Tens of thousands of old phones linger in vintage seller's inventory

[anothernewbbaccount]

@Fefelo

There are VOIP adapters that let you output regular phone voltage so these can be wired in to a modern VOIP system.

I need to look into this. We have a rotary dial phone and BT will soon move that line to VOIP, meaning it will have to be retired unless I can find a way…

@GagHalfrunt

you will have to dial the full number including area code for local calls

My other landline (which does not have a rotary phone attached) is from Virgin Media and they just moved us to VOIP and I dialled a local number without the STD code and it worked. Basically, they provide an adapter widget that you plug the old phone into and the widget plugs into the router. My answerphone also works. I cannot speak for BT - we have yet to hear from them about it.

(Two landlines because two people working from home for two different employers, until retirement. Each of us is so associated with our respective number that we decided to keep both.)

@nixiebunny Well that’s fine if your mobile signal is good, and reliable. Ours is weak and unreliable.

@Tribune

Get an ups battery for the modem and phone and unless the power outage take out something upstream it should still work.

…the functionality during power outages was one of the reasons.

Yeah - I forced Virgin to give me a battery back-up phone. Basically when the router goes out due to a power cut, it still works 'cos it has batteries AND A SIM CARD with my landline number! They will provide these if you swear blind you do not have a cellphone or that you are a person in one of the ‘vulnerable’ categories.

I keep meaning to ask Ofcom (the UK regulator who was captured by an industry that wanted to turn off the copper network) about what happens when the power cut takes out all the local cell masts too. (E.g. storms last year left areas of Scotland with no power for weeks!) No 999 calls for me in those circumstances, I suspect.

ETA THIS!

@Dennis_el_Campesino

There is a good reason to have a dial-up phone, other than pure pigheaded ludditism. In 2004 we had 4 hurricanes pass through my locality within two months. We were without power for over two weeks. The only method of communication that worked, until they could get the cell towers back up, was my 1937 Western electric 302 and my Moss green (avocado to you heathens) Western Electric 500.

And THIS!

@Dennis_el_Campesino

Letting the PSTN rot in the ground because you don’t want to keep it running is the worst sort of corporate BS.

I’m with you on this Dennis! Maybe I will make that call to Ofcom!