OT Fibre connection

When they installed ours they installed a POTS socket on the wall nearby connected to a port on the fibre modem.

When they turned off the copper later they issued us with a WiFi VOIP phone.

Since then we've dropped the "landline" for calls, and use mobiles only.

Andy

Not in my house.

External stuff is all passive optical. There are two boxes in the under-stairs cupboard, a fibre modem which converts optical to Ethernet, and a router which has multiple ports and WiFi.

There are POTS ports on the fibre modem too, but they never got used. Even though the Openreach guy connected a POTS socket to one of them.

Andy

Interesting. Our ONT has two POTS ports, and is about the same size as a normal domestic router - much bigger than yours.

Andy

Well I meant, switching entirely to Zen.

Also they still say that they will not increase their prices after the initial 12/18 month contract ends. I'm sure someone here said that agreement was going to be removed from contracts taken out after the end of June.

Old

New

That POTS port is compatible with all legacy phones but it is converted internally into a VOIP digital datastream. aka BT Digital Voice.

That is something that makes sense. Mobile minutes are free up to some contract limit.

Mine is about the same all up but instead of 5Mbps from ADSL2+ over copper on a good day I now get 150Mbps over full fibre.

That is pretty standard now.

Latest generation the fibre modem is a strict optical to 1G ethernet bridge with no other facilities. POTS port is now on the router.

Is your pretend POTS circuit hot? Do you get dialling tone?

If it is ring your mobile to find out what your new phone number is!

It was sold off 20 years ago, BT don't own the exchange buildings, they rent them back from Trillium.

That is the previous previous generation of ONT then.

Mine is even smaller than TNP's. Square and ~1cm larger than a 13A mains socket and about three times as thick. 4 indicator LEDs on the front of it. Single POTS port is now on the router itself which is generic.

ONT plugs into its 1GB WAN port.

I never tried port 2, but port 1 has never worked.

This isn't a particularly new install - I had it all through lockdown which proved to be handy for working from home :)

Andy

That's the one, although we have a different PSU.

Andy

Plusnet have confired you cannot retain your existing phone number if you upgrade to FTTP, even via VOIP.

No probably not... but you can install FTTP in advance to take over from the FTTC for data. Port the PSTN number to a 3rd party VoIP, and then let the FTTC cease. You now have independent VoIP and data providers, and could migrate either in future without affecting the other.

From the users point of view, probably not much, but I was using the term loosely for services from vendors like 3CX.

What if your landline is through BT?

Interesting:

"I'm afraid that due to the way our systems work, we can't upgrade your service to FTTP while keeping your landline number active or port it out. If you're wanting both then you'll need to move to another provider. We can waive termination charges if you choose BT or EE as that provider by calling our Customer Options Team on 0800 013 2632.

Alternatively, if you can hold out until we offer FTTP for new customers then you could sign up a brand new FTTP account then port your landline number away from us, which would close down your FTTC account."

So again it seems the best way is a fresh order of FTTP, keeping your FTTC alive and, when the FTTC is in order, port out your number and cease the FTTC in the process.

Theo

BT can do it provided that you take their full fibre offering. (exactly why I ended up with them)

In fact it seems to be their main USP!

But it was already VIOP on the BT fibre platform by then. What new full fibre contracts don't seem to allow is moving a POTS landline to VOIP.

Newer ONT just output a single 1G ethernet stream and the BT router splits off the VOIP to POTS style phone line.

A standard legacy phone will work on it fine. I don't have anything old enough to test out pulse dialling.

No reason why it can't know the line prefix code though! SMOP

Chances are that VOIP was never enabled on it then and you have an internet only service provision.

They seem to be evolving quite rapidly.

I'm not sure they can get much smaller now, there is barely enough room for all the connectors along the bottom and indicator LEDs as it is.

By comparison my first ISDN box was 12"x15"x3" and lit up like a Christmas tree. Belgacom thought it would make a nice decoration in the middle of the dining room wall. They are very much like the GPO of old.

Belgian POTS phone connectors are truly something to behold.

They look more like a prehistoric UK 2A round pin 3 phase mains plugs with a socket in the back and they can be stacked!

However, you can if you move to their parent company BT and take the FTTP service from BT directly. That was exactly my reason for moving from EE to BT when I upgraded to full fibre.

AFAIK only BT can offer to preserve your existing phone number.

(at that time - late last year Plusnet had no full fibre offerings)

Some of the others might be able to give you a VOIP service but you would have to do some complicated footwork with two lines active to preserve your old phone number and then transfer it over. Plenty of scope for things to go wrong there!