Full Fibre concerns

[Spicebwoy]

I received an email from TalkTalk today to say that my current service is being retired and will stop working from the 30th November, and that I am being given a free upgrade to Full fibre. I will be receiving a SMS from TalkTalk to make an engineers visit or to ask for it to be rescheduled.

Called Talk Talk and got a lady in SA who was out of her depth  with my questions.

I have a house alarm on a dialler which would call me via the landline if it were triggered. The lady suggest it will still work fine as phone services will be now routed via Broadband. Is that correct?? I somehow think not.

Will the phone number I currently use on my landline stay the same?

The email does not say what fibre Ill go onto, just says full fibre. I asked the lady at TalkTalk and she couldn't tell me what it would be... I'm currently on Fibre 35. 

And I asked as to what the price would be once my current contract expires and off course not knowing what Full fibre would be offered, she could not answer that either. 

It certainly seems that Talk Talk want this rolled out as the email ends with, you can always find an alternative provider if you dont wish to upgrade. Id appreciate any answers to my questions and also is this a  strong armed tactic of talk talk, and can I stay where I am?

Thank you. 

[Spicebwoy]

I have just received and email from TalkTalk that due to unforseen circumstances this 'upgrade' will not now be happening.... for now.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

The battery backup can be requested as part of the order, we will need to contact you to arrange the engineer visit so it can be requested at that point.  I have also noted it on your account notes.

[mrwrighty]

Requiring the use of a mobile phone just in case is a typical response from all suppliers, BT will even supply one for vulnerable customers.

My mum and dad both had mobile phones both in their 80's and both struggled to use them. Invariably on the odd occasion they were needed the battery was flat so not only are the elderly and vulnerable required to have a battery backup on their phone system they are to also ensure that their mobile phone is fully charged at all times just in case. You can't charge it in an emergency when there is no power.

No body can tell me this is the way forwards under these circumstances. I'm not against progress believe me, I work in IT but the expectations for this roll out are just not realistic. Granted the combination of events are rare but the likelihood of power outages are on the increase or so we are told.

[Spicebwoy]

The text Ive copied and pasted below is what was at the end of my email from TalkTalk... This suggests taht TalkTalk will provide a backup batter for those affected by a blackout (however thankfully rare). Arne, so in my case where i have a home alarm that would not notify me if activated during  a powercut, would I be able to get this battery backup? And if so how do I go about it?

Digital Voice makes and receives calls using the internet. So if you have a power cut at home, you won’t be able to make any calls. We recommend that you have a mobile phone available as an alternative way of contacting emergency services. For people with no access to a mobile phone, or poor mobile coverage in their property, we’ll provide a battery backup to keep your Wi-Fi up and running for an hour in the case of a power cut.

[mrwrighty]

The comparison to digital TV is nonsense as the impact was minimal. Yes lots and lots of adverts, but you still essentially replaced an analog TV with a digital TV or digital TV box and perhaps an aerial upgrade and if it goes off due to a power outage so what. 

The telephone system is the lifeblood for many many lonely and elderly medically dependant people and I think the roll out of this has been completely mishandled by Ofcom. I mean City Fibre do not even provide VOIP on their FTTP circuits unless something has changed recently and if so I will stand corrected. But how Ofcom allowed the FTTP upgrade to be rolled out without ensuring VOIP provision was available on all FTTP services is beyond me. 

[Spicebwoy]

There certainly are many elderly and otherwise! people out there who dont use the internet for their own reasons and concerns and it will be very interesting to see how this change impacts them.... Dave had asked me if I remembered when TV went digital and all the adverts that we were bombarded with to make us aware of the change.... for whatever reason this move to FTTP has been rather silent.... A vote loser perhaps? In the meanwhile I await the response that Arne has on your question mrwrighty.

[mrwrighty]

Thats good to hear, but to be fair, unless the customer is aware of their needs and aware of the implications of a power outage i.e. all telephone service go down, how would they know to enquire about a battery backup and get one supplied by TalkTalk.

Granted that this isn't just a TalkTalk issue but an issue for everyone moving to FTTP and VOIP telephone services.

