Fibre adapter not the most convienent

[speckett]

Simply put why change something that already works

Like most we have our home phone in an easily assessable place for use, the connection is in the hallway and the cables run under the floor, so everything is neat and tidy. Now with this small addition of the Fibre adapter it will mean having to run new cables, added to this we often switch our router off in the evening, which means no phone (baring in mind I a disabled) the main reason I still keep a plug-in phone in case of emergency with power outage.

Yes I have read that you offer a power back up device for free.

Regardless of this, I have no wish to have my house turned upside down to re-run new cables, my router is already running on a switch as the existing ports were used with other devices, adding voip/fibre calling will only be more detrimental to the service I recieve.

There are many free services that offer voip already, so tell me why I should pay for the privilege of continuing to pay for virgins telephone service, as from experience when using such as service the preference to opt out of mailer demons becomes null, and the user gets lambasted with scambait calls,

Would virgin be responsible for this?

Finally, if I was to to longer want the phone service as dictated in my contract at the time of signing, would I get a reduction in my overall monthly charge, because the way I see it, is I am using my own broadband to support making phone calls, not using a seperate service, if anything its taking away from my service.

Currently contracted for TV  / Broadband + Phone

Under the new schema I will be paying the same, if knowing virgin probably more soon for Broadband  Phone

For example if I was to ditch my Tv and phone, the main component I am payining for is just the broaband in reality, because the latter services can be supported for free using just this.

Making me think now and I am sure others will too.

[goslow · Accepted solution]

Quite a few questions! Answers (as best as possible) are that ...

All providers are making this change

https://www.futureofvoice.co.uk/

The VM offering is not a VOIP connection at present. VM call it 21st century voice (21CV) so a standard phone plugs into the back of the hub (TEL1 socket) using an adapter provided by VM.

VM will offer to wire in existing phone extensions to the hub for you free of charge as part of the switchover. It is not a wires-free process but wiring intrusion can be minimised with some thought to how it is done. Alternative wires-free option is to switch to cordless phones (base station plugged into the hub and cordless handsets used around the home as required) but at a cost to you to purchase same.

Additional electrical consumption of leaving the router on is a valid point in times of high energy prices but the proposed revision does rely on the router being on to receive the phone service 24/7. The device offered by VM for use during power cuts is not a power backup device. It is a corded phone with a SIM card which can run on its own batteries. During a power cut it will allow the customer to make calls to 999 only for up to an hour.

The point about a reduction in 'line rental' has been made many times on here. Separating line rental out from the cost of the package was banned in 2016 by the ASA. You now pay for a combined package of services (which might include phone/TV/BB/mobile). It's up to the individual customer to decide if the combined package is good value or not and to shop around if deemed not to be good value.

VM's pricing methods are locked into the idea of bundling services together. The more you bundle the greater the discount that is likely on the total package price. You can obtain individual services but they may be proportionally more expensive. VM's processes for renegotiating a contract are very much 'of the moment' so the actual offer you receive to re-contract with VM may vary on a whole bunch of different things including the time you phone up, the person you speak, what authority they have to make offers, what services you are seeking etc. etc.

If you actually would like to be a broadband only customer (and speed is not a deciding factor for you) you should have a look at some alternatives to VM broadband only where you would be offered new customer pricing with a different provider.

[Ilyas_Y]

Hey @speckett, thanks for reaching out to us and a warm welcome to the Virgin Media forums.
 

I'm sorry to hear you feel this way regarding the VOIP system for the landline service. The decision to move all landlines to our digital network has been agreed by all telecom providers in the UK and the estimated aim for completion for this is by the end of 2025, you can find more information on this here.
 

I am happy to hear you are aware of the EBUL for emergency situations - may I ask if you have setup or will be adding it on?
 

Regarding the VOIP on the router, this is a small extension to which your main phone line plugs in to, not a bunch of new cables, although I can imagine this may referring to you having to move your setup around to acommodate.
The router itself has it's own special port where the line plugs in to and it does not clash with the ethernet port, it goes in to "Tel 1" on the socket.
 

If you wish to cancel your landline services, then you can do so with our retentions team on 0345 454 1111 and they will get that started for you.

Virgin Media would not be liable for scam calls, as scam calls come through the attainment of personal data, i.e. obtaining the home phone number and having VOIP does not increase the chances of scam / fraud calls.
 

And to answer your last point, as mentioned - if you wish to cancel your landline service, you may do so, but should you wish to keep it this does not mean that the landline package is reduced as we are still providing a service, yes the equipment may be going through the hub but the landline service is different from the broadband service.

Should you wish to ask for a revised package without the landline, our retentions team can sort that out.
 

Kind regards,
Ilyas.

[grunkp]

Hi @speckett  Do you have an ordinary telephone socket wall plate close to your Virgin router ?

