Fibre Home Phone Service questions

[stevemorgan]

Hi all,

I have been informed I am moving over to the Fibre Home Phone service from August.

On the literature it says it includes services as standard.

Can someone confirm if you can disable Call Waiting on the fibre service or is it activated and forced on us as standard?

Also can anyone recommend a battery backup device for the router and phone?

Thanks 

[goslow · Accepted solution]

The features which will become standard

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/home-phone/virginphone/switchover

are existing features which customers can buy into, so one would assume these can be used in the same way. See p11 in the VM phone guide for how call waiting works at present

https://store.virginmedia.com/content/dam/eSales/Downloads/Phone%20User%20Guide.pdf

When you mention a 'battery backup device for the router and phone' do you mean a way to keep power supplied to those in the event of a power cut or do you mean a device to allow you to call out still if the power to those devices is off?

Keeping power supplied to the hub and phone might only be useful if the power outage is very localised indeed because, in a wider power cut, other parts of the VM network may also lose power even if the equipment in the home is still running.

VM do offer an emergency backup line to vulnerable customers (see p35 to 37 of the manual link above) but it will only dial 999. It requires a simple corded handset and connects via the mobile network to place 999 calls.

[nodrogd · Accepted solution]

What you have to bear in mind is a lot of VMs local network is carried on copper coaxial cables. The fibre part of the network could be 500 to 1000 metres back in another housing estate. If the fibre/coax node or any powered amplifiers between you & the node lose power, you lose all your services.

As network segments become smaller & fibre comes to some of the coax splitter cabinets it will be less likely you will lose service if an adjacent area loses power. But having a UPS on the Hub is unlikely to be a worthy investment as more often than not the new node will be on the same electrical supply section as your house.

[stevemorgan]

Absolutely which is what I am so frustrated about being forced on to it.

As it stands if the TV and Broadband service has an outage the current copper landline is still active.

With the ‘upgrade’ if one is down it is all down. Not very forward thinking and I know all providers are moving ahead with this it is certainly not progress.

[Lee_R]

Hi @stevemorgan . Thanks for reaching out.  

I am sorry, I cannot add anything to what the other community members have already advised you.

Regards

Lee_R

[stevemorgan]

Thanks Lee

Can you confirm if you can disable call waiting.

[David_Bn · Accepted solution]

Yes, we will be able to disable/remove call waiting for you on the phone line for you

Kindest regards,

David_Bn