my mum has had an email mailshot which says that her phone *and
broadband* service will be transferred to EE. WTF!
My mum is with Plusnet. I know that PN are offloading the email service
to Greenby. I know that they will no longer be providing analogue phone
because BT Openreach are stopping it, and are recommending EE for VOIP service. Fine. I understand that.
But my mum has had an email mailshot which says that her phone *and broadband* service will be transferred to EE. WTF!
What is Plusnet's business going to be if they don't offer any of email, phone and broadband?
It seems that PN will continue providing broadband if you want to discontinue your landline service, but if you want landline *both* the
VOIP phone service and the broadband service will transfer to EE.
Seems odd to divest themselves of so much business - all the broadband customers who happen to want a landline VOIP phone service as well.
On 2026/6/26 19:27:52, NY wrote:
My mum is with Plusnet. I know that PN are offloading the email service
to Greenby. I know that they will no longer be providing analogue phone
(I think they've more or less completed the Greenby transfer now. It's
not been seamless - one example being that their old system allowed you
to not use encryption, the Greenby one requires it, so those few
customers who weren't now have to use stunnel or change client - and,
IMO at least, it's not as reliable: I notice outages more than I used
to. Though that _may_ have improved in the last few weeks.)
because BT Openreach are stopping it, and are recommending EE for VOIPICP - internet CONNNECTION provider.
service. Fine. I understand that.
But my mum has had an email mailshot which says that her phone *and
broadband* service will be transferred to EE. WTF!
What is Plusnet's business going to be if they don't offer any of email,
phone and broadband?
It seems that PN will continue providing broadband if you want to
discontinue your landline service, but if you want landline, *both* the
VOIP phone service and the broadband service will transfer to EE.
Seems odd to divest themselves of so much business - all the broadband
customers who happen to want a landline VOIP phone service as well.
It's probably _not_ that many - and the saving in getting rid of
potentially "problematic" customers is probably considered worth it. :-(
(I think they've more or less completed the Greenby transfer now. It'sI got an email from PN yesterday
not been seamless
My mum is with Plusnet. I know that PN are offloading the email service
to Greenby. I know that they will no longer be providing analogue phone because BT Openreach are stopping it, and are recommending EE for VOIP service. Fine. I understand that.
But my mum has had an email mailshot which says that her phone *and broadband* service will be transferred to EE. WTF!
What is Plusnet's business going to be if they don't offer any of email, phone and broadband?
It seems that PN will continue providing broadband if you want to discontinue your landline service, but if you want landline *both* the
VOIP phone service and the broadband service will transfer to EE.
Seems odd to divest themselves of so much business - all the broadband customers who happen to want a landline VOIP phone service as well.
J. P. Gilliver wrote:
(I think they've more or less completed the Greenby transfer now. It'sI got an email from PN yesterday
not been seamless
"Not using our outbound mail server?
You'll find this useful.
We're about to upgrade the way our emails work, meaning if you currently send yours through a non-Plusnet server, we need you to check that your outgoing server settings are up to date."
Doesn't apply to me as I moved to mythic beasts a few months ago ...
Andy Burns wrote:
Doesn't apply to me as I moved to mythic beasts a few months ago ...
Sounds like it _does_ apply to you, surely?
One wonders who they _do_ mean/what nefarious deed they are planning.
So "PlusNet" is your "Pound shop" internet only provider.
"EE" is for the vast majority of users.
"BT" is your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer...
On 26/06/2026 20:54, David Wade wrote:(BT must have improved a lot since I was with them.)
So "PlusNet" is your "Pound shop" internet only provider.
"EE" is for the vast majority of users.
"BT" is your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer...
Absolutely right. But there's nothing to stop Plusnet customers who want
a "landline" (VoIP) from using a 3rd party provider for that. I already
have an AAISP VoIP account and will port my landline number to that when
my copper landline finally disappears. You do need extra hardware for
that (ATA or equivalent) because PN's Hub2 router, although it has a
phone port, doesn't have the firmware to support it - and it probably wouldn't work with a 3rd party provider, even if it did.
As others have previously mentioned, if you don't want to make and
receive voice calls on your "landline", but only want to make provision
for people to leave voicemail messages for you, there are free VoIP
accounts which will email you when a message is received and provide
access to the audio - and you don't need any extra hardware for that.
