For UK Customers Of BT: Digital Voice?
Anyone already on BT's "Digital Voice" service for landlines?
(This needs the telephone being plugged into the router rather than directly to the outside line, so it is powered from your own domestic electricity supply rather than by BT. If you don't have a modem, you will need one!)
BT rightly warns that in a power cut the telephone wil not work (nor of course will your computer), and gives further, appropriate warnings especially to people using medical alarms or living in areas with little or portable (not "mobile"!) telephone coverage.
In some cases it will provide a small UPS to such people, anyone else will of course have to buy one if wished. And ensure they keep their portable 'phone charged - to which I'd add, yes, and don't leave the thing switched on if the power-cut is likely to last more than a few hours . Save it for necessary, and brief, calls only. (I admit that is easy for me to say for that is what I do anyway.)
All jolly hockey-sticks to BT as the move reduces its own electricity bill to no technical or financial advantage to its customers!
BT also claims the existing system is "out-dated" and parts are no longer being manufactured. If you can't see through that, there's no hope...
We also know that making even local calls will need the area code prefixing to the subscriber's code.
So, having repeated what we do know..
Is there anything BT has not told us, that we should know before anything untoward happens ?
(This needs the telephone being plugged into the router rather than directly to the outside line, so it is powered from your own domestic electricity supply rather than by BT. If you don't have a modem, you will need one!)
BT rightly warns that in a power cut the telephone wil not work (nor of course will your computer), and gives further, appropriate warnings especially to people using medical alarms or living in areas with little or portable (not "mobile"!) telephone coverage.
In some cases it will provide a small UPS to such people, anyone else will of course have to buy one if wished. And ensure they keep their portable 'phone charged - to which I'd add, yes, and don't leave the thing switched on if the power-cut is likely to last more than a few hours . Save it for necessary, and brief, calls only. (I admit that is easy for me to say for that is what I do anyway.)
All jolly hockey-sticks to BT as the move reduces its own electricity bill to no technical or financial advantage to its customers!
BT also claims the existing system is "out-dated" and parts are no longer being manufactured. If you can't see through that, there's no hope...
We also know that making even local calls will need the area code prefixing to the subscriber's code.
So, having repeated what we do know..
Is there anything BT has not told us, that we should know before anything untoward happens ?
