End of traditional phone line

[cymaz]

Found this on BBC News.....

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58233420

[J D 8]

  It is what is happening. Where I live there is no mobile signal and nor likely ever to be so, at least from a land based mast. As a result we rely on the land line.

The other day I met an Openreach man in yellow vest who said he was checking posts in my field's in preparation for fibre . I asked when ? He said soon but could not say when.

  Many folk only have a mobile phone now and only use the landline for internet connection.

   Cheers from John who lives at the edge of the world,?  Well the edge of Wales anyway.

[Frank Skilbeck]

Really the title should have read end of the traditional phone exchange, you'll still have a land line but it will use VOIP (i.e. the internet) for the call.

[Engine Doctor]

You don't have to live on the "edge of the world" to find out what a rubbish mobile signal is like. In North kent, I won't give exact location, we have rubbish mobile signal so a land line is essential for reliable contact. Even after repeated requests to the companies nothing changes. Like many I would probably get rid of land line if mobile was reliable. Doctors, hospitals or any organisation seem to rely heavily on texting or contact via a mobile number even when specifically asked to use our landline.

Recently our landlines started to play up and became almost unusable due to loud crackling noise. Our providers engineer turned up and said he could divert our landlines via the optic fiber network via our Internet connection as the land line wires were all starting to need replacing due to age and lack of maintenance. Fixing the wires would be labour intensive so wasn't an option. Our landlines now works fine but the drawback is that any loss of Internet or power failure results in our landlines going down ! So should  you ever need a solid reliable connection via land line with its own power supply, its no longer available!  That's progress folks.

[Cuban8]

We haven't used our 'land line' to make an outgoing call for many years, the thing is really becoming a nuisance because the most use it gets is from incoming spam calls and other rubbish despite being on the CPS register. I never give my land line number out when filling in forms or similar such stuff and as the admin for our club's membership, my contact details for members is my email and mobile number only. By land line I mean the conventional plugged in phone which is actually connected to the outside world via fibre connection. The old copper GPO/BT post and line is still in the garden but disconnected.

The group of flyers that I meet up with all use Whatsapp for immediate communication, so everyone knows what's going on at the same time. Far more convenient as you don't have to stop what you're doing to answer a call and has the ability to post pictures and videos.

[Geoff S]

Whilst there is a reasonable mobile signal outside, reception indoors is poor to zero (tending towards the latter).  Hence we still use a landline for both phone and internet (via fibre and copper for the last 250 metres).  We live in an old stone cottage with thick walls that are largely impervious to RF.

[Andy48]

Not sure what this has to do with having a poor mobile reception. The OP link is talking about removing the old fashioned telephone exchange and using the internet for the phone instead through the land line, be it copper or fibre. The aim is to convert all copper lines to fibre. Our "land line" phone simply plugs into the internet router.

 

As for nuisance calls, we have phones which block all those automatically. If anyone else dials us, they are first asked to leave their name. We then pick up their message, and have the option to reject the call, accept it just once, or accept them as friends in which case they don't need to leave a message next time they phone us. Works well.

 

Edited August 17, 2021 by Andy48

[Alex Ferguson 2]

"But you may have to plug your phone in to your internet router or a new wall socket."

That's what you do anyway. The modem/router has sockets for internet and phone. Most of this country, the modem has a wire that goes to a box that converts the copper from your computer and phone to fibre.

 

It is still a "landline". All that has changed is it is glass instead of copper and the boxes down the road have to allow for it. If it isn't a landline it is 3G or 4G or 5G and is the equivalent of glorified WiFi and called cell phones. And their coverage is limited in lots of the country.

 

The "boxes down the road"? Things used to use relays and rotary switching. All of that is now transistorised so we're talking technology upgrading and finally glass instead of copper.

 

"Once the PSTN is completely switched off, if not before, you will be unable to make a phone call via a landline with no internet connection."

Are they sure? I could have "landline", not cell phone, and not have internet. A terminology problem?

 

"But Ben Wood, of CCS Insight, says: "For the vast majority of people, the landline is now just an annoying tax they have to pay when they want internet access." "

So how else are they getting their internet? By cell phone? Yes, they can but fibre will probably be much quicker.

 

Power cuts - yes, this is the problem keeping your in-house wire to fibre box going. Readers here being model plane flyers and probably just about all are RC, a 12 volt LiPo with the correct plug will keep things going. Yes, I have adaptors somewhere lying around but so few power cuts here it isn't important.

 

A decade ago when we had a major earthquake they were saying look on the internet for information. How? No power so no internet and certainly no desktop computers.

OK, a UPS with a big battery is all you really need but what about down the road, does all of that have enough battery power available? For how long?

 

Basically it is terminology and the misuse of it. Exactly the same as "social distancing" when they mean "physical distancing".

