Openreach gizmo

[selectedgrub]

If we could see all the "waves" that surround us we would be in the middle of cotton ball.

 

[Parm]

If we could see all the "waves" that surround us we would be in the middle of cotton ball.

Very true, very true indeed

 

[pedrobedro]

All BT phones are going digital by 2025 according to the news, they will be converting everyone to fibre eventually. Our old plug in phone on Virgin didn't have a ring so we didn't know when anyone was calling but it didn't matter as we use mobiles all the time. We read up about it and found if you take a filter from the redundant wall socket and plug it into the modem then plug the phone into it your ringer will work and you can get all the calls about oven cleaning services and computer viruses that you were missing out on

 

[selectedgrub]

I have this actual phone.
Me just made the picture look old.

Apparently these red ones fetch a bit more money than a standard black style.
A few years back could get them changed to a pulse and still work.
Probably not now.

 

[MetalMonkey]

Don't get your hopes up too soon.
I've had fibre on the pole outside of the house for some time (something like 2 years now). But it is still "not available" much to the puzzlement of the last openreach guy I was talking to about it.

I assume there is a method in the madness, but then again, it is BT, so....

All BT phones are going digital by 2025 according to the news, they will be converting everyone to fibre eventually.

Eventually they should, probably.
In the mean time if you aren't in a fiber enabled area you should be able to order sogea, which is basically the same vDSL product but without the analogue line.
I think there is supposed to be a stop in place on selling traditional adsl now, so any new orders default to sogea.

As already noted, adapters are needed to get old phones to work, and they will no longer work without power.

 

[prepman]

they will supply a battery backup for the ont and hub (separate bbu's) on request.

Not something they make well known, I got the 2 bbu's because of my health supplied free...otherwise ~£100 ea@/
Also change tel number.... call 150 to get old one back. The whole setup is very Heath Robinson and rushed. Plus the public wifi BT hotspot hang off it, again not highlighted. Power outage recently with dumper truck touching cables and my own UPS supplied the two bbu's

 

[frank horton]

ur lucky fiber optic.....wow.......
the cable are in the ground all over the island but only the big big towns use it.....
seems the company that got the contract for cables and install went broke......
we only have rubbish Vodafone or Cosmote, a maj Greek supplier...
neither care and for a slow service of less than 10meg it costs us 50 euro's per month and we pay extra for the upgrade service....!!!!!!!!
times two, one for the house and one for where we stay...
only use mobiles now........
Seriously considering STARLINK.....x 2......
any coments........

 

[Agroshield]

I have this actual phone.

Someone will know more about why it is so, but the one to nine numbers are reversed on that one compared to most UK dial phones (the zero is in the same place on both).

 

[Pete.]

Apparently these red ones fetch a bit more money than a standard black style.

They were when Commissioner Gordon was still alive

 

[selectedgrub]

Someone will know more about why it is so, but the one to nine numbers are reversed on that one compared to most UK dial phones (the zero is in the same place on both).

Interesting, cheers.

 

[prepman]

Just a footnote to my previous post....Because I had a UPS/bbu and the tel line was therefore still powered I was able to report the power fault. My neighbour couldn't because they didn't have UPS etc. Because I'm a priority customer (again health issues) I got a robotic confirmation of fault and an estimate of power restoration. Later in the afternoon, after power restored, I gat a human call to check I was OK. I only gave them 4/10 for feedback, can you deduce why?
No mobile reception so use Wifi calling for pseudo mobile. BT are now offering a device to use mobile as a backup for the landline (hybrid)! Ye Gods!

 

[Morrisman]

There have been dozens of Openreach vans around my area, digging holes, crawling down manholes etc. I've heard it's the new super duper fibre they are installing, but not been officially told anything by BT yet. I have a single landline to my place, which I use purely for internet.

 

[bricol]

Someone will know more about why it is so, but the one to nine numbers are reversed on that one compared to most UK dial phones (the zero is in the same place on both).

I remember reading years ago that the 9 was where it is (as per the piccie of the red phone) due to our emergency calls being 999 - it was the shortest time required to let the dial return (or perhaps, 999 was due to the numbers being where they were).

But I've never seen a UK dial phone, or even a picture one before with the numbers in that order - 9 was always at 7 o-clock-ish on the dial.

 

[colnerov]

Apparently, the reverse order rotary dial numbering is peculiar to New Zealand.

 

[Eric the chicken]

When I was in the Scouts back in the very early sixties we had a tour of the local telephone exchange all rotating machinery and other interesting stuff. The chap taking us round reckoned that 999 was chosen for the Emergency number rather than 111 was that a branch tapping on a line could generate a spurious emergency call.

 

[AdventuresInMetal]

When I was in the Scouts back in the very early sixties we had a tour of the local telephone exchange all rotating machinery and other interesting stuff. The chap taking us round reckoned that 999 was chosen for the Emergency number rather than 111 was that a branch tapping on a line could generate a spurious emergency call.

I was always under the impression that 999 was chosen because you could dial it during duress or in the dark without over dialing the number?

 

[eddie49]

I believe that the Emergency number was chosen to be 999 because a large number of pulses was more likely to be successfully transmitted over the mechanical/analogue/relay system ( rather than, for example, 111 ).
The placing of the zero next to the chrome "stop" was so that you could use two fingers, one in the zero and one in the 9, to locate the 9 in the dark.

 

[RWD3M]

We recently got both BT (up on the poles) and Virgin (holes in the ground) within the space of about a month. Only Virgin have been knocking on the door though.

 

[redlig]

We recently got both BT (up on the poles) and Virgin (holes in the ground) within the space of about a month. Only Virgin have been knocking on the door though.

With great regret I have to suppress the desire to make the obvious comment re Virgins knocking on your door , or mine for that matter.

 

[selectedgrub]

I believe that the Emergency number was chosen to be 999 because a large number of pulses was more likely to be successfully transmitted over the mechanical/analogue/relay system ( rather than, for example, 111 ).
The placing of the zero next to the chrome "stop" was so that you could use two fingers, one in the zero and one in the 9, to locate the 9 in the dark.

This could well be true as our emergency number is 111
Therefore this takes the longest time to return when the numbers are reversed.