«

"Net phone service rules announced"

I think we all knew that this was to come about. Personally I think
Ofcom could spend their time on much more important things concerning
voip.
Vonage, in my view, raised an important issue. In essence: Why should
people have to pay for a landline telephone service that they don't
want just because they need a line to carry broadband.
VirginMedia does this but there is no other competitor with a similar,
broadband only, product.
I did write to Ofcom, some time ago, to ask what, if anything, they
were doing about this. I didn't get a reply.
It could be that the maintenence costs are such that lines can't be
offered much cheaper, but I would really like Ofcom to look into this.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6507587.stm




Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.

On Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:09:14 GMT, Brian A
<> wrote:

>"Net phone service rules announced"
>
>I think we all knew that this was to come about. Personally I think
>Ofcom could spend their time on much more important things concerning
>voip.
>Vonage, in my view, raised an important issue. In essence: Why should
>people have to pay for a landline telephone service that they don't
>want just because they need a line to carry broadband.
>VirginMedia does this but there is no other competitor with a similar,
>broadband only, product.
>I did write to Ofcom, some time ago, to ask what, if anything, they
>were doing about this. I didn't get a reply.
>It could be that the maintenence costs are such that lines can't be
>offered much cheaper, but I would really like Ofcom to look into this.

The answer to your question is in Ofcom's VoIP pronouncements today:

"8.14. Ofcom understands that BT has received at least two requests
for a naked DSL product (or similar) through the Statement of
Requirement (SoR) process36. Ofcom’s current view is that industry is
best placed to agree requirements for the provision of any such
product. As stated previously, Ofcom continues to have dialogue with
stakeholders in order to understand their views and is monitoring
progress of discussions between BT and industry over provision of such
a product."

The cost is one of the sticking points and is probably where Ofcom
might have a view.

Ofcom plans to consult later this year on whether net phone services should
be forced to provide access to emergency services.

As I use Sipgate and Betamax I have this mental picture of a queue of fire
engines and ambulances waiting to embark at Zeebrugge.

--

Graham.

%rofound_observation%

Brian A wrote:
> VirginMedia does this but there is no other competitor with a similar,
> broadband only, product.

Yes there is.

http://aaisp.net.uk/pstn.html

Tim

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 08:52:33 +0100, Tim <> wrote:
>Brian A wrote:
>> VirginMedia does this but there is no other competitor with a similar,
>> broadband only, product.
>
>Yes there is.
>
>http://aaisp.net.uk/pstn.html

Yes, but the monthly charge for that line is the same as one which also
has voice service.

--
-- Michael "Soruk" McConnell Eridani Star System
MailStripper - http://www.MailStripper.eu/ - SMTP spam filter
Mail Me Anywhere - http://www.MailMeAnywhere.com/ - Mobile email
Second Number - http://secondnumber.matrixnetwork.co.uk/

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 08:52:33 +0100, Tim <> wrote:

>Brian A wrote:
>> VirginMedia does this but there is no other competitor with a similar,
>> broadband only, product.
>
>Yes there is.
>
>http://aaisp.net.uk/pstn.html
>
And no cheaper than a BT line on which calls can be made .

Graham wrote:

>
> Ofcom plans to consult later this year on whether net phone services
> should be forced to provide access to emergency services.
>
> As I use Sipgate and Betamax I have this mental picture of a queue of fire
> engines and ambulances waiting to embark at Zeebrugge.

Don't be ridiculous. You'd get a fire extinguisher with an ethernet port.

--
<http://ale.cx/> (AIM:troffasky) ()
23:31:24 up 15:18, 2 users, load average: 0.27, 0.52, 0.57
Yes. I'm just guessing.

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:26:56 +0100, "Graham" <> wrote:

>Ofcom plans to consult later this year on whether net phone services should
>be forced to provide access to emergency services.

Irrelevant to the basic "phone line charges" for an IP only service,
but a major topic of discussion over-the-pond - especially with local
vs. FCC and geo-location stuff...

On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 13:22:34 +0100, wrote:

>On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 08:52:33 +0100, Tim <> wrote:
>
>>Brian A wrote:
>>> VirginMedia does this but there is no other competitor with a similar,
>>> broadband only, product.
>>
>>Yes there is.
>>
>>http://aaisp.net.uk/pstn.html
>>
>And no cheaper than a BT line on which calls can be made .
As a point of interest, in Australia the line rental is about
£8/month*. You only need to look at the wide roads and bigger, U.S.
style, housing layouts, particularly in the suburbs, to realise that
the line lengths will also be much longer and thus have potential for
greater maintenance costs. So, that is £36/year less than the UK
charge and a phone service is still provided.
(*Telstra $19.95, Optus Basic $19.00)
Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.

Brian A wrote:

> As a point of interest, in Australia the line rental is about
> £8/month*. You only need to look at the wide roads and bigger, U.S.
> style, housing layouts, particularly in the suburbs, to realise that
> the line lengths will also be much longer and thus have potential for
> greater maintenance costs. So, that is £36/year less than the UK
> charge and a phone service is still provided.

What is the difference once you take into account the relative purchasing
power of AUD in Australia and GBP in the UK?

--
<http://ale.cx/> (AIM:troffasky) ()
11:41:50 up 1 day, 3:28, 2 users, load average: 0.48, 0.60, 0.57
Yes. I'm just guessing.