Reply to: Getting rid of your landline!

[MayContainNuts]

I have the Virgin bundle without phone plugged in. Actually I don't even have a physical phone at all. It is the same price as TV + Broadband, give or take 50p.

Remember that having a 'landline' number is useful for credit applications. They don't ask whether your landline works, or whether you have a phone plugged in

But can you not get a number with a VOIP phone? No one has answered!!! Can you replace all the handsets in your house with a WIFI phone through VOIP on broadband!!!!

[al_cam]

I personally can't wait for 4G and stick a finger up to BT.

I don't live that far from civilisation but only get 1/2Mb connection, probably due to the shocking state of the wire between me and the exchange - much of it lies on the ground unburied, I have a coil of it lying on the ground before it goes up the pole, when it gets to my neighbour, the BT engineer simply pulled it though the middle of his wire fence - no effort to go over or under, it has to be seen to be believed.

I get a decent 3G connection so 4G should be fine and will almost certainly smash BT. I barely use my land line, in fact, not to get Bob phoning constantly would be a bonus.

[escapeUK]

Carphone Warehouse won't process your contract without an 01 or 02 number. Trying an 03 stops the site in its tracks.

Ive yet to hit a site that doesnt work with 123456 or any random combination of numbers if you want to be less obvious. Not because I dont have a number, but that I dont want ppl ringing me about crap.

[Epiphone]

There are still some stupid companies who refuse to accept your application for lots of things if you don't have a landline number.

Carphone Warehouse won't process your contract without an 01 or 02 number. Trying an 03 stops the site in its tracks.

[SueEllen]

I have the Virgin bundle without phone plugged in. Actually I don't even have a physical phone at all. It is the same price as TV + Broadband, give or take 50p.

They use to virtually refused to give you anything without a phone line.

I think they finally caught on that a few people weren't putting a phone in them so it wasn't the money spinner they thought.

Remember that having a 'landline' number is useful for credit applications. They don't ask whether your landline works, or whether you have a phone plugged in

There are still some stupid companies who refuse to accept your application for lots of things if you don't have a landline number.

It's beyond their simple understanding that you can actually have broadband without a phone line if you happen to live in a cable area.

[swamp]

I have the Virgin bundle without phone plugged in. Actually I don't even have a physical phone at all. It is the same price as TV + Broadband, give or take 50p.

Remember that having a 'landline' number is useful for credit applications. They don't ask whether your landline works, or whether you have a phone plugged in

[Scoobos]

I went with fibre and a phoneline from plusnet for 19.99 can't really argue with that.

[Epiphone]

Haven't had a landline for ages. Well, we had a Virgin one when it was cheaper to get the full bundle but didn't have a phone plugged in.

soho66 are good for voip

[VectraMan]

Only if you live in a cable area.

You mean using a cable, i.e. a line, that goes over/in the land?

I keep being put off Infinity because of the 18-month minimum term, as I'm only a tenant and don't really want to commit 18 months ahead. Of course if I'd just signed up a year ago, I'd now only have 6 months to worry about.

Being able to move is one advantage of mobile.

[SueEllen]

Is it possible to set up a computer so you effectively have a landline through that & maybe even a couple of cheeky wire free phones around the house?!!!

Only if you live in a cable area.

[nomadd]

...I've not really looked into the BT Vision thingy too much - is it a viable alternative?

Not looked at it, TBH. I don't watch a huge amount of TV. What I do watch I record via an HD Freeview box - a Humax HDR. Other stuff I can grab from the Net and squirt over to it via ethernet (it supports both wired or wirelss) as it has a built-in FTP server. Also has a USB port, so one-off's I just drag onto a USB stick and delete them when I'm done. The 1TB drive inside it is more than enough for 'keepers' that I want to save.

[Troll]

Yes, that's true. But even so, the deal compared to a mobile line is still staggeringly cheap.

As I only rent my place, I'd love to ditch it and go the mobile route, it's just that when I've looked, the deals are terrible in comparison. Maybe the new 4G services will change that, but they are a long way off, and will suffer countless delays and teething problems. Even if they do have some initial success, I can see the network infrastructure being saturated as take-up grows. So, by the time it's stable at 40Mb - say 3-5 years from now - BT will be running fiber to most homes in the uk and offering 100-300Mb, as many of the cable operators already do.

OK - it's just I agreed to the infinity deal which is scheduled to arrive next week - just wondering if peeps were getting cheaper deals

Should be able to down load the porn quicker - just finished distributing via Ethernet cable to the Sky box - struck me that with those kinds of download speeds there should now be an alternative to Sky but I've not really looked into the BT Vision thingy too much - is it a viable alternative?

[nomadd]

is that £26 + your line rental?

Yes, that's true, you need to add on the line rental charges. But even so, the deal compared to a mobile line is still staggeringly cheap.

As I only rent my place, I'd love to ditch it and go the mobile route, it's just that when I've looked, the deals are terrible in comparison. Maybe the new 4G services will change that, but they are a long way off, and will suffer countless delays and teething problems. Even if they do have some initial success, I can see the network infrastructure being saturated as take-up grows. So, by the time it's stable at 40Mb - say 2-3 years from now - BT will be running fiber to most homes in the uk and offering 100-300Mb, as many of the cable operators already do.

EDIT: If your Internet usage is very light, then I do think mobile makes sense, though.

[lukemg]

Gone fully mobile now, ditched landline years ago. 3G wireless hub covers surf needs (which are admittedly low usage) and wfh.
BUT, it is slow and nowhere near stable enough if you have to rely 100% on the connection or whole family is on etc
4G will be more than good enough for my needs I reckon.

[Troll]

BT Infinity here. An unlimited to 80Mb connection for just over £26 / month. Connection is rock solid and stable. Best £26 I spend in the month. Thought of giving up, but wireless just can't compete.

If you can find that speed, unlimited, for that price, let me know. Up until that point, my landline stays.

is that £26 + your line rental?