Even the most basic of requirements i.e. a phone service requires, FTTP, and ONT, a Router, possibly a telephone adapter and essentially a battery back and all this replaces a simple white telephone socket on the wall and all in the name of progress. Not everyone wants internet for internet purposes but will now require it to maintain their landline services and numbers.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Ill ask about the grandtream/Hub 2. 

In relation to power outages a battery back up installed for such instances.

[mrwrighty]

Thanks for the update but one thing that hasn't been clarified, is people in situations like yourself with multiple devices that need connecting to the phone services, be it alarms, medical equipment, OAP call systems etc.

TT need to confirm that the HUB2 and or Grandstream adapter will support multiple devices connected via an RJ11 splitter. Without that confirmation you will not know if you will be able to continue to use your alarm in the way you do now.

I also need to point out that because all telephone services will be routed via your internet service, a power outage will render the whole system unusable. If your phone and alarm are important to you then you will need to invest in an uninterruptible power supply to keep your router and thus your phone system running. This means the UPS must supply power to your phone base unit, the router and potentially your alarm system if it you don't want the alarm system battery to drain.

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Thanks for your feedback.

[Spicebwoy]

Well mrwrighty

Not being very technical, you will be disappointed to know I didn't ask any technical questions.. sorry lol... but otherwise I had a very good conversation with Dave, who is presently in SA managing the roll out of the Full fibre programme.  It seems I am one of the first people (as is everyone else on my exchange) to go onto Full Fibre en masse, and Dave was interested in my feedback regards the email that had been sent out conveying this changeover.

He explained that the entire country was emigrating to Full Fibre and should have done so by 2025, as copper connections were being phased out  and here the hands of Talk Talk are tied as this is entirely out of their hands. I explained the email seemed rather abrupt and take it or leave it, not explaining things like what Full Fibre I would go on to, what happens after the contract ends etc..... and he took all this away and said the email shall be changed to reflect concerns.

He also was at pains to state that this wasn't a change of contract either and prices would remain the same for the duration of the contract. Questions like, can I have the router situated where I wish, he couldn't answer and said it would depend on the engineers that visit....

He is actually looking for feedback from the general public on their thoughts regarding the email and concerns...

[mrwrighty]

What was the outcome. Be useful to share your findings for others to know what will happen.

[Spicebwoy]

Thank you for connecting me with Dave, it was awesome talking with him.. 🙏🏽

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Thank you , I have asked a team member to call you. 

[Spicebwoy]

Hi Arne, I'm home all day today and again on Thursday.. I presume they will get my mobile phone number from my Talk Talk Account? 

Prior to putting this post on I had spoken to a lady at Full Fibre but she was not knowledgeable in the least... Thank you for helping... 

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi @Spicebwoy 

One of our migrations team would like to speak to you to discuss your concerns, is there a best time to contact you on your mobile number? 

[mrwrighty]

If you have multiple devices that need connecting to the VOIP service and your alarm system currently plugs in to a copper extension from your primary BT box, then it will not work as the copper service will be withdrawn.

Your phone will connect to the Eero Grandstream VOIP adapter or plug directly in to the back of the HUB2. 

The Grandstream HT801 may support multiple devices through a splitter so you will have to run a cable from your alarm system to the splitter plugged in to the Grandstream.

The Grandstream HT802 has 2 x RJ11 ports so does not require a splitter but I don't think TT supply these. 

Can TT confirm that the HT801 or HUB2 will support multiple RJ11 connected devices using a splitter from the single HT801 RJ11 socket.

[Spicebwoy]

Thanks Arne, 

What exactly do you mean by like for like? About a year ago Talk Talk tried to get me on Full Fibre, but I resisted because of the Alarm system that I have which calls me via the landline if its been activated. This time the attitude of Talk Talk seems more resolute in getting me onto Full Fibre. Im just trying to delay the eventual cost of having to get an engineer in to reconfigure my alarm and its components to have it  connect it to the internet .

[Arne-TalkTalk]

Hi Spicebwoy

It should be a like for like service, but will seek clarification. 

[Spicebwoy]

I just managed to webchat with someone knowledgable and he said I would be gong to Full fibre 65, and it would be VOIP...