Orange is changing- UPDATE 14th November

Be interesting to see how this pans out…

This is what we are already doing, just paying for the internet then a subscription for a voip package for phone calls. It works very well.

We don’t pay line rental just internet at approx 25 euros per month + £7.50 per month for voip via Vonage.

What a terrible idea !!
Personally I intend to hang onto my standard traditional fixed line phone for as long as I can, as that way, when the internet fails I still have a phone to use to report the fault and make other calls with.
“Oh – but you can use your mobile phone” they say. Not in this house you can’t !!
Our village has a terrible mobile phone signal, and inside our thick stone walls there is no chance of getting a mobile phone to work.
No, I’ll stick with our separate (non VOIP, non internet) phone for as long as I can, especially as we have just paid out for a new handset that connects direct to the wife’s hearing aids.

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From what I have read, Orange are claiming that the infrastructure is obsolete and they cannot update it - no spare parts. It would seem that the Government are backing this stance…

In a few years time you may not have a choice!

Sadly Carl, I fear you are probably right. I’ll stick with my traditional phone for as long as I can though, especially as I have a contract that gives me unlimited calls throughout France, the UK, and the USA for a fixed monthly fee.
From what we experience here it is the internet system that keeps failing, sometimes several times a day, but at least our fixed line phone keeps working — even when there is a power cut.

Your new handset could work with voip. We use our old phone with voip.

Depends which bit of infrastructure you are talking about.

Most will still have a copper “last mile” - though probably more like “last 3-5 miles” in rural areas so that bit of infrastructure will remain for a log while. It would be better to replace those links with optical fibre but the cost would be enormous.

The bits of infrastructure which are changing are in the “core network” - most phone companies are switching all of their internal networks over to IP rather than the old telephony signalling standard (typically SS7) because it is cheaper to use more “commodity” hardware and also more flexible - it matters less whether the bits represent voice or data and phone companies are also ISPs these days so move a lot of data as well as telephony.

It makes sense, then, to push the IP part as close to the edge of the network as possible - ideally within the customer’s premises so all old analogue signalling is eliminated, VOIP achieves this.

BT/Openreach are doing the same.

It’s a very expensive insurance policy. If your mobile doesn’t work in your house and you need to report a fault it’s, err, mobile, take it to somewhere that it does. Much cheaper than paying out over €200 a year for a fixed line. Your inclusive calls are included in the VOIP package anyway.

The VOIP system still involves being attached to the phone system. If the fixed line infrastructure is broken that will affect internet users as well.

So David, for those that have poor reception you are quite happy that they have to jump in the car and drive several kilometres every time they want to make any phone call?
I would (will be ) more accepting of the concept when they change the tariffs and do not penalise users for calling mobile to overseas mobile. I have family and friends abroad whom I can call for free on a fixed line but presently have to pay a small fortune if they have chosen to rely on mobile only. Its Whatsapp or nothing then.

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As I have a tele alert connected to my fixed line not sure how this will work for me if Orange change !
On verra :persevere:

Yes, I know that it costs a bit more but I prefer it for the peace of mind. Yes, I suppose I could drive to the top of the hill, and then get out of the car (its unlawful to use it in the car as the driver), and stand in the wind and rain to use the mobile phone. However, I prefer to just throw another log on the fire and use my good old fashioned landline which does not even rely on electrical power being available like the internet box does.
I suppose I’m a dit dinosaurial, but as I have the space I wouldn’t have a combined fridge / freezer or a washer / dryer either, simply because when one part breaks down then you loose the lot.
My view is that having everything reliant on one little electronic box that needs mains power to function at all is too risky.

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I’d rather save the €240.

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This is one disadvantage of VOIP - if you rely on the line then you need the equipment connected to a UPS in case the power fails.

Same here

You have not understood the point that I made. You do not need a fixed line to make phone calls, you use the VOIP facility or your internet box. Calls within and France and to most places worldwide are free. The only trouble is that if your power goes or you lose your internet connection you lose your phone connection too. We are talking about rocking horse poo here for most people. Having a fixed line to use to report your power outage or internet failure costs about €20 per month in addition to your basic internet package. Free do a SIM card for €2. I’m just amazed that there are people around who can casually ignore bills of €240 per year which really serve very little purpose. Of course if a tree brings down your telephone line you will have to go to the huge inconvenience of driving a short distance and asking the passenger in your car to to make a mobile phone call when you find a signal.

I hadn’t thought of a ups - but certainly possible.

David, I think he has understood he just chooses to retain the analogue line for those rare occasions of power cuts.

Everyone is free to choose whichever route they are happiest with.

I know that people have free choice. I don’t agree that Damian understood what I meant as he seems to think that I’m saying that it’s better to have a mobile for all your calls. Incidentally I don’t share his problem calling people on foreign mobiles as I use Skype, FaceTime and messenger for voice and video calls with my friends and family.

Despite some previously heated conversation David is right on this one - there isn’t really much of a reason not to go with Orange’s VOIP solution if you are an Orange customer and have Internet on the line. Paying for the ligne fixe on top when it costs no more to switch to VOIP and plug the phone into the Livebox with the same deal on free calls and the same phone number is a bit of a no brainer.

In fact the only reason I can think of is if you have some sort of alarm signalling on the line (eg in the UK this would be something like BT redcare) - possibly Anne’s tele alert system works in a similar fashion.

For historic reasons I have ligne fixe plus Internet and while I am not wealthy can cope with the extra cost for now - sorting it out requires that I re-wire the house phones so it is not top of the to-do list but it’s quite high up.