On 2026/6/27 22:52:8, Roger Mills wrote:
On 26/06/2026 20:54, David Wade wrote:(BT must have improved a lot since I was with them.)
So "PlusNet" is your "Pound shop" internet only provider.
"EE" is for the vast majority of users.
"BT" is your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer...
Absolutely right. But there's nothing to stop Plusnet customers who want
a "landline" (VoIP) from using a 3rd party provider for that. I already
have an AAISP VoIP account and will port my landline number to that when
my copper landline finally disappears. You do need extra hardware for
Probably planning to do the same, though maybe with voipfone, having
heard customer service from A&A has declined.
On 2026/6/27 22:52:8, Roger Mills wrote:
On 26/06/2026 20:54, David Wade wrote:(BT must have improved a lot since I was with them.)
So "PlusNet" is your "Pound shop" internet only provider.
"EE" is for the vast majority of users.
"BT" is your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer...
Absolutely right. But there's nothing to stop Plusnet customers who want
a "landline" (VoIP) from using a 3rd party provider for that. I already
have an AAISP VoIP account and will port my landline number to that when
my copper landline finally disappears. You do need extra hardware for
Probably planning to do the same, though maybe with voipfone, having
heard customer service from A&A has declined.
that (ATA or equivalent) because PN's Hub2 router, although it has a
phone port, doesn't have the firmware to support it - and it probably
wouldn't work with a 3rd party provider, even if it did.
Yes, infuriating that. (I've been hoping someone would do a hack for it.)
As others have previously mentioned, if you don't want to make and
receive voice calls on your "landline", but only want to make provision
for people to leave voicemail messages for you, there are free VoIP
accounts which will email you when a message is received and provide
access to the audio - and you don't need any extra hardware for that.
Do any of those free ones let you keep your number? I expect not.
J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
On 2026/6/27 22:52:8, Roger Mills wrote:IrCOm with A&A both for FTTP and VoIP. Absolutely no evidence that customer service has declined.
On 26/06/2026 20:54, David Wade wrote:(BT must have improved a lot since I was with them.)
So "PlusNet" is your "Pound shop" internet only provider.
"EE" is for the vast majority of users.
"BT" is your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer...
Absolutely right. But there's nothing to stop Plusnet customers who want >>> a "landline" (VoIP) from using a 3rd party provider for that. I already >>> have an AAISP VoIP account and will port my landline number to that when >>> my copper landline finally disappears. You do need extra hardware for
Probably planning to do the same, though maybe with voipfone, having
heard customer service from A&A has declined.
On 28/06/2026 01:31, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
On 2026/6/27 22:52:8, Roger Mills wrote:
On 26/06/2026 20:54, David Wade wrote:(BT must have improved a lot since I was with them.)
So "PlusNet" is your "Pound shop" internet only provider.
"EE" is for the vast majority of users.
"BT" is your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer...
Sorry "BT is marketed as for your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer"
I am with Voipfone. Pretty good. Very cheap if you just have the number
and use PAYG for outbound calls, unless you ring a mobile.
that (ATA or equivalent) because PN's Hub2 router, although it has a
phone port, doesn't have the firmware to support it - and it probably
wouldn't work with a 3rd party provider, even if it did.
Yes, infuriating that. (I've been hoping someone would do a hack for it.)
I can't believe that BT or EE use non-standard protocols. I assume they
just use TR-069 to configure things, and don't provide a way to read or modify the configuration.
ZEN have a halfway house, so if you buy their phone service you have to
use their router, and they use TR-069 to configure, but if you don't the config is unlocked so you can use third partys which is how mine is set up.
In fact if you can use a third party router the FritzBox that ZEN supply makes a great little multi-device ATA with support for multiple
telephony devices, built-in voice mail/answerphone and is available on
e-bay from those who have upgraded at reasonable prices. Just make sure
you get a 7530ax in you want wifi6.
As others have previously mentioned, if you don't want to make and
receive voice calls on your "landline", but only want to make provision
for people to leave voicemail messages for you, there are free VoIP
accounts which will email you when a message is received and provide
access to the audio - and you don't need any extra hardware for that.
Do any of those free ones let you keep your number? I expect not.
any examples? anyway no, but voipfone will....
