Am I letting the side down having a BT connection?

[nicholab]

Am I letting the side down and fellow edugeeks by having a BT connection at home. If I wait I could go to another proper ISP like zen but I can upgrade for to 150\30mb £34.99. Also I can’t use my home phone as I not using BT router.

[Garacesh]

I've just jumped ship to Zen's 500MB full-fibre package (from their 80MB ADSL) now that it's available in my area, and I couldn't be happier.

 

If it eases your mind, you can still have a landline over fibre. They offered it to me but I said no 'cause I've not even had an actual phone on the line for the past decade.

[nicholab]

BT use the router to do their digital voice. Or I need to wait until my contract runs out. So BT are not providing a voice line for people with their own routers.

[Norphy]

I don’t see why you’d be letting the side down. The vast majority of internet traffic in this country goes over OpenReach’s infrastructure even if you’re not paying BT directly, so who cares really?

 

Only reason I’ve used Virgin here is because it’s the best value in terms of price/performance compared to what else is available here. If BT offered a better package here I’d have no hesitation in moving to them.

[nicholab]

Just I can’t use the landline and Openreach are not protecting emergency connections.

[Davit2005]

BT use the router to do their digital voice. Or I need to wait until my contract runs out. So BT are not providing a voice line for people with their own routers.

 

I have a BT Business account at home with their Cloud Voice Express package. I don't use the BT router because it's IPv6 implementation was limited with no IPv6 routing support and as wanted to use a more advanced separate firewall anyway opted for a DrayTek. Still on vDSL no plans currently to deploy FTTP in my area. I'm happy with the service from BT, I've seen some issues in the past at various customer sites but my experience has always been good. Virgin Media is also available in my area but I've had more issues with them both personal and business but that is a long story.

[nicholab]

How do you feel about not having a working landline ever?

[Norphy]

I've not had one for the past five years. We mostly use our mobiles, but I also have a VOIP line from Vonage which we use across our Virgin Media connection. At the time, getting it like that was cheaper than getting the combined phone/broadband package.

[TechMonkey]

Have to say, I've always been a proponent of keeping a land line but after a lightning strike hit a telegraph pole in the area and fried anything plugged in, I've not replaced the handsets and not really missed it. I do get a bit annoyed sometimes as I'd like a stable connection or if my phone battery is low but no big deal.

[Rob_D]

How do you feel about not having a working landline ever?

Got rid of ours when we went to FTTP last summer and it's not been a problem at all. We really only got sails calls on it anyway, and everyone in the house has a mobile. If anything, not having the phone tethered to the study means we're more likely to hear when it rings or have one to hand when needed.

[Garacesh]

How do you feel about not having a working landline ever?

 

Absolutely fine. I've effectively not had one for nigh a decade now lol.

Even before that, I don't think I ever gave anybody my landline number. If you need me, you get my mobile.

[nicholab]

How do you deal with an 9 year old your not going to give them a phone?

[Garacesh]

Easy! I just don't have a 9-year-old

[StevieM]

Do 9-year olds even know what landlines are? Or phone 'calls' for that matter? I thought they were in the same fabled category as floppy disks and video recorders.

[Rob_D]

How do you deal with an 9 year old your not going to give them a phone?

In what way?

If they're too young to have some sort of mobile, then they're too young to be using the house phone without asking permission from the parent. And probably too young to be left home alone. Ergo, child needs to make a call, he asks parent and parent gives him the phone.

[nicholab]

All good points but we had 3 years olds dial 999. Also BT not an isp like zen or AA it for people thar want to talk tech to support people. Also the old national monopoly what happened to all these cool companies? I now become a stupid person that use BT not with a cool company like zen. Edited November 25, 2021 by nicholab

[Davit2005]

This could raise the question of if the child is alone with a parent/guardian/adult who then becomes ill and the child needs to phone an ambulance. So an element of trust and understanding is needed, child is allowed to use the phone (whatever technology that uses) when permitted but also able to use the phone in an emergency if necessary. 999 calls should be able to be made from a locked device but other calls to relatives should also be made available if needed if the circumstances come up. Edited November 25, 2021 by Davit2005

[StevieM]

A cheap non-smart mobile like a Nokia 105 (£17.99 from Argos) can make emergency calls even without a SIM card. Leave that plugged in where your phone would be and you're sorted.

 

As for being with a "cool company", who cares? I'll go with whoever is cheapest. I'm currently with Plusnet after switching from TalkTalk after switching from Virgin Media... (I've never even heard of Zen!)

[Rob_D]

A cheap non-smart mobile like a Nokia 105 (£17.99 from Argos) can make emergency calls even without a SIM card. Leave that plugged in where your phone would be and you're sorted.

I can't imagine there's a household that doesn't have a couple of old unused phones you could use to save having to buy a new one.