Digital Voice

[Foxbat]

I was about to renew my broadband contract and save a couple of quid a month but, when I was about to checkout, a window opened informing me that I would be receiving Digital Voice. I didn’t bother renewing for now and did a little digging on this and here’s what I found.

Apparently, everybody needs to move to Digital Voice by 2025 (even people without an internet connection). This is because, just like our TVs a few years ago, the telephone network is going digital. It all sounds very reasonable but….read on MacDuff…

You have to plug the phone in to the router BT provide or use an adaptor. It seems that ADSL filters will no longer be required. For structural reasons, my phone is nowhere near my router. I had to run about ten metres of cable to get the router to a power source. Those of us old enough to remember will know that the phone socket location never used to need to be situated anywhere near mains electricity. And, still wallowing in nostalgia, here’s something else I learned.…Because the phone (whether directly connected to the router or via an adaptor) is essentially being piggybacked on to broadband, guess what happens in a power cut? You lose your phone connection.

It used to be the case (and still is) that the phone network ran on banks of batteries so was not affected by any loss of mains electricity. And here’s something else. This loss of phone connection due to power loss includes 999 calls to the emergency services. The advice from BT? You’ll have to use a mobile. That’s all well and good if you have a mobile but there are still some of us who don’t use them. And what happens if a power cut includes the supply to phone masts? Some masts have backup sources but not all.

I’ve never liked the idea of a mobile phone containing all my data (banking, billing, credit cards etc) and I’ve never liked the idea of doing everything over the internet. Now, our last line of communication will be subjected to the same risk as we finally put every single egg we have all in one basket.

Imagine the chaos that could ensue when our paperless world is subjected to an energy crisis (crisis? what crisis?) and blackouts start occurring with a frightening regularity. No phone. No bank. No money. No TV. No fire brigade for your burning house (unless you have a mobile and are part of a network that has somehow survived the power cut)

The latest on Digital Voice.

We’re pausing our Digital Voice plans for Consumers, while we work on a more resilient rollout

By Marc Allera, CEO, Consumer division, BTLast year, we began our major rollout of Digital Voice – BT’s new home phone service that will mean calls are made over our new broadband network, rather than the old analogue network which is over 40 years old.Put simply, instead of plugging a home...

newsroom.bt.com

We’re almost there folks

P.S. I’ve decided not to renew my contract and take the financial hit of a slightly higher bill because I just don’t like where this is going.

 

[Mr Cairo]

Mine was switched to the router on my last service with Virgin and other than the power cut issue its been fine the only drawback is my phone is now in my computer room as that's where the router is the computer room is upstairs so have the ringtone on super loud to hear it and that makes me jump like hell when it rings and I am sitting right next to it. Probably going to invest in some kind of WIFI phone.

No reduction on the bill though and I find that odd as I no longer use the physical phone line so naturally expected a drop in cost.

 

[Foxbat]

my phone is now in my computer room as that's where the router is the computer room is upstairs so have the ringtone on super loud

This would pretty much be where I would be with Digital Voice.

It’s the power cut issue that concerns me the most because, dependent on what caused that cut, it might be the time when you most need access to a phone.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Wow, still using a landline, eh? I think the last time I used a landline properly was to enquire if I could send a cheque in for a bill. Although I've now forgotten what a cheque is too.

To be fair I have used a landline recently, but it was to phone my mobile because I couldn't see where I have put it!

In all seriousness, I'm with you with the power cut issue, although I guess that mobile phone companies have emergency batteries/generators in place on their masts to maintain emergency service calls, in the same way that the old landline can be powered during a power cut. At least I hope so. That still leaves the potential issue of your phone not being charged or running out of charge if there is a very long blackout, I suppose.

If you were paranoid of such issues, perhaps get an portable powerpack that can also utilise solar energy handy, I suppose, to keep your mobile running, although if it is a power cut that lasts enough time that you require sunlight to build up a charge the next day, I'd guess the mobile network could be in trouble too. (As might the old landline backup system, given enough time perhaps.)

 

[Foxbat]

After thinking on it, I’ve just gone and ordered it. My reasoning for changing my mind is quite straightforward. I’m going to have to change sooner or later so I might as well get it over with. I don’t look forward to this in the slightest. I’m a creature of habit and I detest change so the quicker this is over and done with the better in my book.

