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So, yesterday, Virgin converted the PSTN to via the Hub.

meritez

ULTIMATE Member
I find this hysterical, so please bear with.

Other half has always had her copper PSTN via Virgin/NTL.
When work offered to install Openreach FTTP I took it and cancelled the Virgin Broadband and TV.
So the other half gets contacted to get her PSTN line upgraded.
Virgin engineer turns up at 3PM, asks do you have a Hub, no we sent that back.
Cue puzzled look on his face.
Installs new Hub, phone line is now connected to phone 1 of the Hub, no other services, sits down and waits 30 minutes for Hub to activate, waits 15 more minutes for number to port to Hub.
All done, all tested, leaves.

Hub was left with WiFi active, default password, and no other services.
I've disabled the WiFi, I may try swapping it to Modem mode to see if the phone line still works, set a password.

What a fantastic waste of power for the consumer just to have a landline, which will not work if there is a power cut.
 
The phone line still works in modem mode.

Yes, it does seem a waste that every customer, regardless of having a broadband subscription, must now have a HUB if they have a phone line.
 
I'm surprised but obviously VM are taking the same approach as BT and honouring existing landline customers, maintaining pricing and hoping the numbers will decrease naturally or they can entice the user to take on additional services.

A bit OTT but as with BT is it worth investing in more efficient kit?
 
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One way or another, you need a broadband router for "digital" (IP) phone services to work as a landline replacement. But part of me does wish that the big ISPs were a bit more flexible and allowed you to retain it (the number) via a Smartphone app too, as that would work a lot better for some people. I already do it myself via VoIP, but all these proprietary digital voice solutions seems to only be half-way efforts with limited flexibility of use.
 
I think the issue is that you were just handed a regular hub from the engineer. As I understand it, VM have hub 3's with special software installed on them for voice only customers that not only locks out all ports, settings and connections aside from the phone sockets but also runs at a reduced power as a result.

Obviously still going to take more power than you'd get using a traditional phone socket that draws zero power from the customer's home. But better than sitting there as a wireless router with no internet throughput to make use of it with. The fact that VM hubs 3 and 4 are usually uncomfortably hot to the touch tends to be a good indicator that they are wasting a decent amount of energy.

PS Regarding power cut concerns. If you voice this to VM customer service, and you are reliant on that phone line for emergencies they'll sort you out with an emergency backup line. Usually this is simply a GSM device with PAYG SIM Card rather than a battery backup though. You only tend to get them if there's no phone signal there.
 
For digital voice provided from an ISP router this is effectively a fully segmented service that is locked away from the internet and therefore the configuration defenses and ongoing operational protection the service needs would be considerably lower verses a VOIP service that is available on the internet like sipgate, voipfone, Andrews and Arnold, etc.

I would hazard a guess that a significant part of the operational cost of internet accessible VoIP will be the defense of it, and occasion compromised accounts and toll fraud.

Traditional ISPs like BT, Virgin, etc should be prompted to take a long hard look at why they would want to expose their digital voice service to the general internet when outside of fora like this one at the moment there's not much public expectation for the landline service to work like that.
 
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Is it just a phone service, or have they provisioned a slow broadband tier as well as it's all their systems are set up for?
 
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