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Anyone ditching the land line?

Good Afternoon All,

We're 7.8km from the exchange (that's the actual wire length) and have never had decent broadband. Have tried external mobile aerial but still poor reception. Also tried Tooway satellite but it was a variable service and limited in overall service.

Had Starlink for four days now - a definite improvement and cheaper than the Tooway/ mobile service it replaced.

Regards

Richard
 
I have fibre for broadband and there’s a phone number in the package but I’ve never connected a phone. Virgin were charging me nigh on £100 a month in the UK for similar to what I get for <€30 ignoring any temporary discounts in France, except I don’t have the Tivo but then there’s not much worth recording here.
 
so this ditching the landline is quite a problem for the elderly
3 real life scenarios . disabled lady lives alone who has a stairlift and cannot get anywhere without it . used to have landline NOT dependant on power so if there is a powercut or electrics trip she call for help . not anymore BT have disconnected this so now she has no emergency back up except a mobile which is left in various places

Elderly gent whose only care line alarm is connected via internet . if there is a powercut then NO way at all of calling for help at all . which he does need sometimes . no longer has a landline

Elderly lady with Bt via internet . took a while to get it working but no reception for her EE mobile . fortunately they do have emergency call alarms

so all these scenarios are not good for the elderly as often dont have mobiles and wont have one
 
We've also dumped ours. 6 years clean my fellow members of LLA...Land Lines Anonymous.
 
Still got one here on Virgin.
Only use it for incoming calls.
Like the look and sound of my US 70s style handset.
 
We still have one here on Virgin, but have been told it will move to CV21 sometime this year (they have sent us a converter). Everyone will need to move to VOIP by 2025.

Certainly for Virgin, if there are caring technology or assistive technology that rely on the landline, they can make provision for this.
 
Still have mine as part of Plusnet FTC BB package, but only used for incoming calls.

I use a cellphone for all outgoing calls, but am strangely and irrationally attached to the landline number which I've had for close on 40 years. Also, like @Tony L I have a lovely old fully restored GPO 232 attached to it, which I don't want to give up !

Openreach are busy installing FTP in my immediate neighbourhood and I'm waiting with interest to see what happens when the copper wire service is terminated. Apparently BT will provide some sort of VOIP replacement using the old number while Plusnet, who as we all know are part of the BT Group, don't. We've have had no warning as to what the switch to FTP entails, and it seems to vary from one ISP to another. I may end up having to move back to BT just to keep my old number so my GPO 232 still functions. :)
 
I have a Gigaset phone connected to a Gigaset base station which is in turn connected to a Cisco phone adaptor which is then connected to the router cost about £100 all in, works perfectly, incoming calls are via the internet then the adapter converts the signal to analogue so that the phone can receive the calls etc.
 
We ditched ours at our Edinburgh place as we have cable broadband but still have one at our Cairngorms place as it's needed for broadband there unfortunately. I've no idea what the number is and we never use it though - not sure there is even a phone attached.
 
hifinutt said:
so this ditching the landline is quite a problem for the elderly
Click to expand...
hifinutt said:
so all these scenarios are not good for the elderly as often dont have mobiles and wont have one
Click to expand...

Well said, Phil. Yes, I'm elderly but reasonably competent; however, I have no use for a smart phone at all; in fact my 20+ y.o. Nokkia is turned off most of the time. I doubt I'd master the complexities of a mart anything and would never use the facilities when I can use my desk-top and 22" VDU. Next upgrade will be a bigger monitor as my eyes deteriorate.

Luckily, I'm with Virgin and anytime calls are within my essential package. Another thig too (annoys me), I dislike mobiles and always have, as they are frequently less clear that landlines. Okay, depends upon signal, bit I've never had to abandon a LL call but have done to many mobile calls.
 
gintonic said:
We still have one here on Virgin, but have been told it will move to CV21 sometime this year (they have sent us a converter). Everyone will need to move to VOIP by 2025.
Click to expand...

What on Earth is this, GT?. I guess VOIP is via the internet but CV21????? Anyway, crumbs of comfort in this sentence (I think).

gintonic said:
Certainly for Virgin, if there are caring technology or assistive technology that rely on the landline, they can make provision for this.
Click to expand...
 
Mike Reed said:
What on Earth is this, GT?. I guess VOIP is via the internet but CV21????? Anyway, crumbs of comfort in this sentence (I think).
Click to expand...

I think CV21 is hybrid - everyone will need to move to VOIP.

But VM are removing our LL and saying we need to connect via our hub sometime this year. You'll need to have a hub 4 or 5IIRC
 
Still have one as part the Virgin package and still use it - I get free calls all day every day, so why pay out on a mobile?
 
I've yet to find out if the switch over to Internet phone, in the next couple of months, means an fttp upgrade.
Anyone know?

Since fibre was installed in the street last year, the Broadband speed appears to have increased 5 fold, according to speed checker.
So I've not jumped at the upgrade offers.
 
Minio said:
I've yet to find out if the switch over to Internet phone, in the the next couple of months, means an fttp upgrade.
Click to expand...

it didn't with us on Virgin. We have been FTTC for years and coax between the cabinet and the house. We are on 1TB with VM.
 
Swapped to Three mobile broadband nearly 2 years ago now
Stopped the landline when I stopped the old broadband
Works well, faster, no dropouts, cheaper
 
Thorn said:
I prefer the feel of a proper phone handset to that of a small flat rectangle. Add to that the lousy mobile and WiFi connection where I live and my inability to remember to keep my iPhone charged and you'll understand why I'll be keeping my landline for as long as possible.
Click to expand...
Wi-Fi calling.

i have not had a landline in a long time now. Its as antiquated as terrestrial tv.
 
Some mention of careline support for the elderly in the thread already.
The better half works in this area and the support tech has been moving towards units with their own sim cards, etc. - mindful that LL technology is no longer a viable option going forward.

All this reliant on mobile/broadband coverage that is in many cases flakey or non-existent (and not just in remote rural areas)
That said, quite often she gets alarm calls where the person in question clearly has severe hearing loss and a telly that is so loud you can follow the programme while she shouts down the line to get over the din and get a response from them.
Also many forget to put units on charge or fail to answer follow-up calls to landlines ... bit of a minefield already o_O
 
gintonic said:
it didn't with us on Virgin. We have been FTTC for years and coax between the cabinet and the house. We are on 1TB with VM.
Click to expand...
I have to wonder why I would want the FTTP, if FTTC can give me 38 Mbps, which is a lot more than the 8 Mbps I was happy with a couple of years ago.

There doesn't appear to be any need for an upgrade.
 
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