PDPL

[Andy Burns]

Pre-Digital Phone Line seems to be Openreach's name for a copper line
for users who don't want to move to Digital Voice when PSTN is
withdrawn, I hadn't heard the term before ...

<https://www.bt.com/bt-plc/assets/documents/special-services/pdpl-wholesale-technical-specification.pdf>

[David Wade]

Post by Andy Burns
Pre-Digital Phone Line seems to be Openreach's name for a copper line
for users who don't want to move to Digital Voice when PSTN is
withdrawn, I hadn't heard the term before ...
<https://www.bt.com/bt-plc/assets/documents/special-services/pdpl-wholesale-technical-specification.pdf>

Its not for users who don't WANT to move to digital voice, its for those
who are UNABLE to move off the PSTN.

If its what BT were previously touting, its also not available for new
supply.

Dave

[Theo]

Post by David Wade

Post by Andy Burns
Pre-Digital Phone Line seems to be Openreach's name for a copper line
for users who don't want to move to Digital Voice when PSTN is
withdrawn, I hadn't heard the term before ...
<https://www.bt.com/bt-plc/assets/documents/special-services/pdpl-wholesale-technical-specification.pdf>

Its not for users who don't WANT to move to digital voice, its for those
who are UNABLE to move off the PSTN.
If its what BT were previously touting, its also not available for new
supply.

Is this the thing for consumers who can't cope with broadband and they put
an ATA in the cabinet to give them 'normal' copper analogue phone? Or a
different thing for people who are at the end of a 99km line and can't get
ADSL and just keep the regular PSTN?

I'm not clear how the latter is different to the regular analogue PSTN
setup, ie they keep their old exchange. Why do they need a spec for that?
Or are they replacing the kit in such exchanges with new?

Theo

[Mike Humphrey]

Post by Theo
I'm not clear how the latter is different to the regular analogue PSTN
setup, ie they keep their old exchange. Why do they need a spec for that?

It's not that different, which is why this spec is quite short. But there
are a few differences in details, which is what this points out.

Post by Theo
Or are they replacing the kit in such exchanges with new?

Yes. The main driver for moving off the old PSTN services is that the
exchange equipment is obsolete and getting expensive to maintain. Most
people will be moved to digital voice. If you can't - you've not got a
suitable broadband service available or use a device that won't work with
digital voice from the premises - this is the fallback.

From an end user point of view it's not much different. The change is that
all the intelligence - call routing, features etc - has been centralised,
and the "box" in the exchange is just converting analogue to VoIP. Call it
a remote concentrator if you want - and we've had those for years.

Mike