I've considered that in the past, but have always encountered obstacles, probably because there are a lot of things about it that I don't understand. For example ....
If I were to relinquish all my BT landlines, how would I be able to 'port' those existing numbers? In theory, BT could re-allocate those 'relinquished' numbers to other subscribers, couldn't they?
No - wireless from a mast on a nearby hill! Being in the 'ignored sticks', those of my neighbours who rely on their landline for a broadband connection are lucky to get 1 mbps, with little prospect of that changing any time soon. Although not particularly cheap, fortunately some private enterprise came up with a far superior wireless solution!
Get a distinctive ring switch, then cease the fax line but have BT transfer its number over to one of your other lines as a "CallSign" number. That way you could keep the existing number at minimal cost for the odd occasions anyone might call it, and calls would still route to your fax machine but without disturbing you on your regular phone(s). If one number is busy, both will be busy, but that shouldn't be a problem for a number which gets little use.
I'm not impressed! I did an ~500MB download this afternoon - and it would probably still be happening at that speed
You sign up with the new supplier and they port the number. Don't whatever you do cancel your contract with BT, let the new supplier do it, otherwise the number does get lost, and us a nightmare to get back.
Thanks. The last time I looked into that option (admittedly a long time ago) the 'minimal cost' was far from minimal, and not that much less than rental on the fax line. Maybe I should look into it again.
You have to arrange the porting process with the new provider before the BT service is terminated, then the number can be transferred. Be warned though, trying to operate fax over VoIP can be fraught with difficulties. And as you're using wireless internet service, VoIP of any sort could cause a lot of problems, depending upon how it's configured, usage in the area, etc.
We have a network around here. A huge fibre connection comes into the town, and is relayed out with long range transmitters of various types to cover the out lying areas. Works well, but is probe to outages.
Exactly the same setup here, and it's gradually expanded to cover many villages. As well as the 'long-range transmitters' there is also some 'house-to-house' wireless relaying within villages to reach houses which are not line-of-sight to the primary transmitter.
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