If so then Virgin will at no cost to you come to your house and connect the router to your existing phone socket  If not they can run a very small cable from the router to an existing  phone socket , or to your phone, tacking the wire around the skirting. Apart from saving you a small amount of money on electricity, you do not need to switch the router off at night. 

Bear in mind that if you opt for a power backup (EBL) then during a major wide area power outage you may still not have a working phone service. Even mobile phones may not work as the majority of phone masts do not have backup power.

[speckett]

Quite a few questions, tried to condense them all into one post 🙂

Thank you for your prompt reply and your answers, I aware that these questions will have been asked many times on here and that a simplified thread could be put together explaining these issues and pinned somewhere as FAQ to avoid people like myself having to keeping asking.

With regard to "VM offering is not a VOIP connection at present. VM call it 21st century voice (21CV) so a standard phone plugs into the back of the hub (TEL1 socket) using an adapter provided by VM"  I am curious as to what any IT professional like myself would call a phone service that is operated using the infrustructure based on broadband, surely this is voip, alternatively if the phone signal is being routed via a seperate RF link alongside the DOCSIS system then this should work even if the power is off, as long as the phone is supplied with power.

The wiring we have is minimised, ie: its under the the laminate flooring and wood sheeting, are you suggesting we rip it up to install a new connection in order to move the phone and power point. Who in there right mind is going to want to go through all this? Our phone has a  base station and is cordless is a handset, regardless of this it would mean sitting the base station next to router (and and having another ugly thing in the in view)

The point about a reduction in 'line rental' I could guess that this would be a major topic on here, as it seems a little unfair to pay for something that you do not use (speaking not as myself) most people now have mobile phones, so the need for an actual in home phone has virtually vanished, some use the home phone to connect with other medical services or devices. I have just had a look through the bundle deals as well as competitors which for sake of advertising I will refrain from posting here as I am sure this will be moderated out, and I do find the deals are cheaper without the phone, if you just opt for broadband.

Worth thinking about in due course, even if it is with another supplier

Personally it is always worth re-nogtiating the deal if you want better value

[nodrogd]

Virgin's 21CV service uses a seperate IP tunnel from the hub back to the cable headend exchange, where it connects to the same equipment it does now. The calls never touch the internet, so it is not true VoIP. Will it remain powered if the network goes down. No, it won't. HFC cable systems rely on a chain of powered amplifiers upstream of the customer to the fibre node. Power interruption to any one of these will result in loss of service. The current copper pair lines have a battery backup at the fibre node, which is where the lines terminate & are then fibre fed to the headend

With 21CV you are still paying to utilise the same kit, hence the same line rental charges. All that is physically changing is replacing one piece of copper with another.

All landlines WILL become VoIP in 2025 when the entire PSTN network is turned off by BT & every other provider in the UK.

[goslow]

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@speckett wrote:

Quite a few questions, tried to condense them all into one post 🙂

<snip>

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I'll amend the original reply ... "The VM offering is not a true VOIP connection at present." At the moment you can't, as a customer, benefit from any VOIP features via a 21CV connection from VM. You can simply plug in a standard phone to the TEL1 socket on the hub. It behaves as a conventional landline phone socket. I believe the VM 21CV phone service even runs through the same exchange equipment at present (IIRC from a past topic). 

I don't think I mentioned ripping up any floors. grunkp has outlined the method VM use which is to fit an adapter lead (message #9 at the link below)

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Forum-Archive/HUB3-to-Master-socket-adaptor/m-p/4507007#M143805

from the hub to a nearby phone socket and 'back-feed' the connection from the hub into the extension wiring. If no phone socket is available next to the router, VM will fit one which would involve some wiring being on show. Alternatively VM may be able to run a phone cable from the router location to the omnibox outside and join to the existing phone cabling in there. As stated it is not a wires-free operation. Some new wires will be on show but they can be minimised with some thought.

The phone switchover is coming, like it or not, and customers will have to decide whether the 'improved' landline service is worth keeping or not.

[speckett]

Thank you for all the replies and the prompt response to my queries

My questions have been answered and an opinion on what next to do formed, so thank you.

Only everything in life was so simple.

[sry_161]

Can I ask what you decided to do.  I have the same issue.  My phone is in one part of the house and the router somewhere completely different.  It's not practical to move either of them and I don't want cables running across the house.  When I spoke with VM they weren't very helpful.  The first person said that I didn't really have a choice if I wanted to keep a landline and that if I cancelled my contract I would incur an early disconnection fee.  When I pointed out that my email said something different they backtracked.  I understand the need to move away from copper but why can't I have a seperate hub for my landline?

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @sry_161 

Thank you so much for your post and welcome back to the community forums, it's great to have you here. 

I am so sorry that you have been facing these issues regarding the new line and we are so sorry for the frustration caused. 

One option that some customers have used is to use wireless phone, this way the base unit can be placed next to the Hub but the phone can be at a more accessible place.