BT switch off of analogue landlines

[eelie1944]

My phone and broadband currently come to my home over a copper BT landline and there is no future date set for full fibre to replace it. When BT switch off their analogue service, some time before 2027, I realise that my phone will not work any more but that does not concern me because I intend to give up the landline phone in the near future anyway. My question concerns my broadband. If BT switch my current copper landline to their new digital service will that affect my broadband?

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning,

I can see that our members have provided advice. Please let us know if you need any further assistance.

Thanks

Michelle

[Sidious]

"Sounds spurious, @Sidious." <== very alliterative!

Maybe so. As I said, Openreach people don't always get it right - longish story in my case.

Sid (or boring old Ant today!)

[Gliwmaeden2]

Sounds spurious, @Sidious.

As and when Full Fibre becomes available with Talktalk in a local area, promotions start popping up (eg on Nextdoor websites) and, like I discovered on Friday, you get knocks on the door when it's very inconvenient.....

You will be offered the INTERNET switch over to the full fibre service and need to insist on ordering the phone number VOIP to be included, or it won't be. 

Some customers may have PHONE leave behind available in the medium term but would need to set up afresh to get VOIP with a new Full Fibre order eventually. 

So, basically the other way around from what you were told. Copper might limp along for a while for phone calls, but NOT for the internet. 

[ferguson]

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@eelie1944 wrote:

I just wanted to know whether that will affect my broadband service or whether new equipment will  be required.

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Yes, new equipment will be required. But it will be installed as and when required and you will not be left without a service, don't worry about that.

As for giving up your landline, as you mentioned in your first post, that is bundled in with your existing service and can't be cancelled separately. Unless you actually use your landline for outgoing calls, or pay for a Calls Boost, then there is no added cost.

[Sidious]

My understanding is that while BT/Openreach will turn off analogue phone lines in the next year or so, that is NOT the case (yet!) with TalkTalk. 

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Our-Blog/Copper-Telephone-Network-Switch-Off-What-does-it-mean-f...

I was also told by an Openreach engineer (some time back admittedly; maybe things have changed now) that though the analogue POTS telephone system would be dispensed with, the physical telephone lines would still be used to carry internet traffic (at least to the local/closest FTTC cabinet) for some time. In other words, the analogue phone components being phased out has been wrongly conflated with making the entire copper network redundant at the same time.

Of course, Openreach engineers don't always get things right, as I've experienced myself....

[Gliwmaeden2]

It's completely different infrastructure, @eelie1944 so involves engineers.

For slower speeds the Hub2 (Sagemcom) is offered. Faster services come with the Eero.

See:

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/How-Full-Fibre-is-installed/ta-p/2555166

Also:

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Articles/All-about-your-Fibre-Connection-Box/ta-p/3062555

[eelie1944]

Thank you for your response.

My landline phone and broadband are both with TalkTalk but they currently come over a copper landline belonging to Openreach, which I confused with BT. I don't know when full fibre will be offered or whether this will coincide with the switch to digital phone lines. Either way, I will probably not take up the digital phone service but, if my copper landline is going to go digital, I just wanted to know whether that will affect my broadband service or whether new equipment will  be required.

[Gliwmaeden2]

Do you mean that you get your phone from BT just now (some customers seem to) but Broadband from Talktalk?

Normally it happens to be a BT socket, but the copper line is maintained by Openreach. 

There may be plans in your area eventually for Talktalk to use Openreach but they sometimes use City Fibre etc to install Full Fibre. 

So if your services are currently all with Talktalk, it will be offered with whichever company they team up with when it becomes available to do the engineering, @eelie1944.

You would need to order VOIP at the same time as taking up the deal, if you wanted to keep the use of your Talktalk phone number. 

Nothing to do with BT unless you have chosen to join BT!