Dave
There was some mention on here that A&A's reputation as the Rolls-Royce
of ISPs (with corresponding cost!) had made their treatment of VoIP-only customers somewhat smug. At least one person agreed - and, they did have
to up their (admittedly competitive) VoIP prices, to cover the extra
cost of supporting VoIP-only customers who weren't perhaps as savvy as
their ISP customers (who _were_/are mostly savvy, else they wouldn't be paying the ISP costs). Maybe, as a result of the extra staff, they're
back to being nice (well, not condescending) to VoIP-only customers.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear from people who've used both A&A and
voip, and how they compare.
On 2026/6/28 7:20:5, Tweed wrote:
J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:There was some mention on here that A&A's reputation as the Rolls-Royce
On 2026/6/27 22:52:8, Roger Mills wrote:IrCOm with A&A both for FTTP and VoIP. Absolutely no evidence that customer >> service has declined.
On 26/06/2026 20:54, David Wade wrote:(BT must have improved a lot since I was with them.)
So "PlusNet" is your "Pound shop" internet only provider.
"EE" is for the vast majority of users.
"BT" is your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer...
Absolutely right. But there's nothing to stop Plusnet customers who want >>>> a "landline" (VoIP) from using a 3rd party provider for that. I already >>>> have an AAISP VoIP account and will port my landline number to that when >>>> my copper landline finally disappears. You do need extra hardware for
Probably planning to do the same, though maybe with voipfone, having
heard customer service from A&A has declined.
of ISPs (with corresponding cost!) had made their treatment of VoIP-only customers somewhat smug. At least one person agreed - and, they did have
to up their (admittedly competitive) VoIP prices, to cover the extra
cost of supporting VoIP-only customers who weren't perhaps as savvy as
their ISP customers (who _were_/are mostly savvy, else they wouldn't be paying the ISP costs). Maybe, as a result of the extra staff, they're
back to being nice (well, not condescending) to VoIP-only customers.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear from people who've used both A&A and
voip, and how they compare.
J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:[]
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear from people who've used both A&A and
voip, and how they compare.
I use A&A for both broadband and voice. IrCOve had them for broadband through ADSL, FTTC and now FTTP. I ported my landline numbers to them without
issue. IrCOve dealt with them both by email and phone and have never had any issue. They proactively monitor their broadband. At one point they emailed
me to say they thought my ADSL router was starting to feel unwell and replaced it. I never noticed the issue. If they detect the broadband has
gone down you get a text message, and another one when it goes back on.
That normally when I need to turn the routerrCOs power off for whatever
reason. As to VOIP, if you want to be the entirely non technical user they will sell you a DECT base station and handset pre configured. Just connect
the Ethernet to your router and plug in the power supply and off it goes.
The other thing they donrCOt do is price walk. They have never increased the price of my broadband service in over a decade. ItrCOs worth paying extra just to not having to go through the pantomimes of renewing contracts every so often.
In uk.telecom.broadband J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
There was some mention on here that A&A's reputation as the Rolls-Royce
of ISPs (with corresponding cost!) had made their treatment of VoIP-only
customers somewhat smug. At least one person agreed - and, they did have
to up their (admittedly competitive) VoIP prices, to cover the extra
cost of supporting VoIP-only customers who weren't perhaps as savvy as
their ISP customers (who _were_/are mostly savvy, else they wouldn't be
paying the ISP costs). Maybe, as a result of the extra staff, they're
back to being nice (well, not condescending) to VoIP-only customers.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear from people who've used both A&A and
voip, and how they compare.
I think it's a little bit different from that. A&A serve primarily business customers. Businesses have dedicated technically trained staff who manage their systems, and A&A interface with them (as well as the accounts department for billing etc). That means they are used to dealing with technical people, and they are not used to handholding: they aren't there to do the IT department's job for them; if the IT department is incompetent that's not A&A's problem. Also business contracts don't have things like consumer rights.
The consumer market is quite different. When you as an individual engage
with a B2B supplier you need to be more on the ball as a customer than a B2C transaction, and if you come with a consumer mindset then you may have problems. Now A&A have never been a B2B only supplier so there's always been some B2C, but they've had a B2B outlook and somewhat grudgingly accept B2C regulation.
On 2026/6/28 13:57:23, Tweed wrote:
J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:[]
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear from people who've used both A&A and
voip, and how they compare.
(I meant voipfone there, of course.)
