Sponsored Links

Can't switch home phone and broadband? (No FTTP)

lucaspiller

Member
My parents have home phone and broadband provided by Vodafone, over a copper phone line with VDSL. It's in my name, and I used to switch providers often to find the best deals but life has been busy over the last few years (kids) so I haven't got around to it until now

I'm paying currently £46/mo which includes unlimited anytime calls. I think I signed up in 2018, so it's well past the fixed contract period and I want to see if there is a cheaper deal.

The problem is that on every provider I've checked that was shown on comparison sites (Now, Sky, Shell, EE, Virgin) they say that they cannot provide me with any services. BT can provide me a service but it's £70/mo and I need to pay a £57 activation fee, so no point in switching.

The BT checker says FTTP is unavailable at my location, which I guess explains what I am seeing. Plusnet can offer me a broadband only service, but my parents still use their landline as the mobile service there isn't great. I don't need a copper phone line, I have no issues switching to a 'Digital Voice' line, but how do I find a provider that will offer that?
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot 2023-09-20 at 06.29.48.webp
    Screenshot 2023-09-20 at 06.29.48.webp
    70.1 KB · Views: 134
Are talktalk or Sky/Now broadband available on that exchange area? They typically employ LLU so might be able to offer service.

At a random guess the comparison sites might be a bit of a mess at the moment with the transition away from analogue phone lines, so check directly on ISP websites.
 
Are talktalk or Sky/Now broadband available on that exchange area? They typically employ LLU so might be able to offer service.

At a random guess the comparison sites might be a bit of a mess at the moment with the transition away from analogue phone lines, so check directly on ISP websites.

When I go to their websites they say they cannot provide service or they show an error. It's a fairly small remote exchange (hence why mobile service is not good), so I'd guess not.

On Sky I am able to select through different options, including digital voice, but then before going to what I expect to be the checkout page, I get an error "Sorry we are having technical difficulties".
 
Sponsored Links
When I go to their websites they say they cannot provide service or they show an error. It's a fairly small remote exchange (hence why mobile service is not good), so I'd guess not.

On Sky I am able to select through different options, including digital voice, but then before going to what I expect to be the checkout page, I get an error "Sorry we are having technical difficulties".
Sky have actually been having technical difficulties - see this news article - so it might be worth re-checking Sky/Now later today or tomorrow.
 
If things don't fix themselves in a day or so it might be worth enduring a sales call then to try and get some intel on what's causing the inability to purchase a new service. Could be an OpenReach data problem that is preventing any new orders.
 
Surely, isn't this a case of BT's/OR's stop sell from 5/9/23. No more new PSTN and ADSL provision possible (slightly surprised that BT will), anywhere. SOGEA is available. So, you can only go broadband without phone and need some sort of VoIP service... or you stick with current plan on Vodafone until they can no longer provision it.
 
Sponsored Links
BT have an obligation to provide voice so will probably accept the order whether there are technical difficulties or not.

Although OR has announced the stop sell there are exceptions.

ISPs providing voice via LLU can continue sweating their assets for now but if a move requires OR resource anywhere it may not be possible. BT may well be the only ADSL supplier in some areas.

On VDSL (as in this OP) it has to be SOGEA now and if ISPs cannot, or decide not to, offer voice (as they are on some FTTP products) then they may set the Post Code as no new voice. Especially if the LLU is in the local exchange and the VDSL goes to a more central exchange. Even without voice the web site may or may not provide SOGEA as it may mean both SOGEA and FTTP related costs to the ISP during the contract.

Lots of scenarios both technical and commercial.

As an aside I have yet to see/hear of SOTAP install yet.
 
I've recently moved from FTTC + PSTN with Plusnet to SoGEA + VoIP with NoOne. It wasn't without problems but came good in the end.

I did a lot of research before moving and made sure I had confidence in the company I was moving to in that they had good tech support and not 'script jockeys' as so many of the main stream providers seem to employ.

After a few false starts over a period of about two weeks where OR didn't seem able to get there act together, I was finally given dates (yes two) for the move. The phone number was ported on the Monday but the broadband not until the following Thursday, I used LTE backup to maintain the phone once the port to VoIP had been completed and until the broadband was restarted. Getting the broadband back up required an engineer visit to my home to identify the copper pair at the cabinet and swap them to a new circuit (FTTC to SoGEA?). This resulted in a small speed improvement.

I was concerned that if the cabinet was at capacity with a waiting list I might have lost the ability to reconnect but that was un-founded.

So far, about two months in, I've been completely satisfied with the service I've got from NoOne
 
Top
Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Vodafone UK ISP Logo
Vodafone £24.00 - 26.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
NOW UK ISP Logo
NOW £24.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Plusnet UK ISP Logo
Plusnet £25.99
145Mbps
Gift: £50 Reward Card
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £17.00
200Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £22.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Hey! Broadband UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Youfibre UK ISP Logo
Youfibre £23.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Sponsored Links
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (6027)
  2. BT (3639)
  3. Politics (2721)
  4. Business (2440)
  5. Openreach (2405)
  6. Building Digital UK (2330)
  7. Mobile Broadband (2146)
  8. FTTC (2083)
  9. Statistics (1901)
  10. 4G (1816)
  11. Virgin Media (1764)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1582)
  13. Fibre Optic (1467)
  14. Wireless Internet (1462)
  15. 5G (1407)
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms  ,  Privacy and Cookie Policy  ,  Links  ,  Website Rules