Can I add a second broadband line to my house, using existing phone line. (currently linked to VM)

[mariutto]

Edited-

I am one of the many still working from home. but I have had some very inconvenient VM outages that have affected my business.

I want to install a second Broadband line to give me a backup. (a different provider, sky/bt/something else)
I also don't want to have to lay new copper telephone wire unless i have to, as the current one already runs to my comms cab.

My Questions:

Can the new broadband use the Virgin Copper phone line? (I think they currently only use 2 of the 6 internal cables) can they simply use 2 of the spare?

If not can i cancel just my Virgin phone? and have the new broadband take over the cable I never use it?

[mariutto]

To close this story off for me at least, It was far too difficult to get Virgin tech support to understand what I wanted so I I went out and bought a Three 5G router, plugged the ethernet to the redundant network port on my Unifi USG and it auto fails over when Virgin flaps or goes down. I now have the failover I wanted and I very rarely noticed any loss of service, even if Virgin fails big (and yes it happens more regularly than you realise, I turned on logging for the failover)

The Three 5G speeds have been fantastic by far better than if I got a second copper wire ISP. (300+Mbps)

@jpeg1 I have no idea what a 'duct' is? 🙂 

[jpeg1]

Your solution is the one I use with my Draytek router. It balances the Virgin with a 5G connection and the result is invisible to the users.

The ducts  are the pipes under the road through which cables can be pulled.

[TimelessUK]

Hi @jem101

Yes Customer Service it is awful not reliable at all.

Yes I need completely independent internet connections, 

can be VM as well.

[Timwilky]

I had to install a 4G router with an unlimited data plan for my fail over, It works but slow. (12Mb), I have to use Virgin as openreach "Fibre"! is 2Mb and no 5G.

Annoying that all the true fibre is being rolled out where there are current services not the slow/not spots.

[g0akc]

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@VM-Jon wrote:

another provider is unlikely to use 50% of a cable already used by us. And we certainly wouldn't want that either.

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Surely there's no issue if it's customer internal wiring - from the master socket/demarcation point into the property (to different rooms) even if it has DSL on it - though a DSL/Phone splitter will need to be used at each socket where a phone is plugged in.

[g0akc]

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@mariutto wrote:

To close this story off for me at least, It was far too difficult to get Virgin tech support to understand what I wanted so I I went out and bought a Three 5G router, plugged the ethernet to the redundant network port on my Unifi USG and it auto fails over when Virgin flaps or goes down. I now have the failover I wanted and I very rarely noticed any loss of service, even if Virgin fails big (and yes it happens more regularly than you realise, I turned on logging for the failover)

The Three 5G speeds have been fantastic by far better than if I got a second copper wire ISP. (300+Mbps)

@jpeg1 I have no idea what a 'duct' is? 🙂 

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It sound like you've got a solution.

The 'other' way to have approached this would have been to simply placed an order with the new ISP (BT, Sky or whoever).  Openreach (assuming it's an ISP that uses their network) would then provide a line, terminating on a Master socket, that could be connected onto a spare pair of wires in the internal cabling within the property.  You could have them provide that socket at another place in the property (within reason) that you wanted.

Pointless speaking to Virgin 'technical support'.

[jpeg1]

I think you have missed the point.  

The OP wanted to use the redundant telephone part of the existing Virgin cable from the street to the house, for a separate broadband feed from Openreach,  to avoid having a new cable put in.  This of course was not feasible.