[David P Williams]

Well here in the countryside we have finally got decent broadband, but is 'fibre to cabinet'. The last few hundred yards from the cabinet at the village crossroads is good old copper and we have an old fashioned BT wall plate with a microfilter connecting router and landline phone. For a mobile signal we have to drive for over a mile by car, or walk a few hundred yards up the hill.

Banks and increasingly many other online services cannot understand this, insisting that they send 'secondary authentication codes' by SMS to my mobile. It is intensely irritating.

All these systems have been developed by city-dwelling twenty year olds who were born with a mobile phone attached and they cannot comprehend what it's like outside urban connurbations.

[MattyB]

5 hours ago, Frank Skilbeck said:

Really the title should have read end of the traditional phone exchange, you'll still have a land line but it will use VOIP (i.e. the internet) for the call.

 

3 hours ago, Andy48 said:

Not sure what this has to do with having a poor mobile reception. The OP link is talking about removing the old fashioned telephone exchange and using the internet for the phone instead through the land line, be it copper or fibre. The aim is to convert all copper lines to fibre. Our "land line" phone simply plugs into the internet router.

 

I agree with both the posts above; there seems to be a fair bit of panic over nothing going on in this thread. The "landline" service and experience will remain for those who need/want it, but the underlying technology will change - the worst that will happen is you may have to plug your phone into a different socket. Remember, VoIP only takes a few kb, even the lowest of low end broadband (even old school dial-up!) can support it.

 

PS - What the article doesn't point out is that if the suppliers don't do this they will need to run and aging PSTN infrastrucutre for years into the future for the tiny number of people who use it. Guess what would happen to the price if we got to that point! This is a change that should be welcomed by everyone, it is really a no brainer irrelevent of where you live or what your mobile coverage is like.

Edited August 17, 2021 by MattyB

[Nigel R]

4 hours ago, David P Williams said:

Banks and increasingly many other online services cannot understand this, insisting that they send 'secondary authentication codes' by SMS to my mobile. It is intensely irritating.

 

I have no mobile signal - everything from the mobile goes via the wifi & internet.

 

Caveat, cheap providers (tesco value mobile?) may not do it, cheap phones may not do it, get what you pay for etc etc.

 

The Banks (et al) are never going back from two factor authentication, in fact security is more likely going the other direction. Which has very little to do with the age of the developers or where they live.

 

You may be able to get your bank to call you on your landline instead of sending texts, or send an email - have you asked?

[GONZO]

Knew this was coming, removal of exchanges and fibre to home, when I had an 'OpenReach tech come and fix the copper u/g line to my home some time back. As an aside I started with the GPO in 1964 and Strowger exchanges, copper OH lines were the thing and the 'core network' was 5mHz FDM and valve amplifiers. Ended in 1996 having been involved with TXE 2/4 and AXE10 exchanges and sub sea cable both copper CO-AX analogue and FSK digital  and fibre optic sub sea cable along with the initial fibre to the home and video on demand plus a multitude of other things in between. We've somewhat pre emptied this by using my wife's mobile as our home phone and NOT as a mobile as it's cheaper for calls than the ISP call package. I've given up the mobile I had as I never used it. I can't see this being cheaper as the VOIP part requires an additional provision of some form of translation of telephone number to IP number central service which may or may not be provided by the ISP. There are some security issues along with 'track and trace' that come with VOIP, smart phones, 'smart speaker' and TV's, etc due to the fact that even when switch off 'smart phones' are never completely off. This may or may not bother you but I feel it's as well to be aware, rather than live in ignorance, of just how much you are monitored and data about ALL aspects of your life are collected, stored and analysed before making a decision as to whether you personally find it acceptable.

To this end may I recommend this content provider as a starter although it is with an American flavour most applies here  Rob BRAXMAN the tech guy  

His latest is about VOIP and 12 issues back about track and trace. Your choice as to whether you inform yourself or not.

[David P Williams]

2 hours ago, Nigel R said:

 

I have no mobile signal - everything from the mobile goes via the wifi & internet.

 

Caveat, cheap providers (tesco value mobile?) may not do it, cheap phones may not do it, get what you pay for etc etc.

 

The Banks (et al) are never going back from two factor authentication, in fact security is more likely going the other direction. Which has very little to do with the age of the developers or where they live.

 

You may be able to get your bank to call you on your landline instead of sending texts, or send an email - have you asked?

 

Nigel, I was just having a rant. Had a bad morning and crashed a model. Anyway, I have WiFi calling on my mobile now (Sky) so the problem's gone away. Doesn't alter the fact that when organisations started two factor (yes of course I know they won't go back from it) they were almost without exception really unhelpful, offered no alternative to SMS and couldn't understand why this would not work for us.

Most do now offer email or other methods but it's taken them a while to acknowledge that there are a lot of people without either mobile signal or mobile phone.