondents of your new address, get yourself a domain from a
provider that suppliers free mail forwarding. Then all you have to do
when the move comes is to change the delivery address of any mail sent
to your domain address. Simples?

You make it sound simple Woody. ;-)

I believe you tested / had some VoIP interfaces a while back? Do you
still have / use them etc please?

Cheers, T i m