Fibre

Before too long you won't have that choice

If you use your ISP's router, and buy their VoIP service the phones should work, by plugging the DECT base into the green(?) VoIP socket on their router.

If you use your own router that won't be an option, so you'll need to buy VoIP somewhere else, and an ATA if your router doesn't have a VoIP socket.

You could plug one router into the other, but you'd need to avoid clashing subnets and clashing DHCP

snip

Ok. When I have reassembled the bosses' bed and tidied up ready for cleaning lady tomorrow.

So far, the phone for geriatrics, has been paired to the hub and charged. Still not operating. Maybe changing from Plusnet to BT takes time? The copper system has ceased operating.

In most cases they can´t. In most cases a switch of supplier will trigger a change to digital voice over FTTP or FTTC.

It will also act as a SIP "host" so you can connect most Digital Phones or Voice apps to the Fritz!box. I am in Spain at present where I have a second Fritz!box with VPN connection to my box in the UK. It connect via SIP to the UK box, and has a DECT handset so I can make calls on my UK landline number when in Spain.

The AX seems to be getting more firmware updates at present...

Dave

It's not SONET - that was used as point to point backbone interconnect in circuit switching days (think connecting regional exchanges in the 80s/90s).

Openreach FTTP uses GPON, while others use XGS-PON. PON stands for 'passive optical networking', ie designed for multi-drop applications where N houses are connected to the same fibre - a similar model to the DOCSIS standards for cable broadband.

Theo

I posted what follows a while ago, shortly after changing from BT to Virgin digital phone. One key point is that, if you are intending to back-feed into one of your old BT sockets, you need a transposed lead.

I have a couple of two-handset Gigaset systems, and they all work via one of the base stations (the other is simply kept for charging).

I did get hold of a transposed phone lead, intending to back feed the house wired sockets, via an existing outlet near the router, after disconnecting them at the incomer, but really don't have a need to do so.

Seeing discussion elsewhere, I have given it a go. At the BT box (which is not installed to BT rules, but that goes back before I moved in) I simply disconnected the incoming pair.

I then connected the crossover lead from the second phone socket on the Virgin 3 Modem to a nearby wired phone socket, plugged an old phone into a different socket, and nothing happened.

Experimenting further, if I plugged my lead instead into the first socket on the modem, in place of my DECT base station, then the wired sockets all worked as expected. Interestingly the DECT station also does not work on the second modem socket.

I now understand that the second socket can be set up, at a price, to provide another phone line.

Chris

Yes. I actually realised that somewhat later., Its GPON

Yes, but the discussion still stands, as to whether it is in fact sending ethernet frames over the link or just serial frames.

PPP is ultimately a serial protocol only. It doesn't need ethernet per se.

Yup a more useful test would be to time a few large downloads. That does not pose any significant load on the machine (even on an old hard drive it should be able to save data from a 150Mbps stream with no difficulty).

One loss going to my newer router is that version is not available with internal VoIP capability, so I need to configure an external one this time.

With an App on a smart mobile phone connected to your home network you can also make/receive calls with your mobile phone via wi-fi and the fritz box.

Yes, it's called Whatsapp.

Lol! And that is really the point. Once everyone is using mobiles, whatsapp is a far cheaper way to make at least text calls.

Id say whatsapp chat exceeds actual talk chat by about 20:1 on my phone. And since 99% of the time I am near wifi, it costs me nothing .

And I can send pictures and documents too.

And even have a video chat, which I loathe

However the cost of texts and/or calls pales into insignificance when compared with cost of most people's mobiles. It really doesn't matter if a text costs 2p, if you send a thousand of them then that's only £20. The phone they are sent on probably cost more than ten times that!

Is why I retired the iPhone (or one of the reasons, anyway). My Doro cost £30 some 7 or 8 years ago, and works fine. I pay giffgaff £6 a month all found.

The only downside is that composing a text is more fiddly on the Doro than on any smartphone, but that's a useful disincentive for sending them.

Thanks for all the very useful replies. I'm considering my next move now rather than wait until I have to make the change. But it'll have to wait a bit...

Somewhat amusingly (well, read on...) and by a remarkable coincidence, SSE Networks have been digging up the pavement for a couple of days to put in new power cables. Yesterday they called and asked if I had a BT phone connection, and to try it. Yes - you've guessed it - their mini JCB had cut through the BT cable! So no phone and no internet. :-(

I've had to set up my smartphone as a Wi-Fi hotspot to allow me to connect this laptop through Wi-Fi (and mobile to Vodafone)! It's a lot easier to use a laptop keyboard than fiddle with a smartphone touchscreen.

We have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse for use with the 'smart' TV, and this can also drive a smartphone. Not too expensive now.

Several years back, Virgin managed to chop a few BT cables while installing fibre, but Cadent recently replaced gas pipes and they obliterated the BT and Virgin ducts (including some of the inner microducts).

I've not heard any Virgin customers being cut off, but there are going to be some disappointed people wanting fibre in future with techies wondering why they can't blow in the new fibre!

Well I guess that's one way of finding new customers!

It was close to here that the moles devices used by the gas supplier (when fitting plastic pipes into homes) managed to seriously scrape the sheath of the road's electricity feeder. after severe rain, the power suddenly went off. It wasn't until the tarmac started bubling up did the fault get found. Luckily the heat didn't melt the plastic gas main!

With so many suppliers of fibre broadband I think Virgin is actually losing custom. In the past 6 weeks I've had two Virgin cold callers ring my doorbell trying to sell e their service. NTL(?)/Telepest/Virgin have had their cable/fibre down my street for 30+ years.