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Forum Discussion
BT (UK) landlines migration to Digital Voice supporedt by Netgear?
I'm just hearing our UK landline will transition to Digital Voice sometime (this year). Support for current phone handset is a direct connection on back of BT router (smarthub2). But they offer a Dig...
I would suggest that Ofcom might be interested in this apparent monopoly of VoIP for BT customers. A complaint would be recommended. Competition is healthy and this seems like restrictive practice at work.
Bubbles61 wrote:
I would suggest that Ofcom might be interested in this apparent monopoly of VoIP for BT customers. A complaint would be recommended. Competition is healthy and this seems like restrictive practice at work.
That had occurred to me. Sadly, the UK's regulators have an appalling record. But still worth trying.
BT OpenReach has already imposed a surreptitious hardware monopoly by insisting that ISPs supply customers with combined modem/router devices. (I got that from an experienced BT engineer when they were trying to fix my line.)
It may be a coincidence, or the gradual decline of DSL, but it was around then that Netgear and other brands abandoned the DSL modem market.
If BT piles its own hardware on to the the VoIP sector, then we can expect to see another decline in then brands of network hardware out there. The UK is just too small to make it worth fighting for. And we no longer have the EU to insist on decent consumer protection.
(Not to even appear to be defending BT....., but)
There could be a difference between
- Ensuring that existing BT customers who have BT voice service continue to have an option for BT voice service when the ADSL technology disappears, and
- Preventing BT customers from moving their voice service to other providers.
It would seem that a number of companies provide VOIP service in the UK:
https://startups.co.uk/phone-systems/best-voip-providers-and-phones-uk/
Are these services not compatible with BT internet?
- This also might have been covered elsewhere, but for example what are elderly people - that don't have a broadband connection - supposed to do with their BT land line in this case? Are they getting a free router installed?
All phone only customers will (at no charge to them) switchover to BT digital voice and a BT supplied router. In defence of BT Openreach they will also offer an additional DECT adapter to plug in where landline needed; BT community guru's refer to this as remote DECT and insist not Wifi (DECT to VOIP). All major telco players e.g. Sky, Vodafone service(s) etc rely on BT Openreach for the networke hence they will replace their customers with DECT capable routers. Oh to find an expert BT tech who can provide definitive answers!
