BT cloud service alternatives

[cull24]

I am hoping someone can give me some suggestions to how I can reduce my phone and internet bill.
My business was established in 1864 and over the years we have had the same landline number. When we moved premises around 16 years ago we were not in the same exchange area so to keep our old number we had to have it ported through a new line at our new premises. As time has moved on BT have moved on to the cloud service and done away with porting numbers.
I currently pay for a landline, broadband and the cloud service to keep my original number. Over the last few years I keep getting in touch with BT to try reduce the cost but they always manage to make it creep up again or give me a service I do not need like super fast business broadband. I literally need my original number for incoming calls and basic internet for emails.
I am rubbish with technology and do not know what products to search for or ask for or cancel when dealing with BT. If someone could help with alternatives to BT I would be grateful. I currently pay roughly £250 a quarter.
Thanks.

 

[Ethan39]

Morning, this might be something that @cjd could help you with.

Also, congratulations to your company for being around for so long. 160 years is an incredible feat!

 

[KM-Tiger]

Also, congratulations to your company for being around for so long. 160 years is an incredible feat!

Indeed and very far sighted to reserve a number before the telephone was invented!

More seriously, second the suggestion to contact Voipfone. Their services are good and reasonably priced. You are anyway going to have to port all numbers to a VOIP service as landlines will be turned off in 2025.

 

[Ozzy]

@cull24 could be worth you having a look at this deal here from Voipfone for UKBF members.

 

[cjd]

to keep our old number we had to have it ported through a new line at our new premises.

If you moved to another exchange area but kept your number I think you must have ported the number to a VoIP provider. Could this be the case (If you PM me the number I could check.)

As time has moved on BT have moved on to the cloud service and done away with porting numbers.

BT can't "do away with porting". It a legal requirement for them to port numbers. Moving to 'the cloud' doesn't change this so if you have a number with them - or anyone - it can be ported.

I currently pay for a landline, broadband and the cloud service to keep my original number. Over the last few years I keep getting in touch with BT to try reduce the cost but they always manage to make it creep up again or give me a service I do not need like super fast business broadband. I literally need my original number for incoming calls and basic internet for emails.

Yes they do that. But now you can have your broadband without a telephone line. So you can port away your number and bargain them down on your broadband. Or you could shift both to a better provider.

I am rubbish with technology and do not know what products to search for or ask for or cancel when dealing with BT. If someone could help with alternatives to BT I would be grateful. I currently pay roughly £250 a quarter.
Thanks.

£250 per quater! Wow! We'd better have a chat! If you call us - 0345 868 5555 - we can at least tell you what's possible. We can probably at least halve that.

 

[John P Rogers]

I keep on coming across people with the exact same issue. Being overcharged for average broadband and still being charged a large amount just to keep a legacy number. You can often be sold additional features that you don't use or don't need and the cost of the extras really mounts up over the year. Happy to have a chat if you would like some advice from an independent provider. 01163033714

 

[ITPRINTTELECOM]

I am hoping someone can give me some suggestions to how I can reduce my phone and internet bill.
My business was established in 1864 and over the years we have had the same landline number. When we moved premises around 16 years ago we were not in the same exchange area so to keep our old number we had to have it ported through a new line at our new premises. As time has moved on BT have moved on to the cloud service and done away with porting numbers.
I currently pay for a landline, broadband and the cloud service to keep my original number. Over the last few years I keep getting in touch with BT to try reduce the cost but they always manage to make it creep up again or give me a service I do not need like super fast business broadband. I literally need my original number for incoming calls and basic internet for emails.
I am rubbish with technology and do not know what products to search for or ask for or cancel when dealing with BT. If someone could help with alternatives to BT I would be grateful. I currently pay roughly £250 a quarter.
Thanks.

Hi Cull24, can we talk regarding this if it’s not fixed yet?

 

[cull24]

Thanks for your replies, I apologise my description of the phone line might be incorrect of how it works, I am clueless when it comes to this and thats how BT are extorting myself and others.
I have been in touch with voipfone and hopefully they are going to help.

 

[Gyumri]

@cull24 could be worth you having a look at this deal here from Voipfone for UKBF members.

Thanks for the link but nothing at that page explains to the average business man like me what it is all about.

I get the idea that one receives a dedicated "landline number" but then give an example. Next: how in simple terms does the service work? Who is the company that we have to pay? what type of telephone handset does one use? where does one buy it from? Give a nice picture of one.

The "100 minutes" is a good carrot but how much per minute afterwards?

So the article should be drastically re-worded to cater for the average businessman who doesn't know anything about VOIP.

 

[cjd]

Reasonable point, probably worth another look. Meanwhile you'll find a general explanation here:

What is VoIP

VoIP is a technology that allows voice communication, such as phone calls, to be transmitted over the internet rather than traditional telephone networks.

www.voipfone.co.uk

I get the idea that one receives a dedicated "landline number" but then give an example.

All standard Ofcom numbers are available. Normally this is an 01, 02, 03 or 0800

Next: how in simple terms does the service work?

See the link above. But really you don't need to know how it works, very few people knew how the legacy telephone network worked, they just subscribed to a service. It's the same with VoIP.

Who is the company that we have to pay?

Voipfone.

what type of telephone handset does one use? where does one buy it from? Give a nice picture of one.

See here

VoIP Hardware

To get the most out of Voipfone internet telephony, its best to use the new generation of VoIP plug and go SIP telephones products.

www.voipfone.co.uk

The "100 minutes" is a good carrot but how much per minute afterwards?

Standard prices - 1ppm to call a' landline', 7ppm to a mobile. Or buy higher use plan.