I use A&A for both broadband and voice. IrCOve had them for broadband through
ADSL, FTTC and now FTTP. I ported my landline numbers to them without
issue. IrCOve dealt with them both by email and phone and have never had any >> issue. They proactively monitor their broadband. At one point they emailed >> me to say they thought my ADSL router was starting to feel unwell and
replaced it. I never noticed the issue. If they detect the broadband has
gone down you get a text message, and another one when it goes back on.
That normally when I need to turn the routerrCOs power off for whatever
Yes, I've heard - and nothing to the contrary - that their ISP -
including the S part - is second to none. Though at a cost (though more below).
reason. As to VOIP, if you want to be the entirely non technical user they >> will sell you a DECT base station and handset pre configured. Just connect
(How about just an ATA instead?)
the Ethernet to your router and plug in the power supply and off it goes.It would be interesting to know whether that - due to inflation - has
The other thing they donrCOt do is price walk. They have never increased the >> price of my broadband service in over a decade. ItrCOs worth paying extra
just to not having to go through the pantomimes of renewing contracts every >> so often.
made your prices similar to any of their competitors. Though I suspect
_new_ customers might still find them expensive.
No, they donrCOt sell ATAs.
Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> writes:
No, they donrCOt sell ATAs.
They provide a router with an ATA built into it, and two phone sockets.
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:
I think it's a little bit different from that. A&A serve primarily business customers. Businesses have dedicated technically trained staff who manage their systems, and A&A interface with them (as well as the accounts department for billing etc). That means they are used to dealing with technical people, and they are not used to handholding: they aren't there to
do the IT department's job for them; if the IT department is incompetent that's not A&A's problem. Also business contracts don't have things like consumer rights.
The consumer market is quite different. When you as an individual engage with a B2B supplier you need to be more on the ball as a customer than a B2C
transaction, and if you come with a consumer mindset then you may have problems. Now A&A have never been a B2B only supplier so there's always been
some B2C, but they've had a B2B outlook and somewhat grudgingly accept B2C regulation.
This is strange, their website clearly advertises a home service. So if
they are selling it they should be ready to provide it. Being technical doesn't exclude the possibility of providing a preconfigured router
which just works with VOIP out of the box.
[A&A] have a home product, but they do zero to advertise it to home users. Do they provide a preconfigured router?I can't see them selling many firebricks to home users that way ...
Do they provide a preconfigured router? I don't know what you get when you take their FTTC/FTTP service - do you get any router at all as standard? I was assuming you just get login credentials to set up your own kit. You can of course buy hardware from them and they will preconfigure it, but I
thought that was optional (ie it's not funded out of the monthly
payment, it's a separate hardware purchase, separate contract etc).
Theo
Theo wrote:
[A&A] have a home product, but they do zero to advertise it to homeI can't see them selling many firebricks to home users that way ...
users.
Do they provide a preconfigured router?
Also if you don't use up your 1TB quota you get a bonus added next
month. I never use my 1TB quota.
On Sun, 28 Jun 2026 14:34:33 +0100, Richmond wrote:
Also if you don't use up your 1TB quota you get a bonus added next
month. I never use my 1TB quota.
The Home::1 service has no usage cap these days.
On 2026/6/28 10:7:12, David Wade wrote:
On 28/06/2026 01:31, J. P. Gilliver wrote:Come to think of it, I haven't seen ad.s for BT at all, apart from
On 2026/6/27 22:52:8, Roger Mills wrote:
On 26/06/2026 20:54, David Wade wrote:(BT must have improved a lot since I was with them.)
So "PlusNet" is your "Pound shop" internet only provider.
"EE" is for the vast majority of users.
"BT" is your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer...
Sorry "BT is marketed as for your Marks and Spencer or Waitrose customer"
rather strange ones that show a software toggle switch that seem to
carry the slogan "the time will be wonderful".
[]
I am with Voipfone. Pretty good. Very cheap if you just have the numberOh, are their to-mobile charges on the expensive side? Since the vast majority of destinations _will_ be mobile after cutoff, that's not good.
and use PAYG for outbound calls, unless you ring a mobile.
I can't believe that BT or EE use non-standard protocols. I assume theythat (ATA or equivalent) because PN's Hub2 router, although it has a
phone port, doesn't have the firmware to support it - and it probably
wouldn't work with a 3rd party provider, even if it did.