 

[Vertigo]

BT tried to impose this in the Highlands recently and they had sent out all the notifications and started booking all the appointments etc. and then people complained, mainly because of the power cut issue, and BT were eventually forced to back down and now only offer it but aren't allowed to impose it on people. However so far everyone locally that I have spoken to who were unhappy about it have admitted they only have a cordless phone already and it had not occurred to them that it, too, would not work in a power cut!

I really don't have an issue with it. Most of us have mobiles now, and landlines and broadcast TV (as opposed to TV over the internet) will be things of the past before long. It's still an issue that some place have no reception but there are fewer of those year by year. @Foxbat there's no obligation to put all your banking etc on your mobile; you can simply use it as a mobile phone. I use mine for telephone, text messaging, occasional internet browsing but almost never for banking or email. The only other thing I use it for is maps when I'm in the hills, oh and the camera! Just use it for what you want and ignore the rest; there are loads of apps that come with the phone these days but if I'm not interested in them (which covers most of them) then I simply ignore them. Simples.

 

[Ursa major]

As an aside....

the telephone network is going digital

It would surprise my many former colleagues to discover that "the telephone network is going digital", as they designed and built digital switches for telephone exchanges quite a few decades ago, and the digital equipment to carry the digitised voice and signalling between those exchanges (not to mention digital transmission systems).

 

[Foxbat]

As an aside....

It would surprise my many former colleagues to discover that "the telephone network is going digital", as they designed and built digital switches for telephone exchanges quite a few decades ago, and the digital equipment to carry the digitised voice and signalling between those exchanges (not to mention digital transmission systems).

BT's words not mine.
Here's a quote from their marketing bumf.

We’re making the switch because most home phones today work on an old, analogue network. That outdated network will be switched off for all phone providers by 2025. So we’ll be moving all our UK home phone customers over to Digital Voice in the next few years.

@Foxbat there's no obligation to put all your banking etc on your mobile; you can simply use it as a mobile phone

I was speaking more in general terms. People are like water or electricity and they will always take the path of least resistance and, just like your cordless friends, it won't occur to them that putting all their personal stuff on a phone will be a problem until it gets broken or, worse, goes missing.


For the record, I don't even use a mobile phone never mind use it for banking or anything else.

 

[mosaix]

Some BT telephone exchanges have entire floors dedicated to battery storage for supporting the telephone network in the event of power cuts. It’s going to save BT a fortune.

 

[Foxbat]

Some BT telephone exchanges have entire floors dedicated to battery storage for supporting the telephone network in the event of power cuts. It’s going to save BT a fortune.

No doubt.

A friend of mine who still works in the nuclear industry took advantage of something similar to this. We had our own phone network on site with similar banks of batteries. They had to be replaced, not because they were faulty but because of the use-by date. The vast majority were still in perfect working order so my friend asked if he could have some of the batteries because they were simply being disposed of. Now, he has installed them in a shed close to his house, fitted an inverter and put some solar panels on his roof. I don't know all the details but I know he's not connected them to the grid. They'll be a great backup to run some lighting etc during power cuts

 

[Ursa major]

BT's words not mine.

I know they're BT's words... the very same BT (give or take the apparent loss of their former intelligent workforce) for whom those digital switches and transmission systems (and a lot of other pieces of equipment) were built. Indeed, BT (originally Post Office Telephones) was in the partnership that started to design the first version of the digital exchanges before stepping back to becoming just a customer.


As for the switch-off of the analogue local access network.... I think the problems were well and truly shown when all those homes recently suffered power cuts for days. Only the old analogue phones** would still work, because they are powered from the exchange*** (which either still had access to mains power or was relying on its huge battery). I expect some of the mobile antennas lost power as well, so even if a mobile phone was charged up, it may not have been able to make a call.


** - As it happens, I use cordless phones in the house (I still have a couple of the original phones but, when I once wanted to see if they still worked, they didn't ).

*** - I say "exchange", but what we think of as local exchanges (like the one just up the road from me) no longer have a complete exchange inside them, only a number of the exchange's "concentrators" (and their battery), connected to the remotely located main digital switch of the exchange over a digital link.

 

[mosaix]

How times have changed. There was a time when the loss of telephone service for 999 etc was a dire emergency. I remember that sometime in the early nineties a telephone exchange burnt down. Somewhere in the northeast, I think. In those days BT had mobile exchanges on standby for such occurrences that could be wheeled in and connected to the streetside 'green boxes'. I seem to remember that 90% of the town had their service restored within 3 days.

Now it's "well most people have mobiles".

 

[Montero]

But not everyone has a signal all the time. We live in a steep hills, steep valleys sort of place and there is not a signal in the bottom of most valleys. So to call the emergency services on your mobile, first run/drive up the hill.

Same thing with Channel 4 - governments argument for privatising it was that most people downloaded/used streaming/Netflix. We don't.
Not everywhere is the same as London. When will governments actually take that on board????

 

[mosaix]

Mine was switched to the router on my last service with Virgin and other than the power cut issue its been fine the only drawback is my phone is now in my computer room as that's where the router is the computer room is upstairs so have the ringtone on super loud to hear it and that makes me jump like hell when it rings and I am sitting right next to it. Probably going to invest in some kind of WIFI phone.

No reduction on the bill though and I find that odd as I no longer use the physical phone line so naturally expected a drop in cost.

So how does it work? My router has 5 ports - 1 input from the ADSL filter and 4 LAN ports. I take it the phone uses one of the LAN ports? Unfortunately, all four of mine are in use.

 

[Foxbat]

So how does it work? My router has 5 ports - 1 input from the ADSL filter and 4 LAN ports. I take it the phone uses one of the LAN ports? Unfortunately, all four of mine are in use.

As far as I can tell, you get a new router with a special socket in the back, which your standard phone plugs into. As for BT, they’re sending me an Alexa phone (I hate Alexa). It seems I can use that or plug my phone into the extra router socket. I believe the Alexa phone is run from WiFi.

 

[nixie]

So how does it work? My router has 5 ports - 1 input from the ADSL filter and 4 LAN ports. I take it the phone uses one of the LAN ports? Unfortunately, all four of mine are in use.

If you get a digital phone that is WiFi enabled you can connect over WiFi. If you want to use your current phone then you'll need an adaptor which will use one of your ports.

There is also an issue with routers not all are compatible with digital voice.

BT will supply vulnerable customers with a battery back up that will last around 90 minutes in case of a power cut. These can also be purchased.

 

[Foxbat]

Has anybody considered this….in an energy crisis, companies are just giving us more and more things to run on electricity that a lot of us can’t afford? Once BT batteries juiced up the phones and now it’s our own electricity that we pay for. No wonder these companies are quids in.

 

[Alex The G and T]

Mine was switched to the router on my last service with Virgin and other than the power cut issue its been fine the only drawback is my phone is now in my computer room as that's where the router is the computer room is upstairs so have the ringtone on super loud to hear it and that makes me jump like hell when it rings and I am sitting right next to it. Probably going to invest in some kind of WIFI phone.

No reduction on the bill though and I find that odd as I no longer use the physical phone line so naturally expected a drop in cost.

Wireless hand-sets have been readily available. A base station goes at the landline connection. Other handsets can be placed, with or without an additional remote charger, wherever; with a range of about a hundred meters. The multiple hand-sets can also function as an intercom system.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

6 years ago my area was getting hit by severe storms that would knock out power for a week at a time in some locations because that's how long it took to get the wires fixed in the area. It was random, the areas that got hit, other locations nearby still had power. With wires down everywhere and power out, the old fashioned rotary dial phone still worked. Amazingly the phone wires stayed up to get the calls through to the main lines. The worked good. But if you tried to use a menu driven service that did not work. There used to be a button on the original touch tone phones that allowed you to mimic touch tone responses on non touch tone lines.

We haven't had the power out for a week at a time since then, though it does fail for a few hours but not often, but I still have the rotary phone and the required phone service. Unfortunately It costs more than the mobile phone. There are two levels of service, Full service for $49 and the economy service for $42. The economy service is not much cheaper because of all the telecommunication taxes that got put on land lines.

 

[Mr Cairo]

So how does it work? My router has 5 ports - 1 input from the ADSL filter and 4 LAN ports. I take it the phone uses one of the LAN ports? Unfortunately, all four of mine are in use.

as a few other have correctly said there is a small dongle that the phone plugs into and that plugs into an available Ethernet port.

Wireless hand-sets have been readily available. A base station goes at the landline connection. Other handsets can be placed, with or without an additional remote charger, wherever; with a range of about a hundred meters. The multiple hand-sets can also function as an intercom system.

Yeah I have looked at them and helped test a few of them on the network, I worked for Virgin Media Tech Support in the swansea call centre from 2002 until redundancy in 2019. Part of the issue though is the land line is disconnected after the Wifi switch over there is no longer a tone on the old land line.

I am also just slightly resentful of actually having to pay for one. especially after the loss of my staff discount meaning my bill went from £23 a month to the mates rate offer of £72