Yes, infuriating that. (I've been hoping someone would do a hack for it.) >>
just use TR-069 to configure things, and don't provide a way to read or
modify the configuration.
I was considering the case of staying with PlusNet (and their router),
just using (as one would have to) a third-party VoIP provider - thinking someone might do a hack for the PN router to actually use the hardware
it contains. But I doubt it.
ZEN have a halfway house, so if you buy their phone service you have to
use their router, and they use TR-069 to configure, but if you don't the
config is unlocked so you can use third partys which is how mine is set up.
You you can't have VoIP-only from Zen? And if you get both IC and VoIP
from them, there are restrictions (you can't use the VoIP with an ATA)?
Useful info., thanks.
In fact if you can use a third party router the FritzBox that ZEN supply
makes a great little multi-device ATA with support for multiple
telephony devices, built-in voice mail/answerphone and is available on
e-bay from those who have upgraded at reasonable prices. Just make sure
you get a 7530ax in you want wifi6.
As others have previously mentioned, if you don't want to make and
receive voice calls on your "landline", but only want to make provision >>>> for people to leave voicemail messages for you, there are free VoIP
accounts which will email you when a message is received and provide
access to the audio - and you don't need any extra hardware for that.
Do any of those free ones let you keep your number? I expect not.
any examples? anyway no, but voipfone will....
Not for free, though.
I'm currently well-disposed towards voipfone because when I first looked
into VoIP (probably a few years ago), they answered some technical-but-VoIP-newbie questions I had in a friendly manner. But of
course (a) providers change [usually decline], though I've not heard any
such statements re voipfone, and (b) if their charges to mobiles - which
are likely to be the majority - are high ...#
Dave
John
Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:
Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> writes:Ah, must have changed since I got mine. Thanks for the correction.
No, they donrCOt sell ATAs.
They provide a router with an ATA built into it, and two phone sockets.
On 2026/6/28 15:3:50, Tweed wrote:
Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:Presumably that's for ISP-and-VoIP customers, rather than VoIP-only.
Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> writes:Ah, must have changed since I got mine. Thanks for the correction.
No, they donrCOt sell ATAs.
They provide a router with an ATA built into it, and two phone sockets.
In fact if you can use a third party router the FritzBox that ZEN supplyUseful info., thanks.
makes a great little multi-device ATA with support for multiple
telephony devices, built-in voice mail/answerphone and is available on
e-bay from those who have upgraded at reasonable prices. Just make sure
you get a 7530ax in you want wifi6.
On Sun, 28 Jun 2026 14:34:33 +0100, Richmond wrote:
Also if you don't use up your 1TB quota you get a bonus added next
month. I never use my 1TB quota.
The Home::1 service has no usage cap these days.
Bob Eager <throwaway0008@eager.cx> writes:
On Sun, 28 Jun 2026 14:34:33 +0100, Richmond wrote:
Also if you don't use up your 1TB quota you get a bonus added next
month. I never use my 1TB quota.
The Home::1 service has no usage cap these days.
It is documented here:
https://www.aa.net.uk/broadband/home1/fttp-prices/
On Sun, 28 Jun 2026 22:53:47 +0100, Richmond wrote:
Bob Eager <throwaway0008@eager.cx> writes:
On Sun, 28 Jun 2026 14:34:33 +0100, Richmond wrote:
Also if you don't use up your 1TB quota you get a bonus added next
month. I never use my 1TB quota.
The Home::1 service has no usage cap these days.
It is documented here:
https://www.aa.net.uk/broadband/home1/fttp-prices/
Ah, I see. My apologies. I'm actually on the unlimited Soho::1 tariff. We use > 2TB a month and there are other reasons too.
Bob Eager <throwaway0008@eager.cx> wrote:
On Sun, 28 Jun 2026 22:53:47 +0100, Richmond wrote:
Bob Eager <throwaway0008@eager.cx> writes:
On Sun, 28 Jun 2026 14:34:33 +0100, Richmond wrote:
Also if you don't use up your 1TB quota you get a bonus added next
month. I never use my 1TB quota.
The Home::1 service has no usage cap these days.
It is documented here:
https://www.aa.net.uk/broadband/home1/fttp-prices/
Ah, I see. My apologies. I'm actually on the unlimited Soho::1 tariff. We >> use > 2TB a month and there are other reasons too.
That link shows that Home::1 has both capped and uncapped options.
No, they donrCOt sell ATAs.
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