NTL Phone Service

[nickok]

If I take phone service from NTL, will the existing extension sockets in my house be wired into the NTL socket when it is installed?

Your extension sockets are all wired back to the master BT socket that nobody except a BT engineer should touch - so no, they won't automatically work on your NTL connection if you go to NTL because the NTL installer should put in a completely new master socket and you would have to run new extension sockets off that. That's what we have in our house, but with one wired phone and one cordless in the house, I never found it a problem that the number of active extension sockets in our house dropped from four to two!

There may be something you can legally do to unwire the BT extensions from the BT master and wire them up to the NTL master, but I'm no expert at that so I'll refrain from telling you what I might do and leave it to an expert ...

to Cable Forum, by the way.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by nickok

If I take phone service from NTL, will the existing extension sockets in my house be wired into the NTL socket when it is installed?

Get a set of phones like these: http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...clickfrom=name where only the main unit needs to be plugged into a phone socket, the rest just plug into a mains socket.

HTH.

Originally Posted by Neil

Get a set of phones like these: http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...clickfrom=name where only the main unit needs to be plugged into a phone socket, the rest just plug into a mains socket.

HTH.

Wow! That looks like a great deal - are the handsets good quality?

Slight proviso - posts on other threads indicate that some features on NTL-branded phones may not work on NTL network (was it caller id?)

[Graham F]

no all features on ntl phones work on the ntl network if you live in an enabled area!!

Found it - see 'CallerID/Voicemail Problems' thread, in particular last post. (must learn how to post links to other threads)

[nickok]

Thanks for the replies. The DECT phone looks good but one problem is that my PC is still connected to an extension phone socket for the rare occasion when I use a dial service, or send a fax from it. So ideally I want to link the existing sockets (which I paid to have put in) to the NTL master socket.
Nick

[ian@huth]

You could either have the NTL master socket installed where your PC is or have it next to the BT master socket and transfer the extension wiring from the BT socket to the NTL one.

EDIT: The second option may be best especially if you have a Sky digibox connected to one of your extension sockets.

Originally Posted by ianathuth

You could either have the NTL master socket installed where your PC is or have it next to the BT master socket and transfer the extension wiring from the BT socket to the NTL one.

EDIT: The second option may be best especially if you have a Sky digibox connected to one of your extension sockets.

I'd go for the latter option myself, with the proviso that it may not technically be legal to open the BT master socket, even if it is just to pull the extension wiring out of it to re-use in the NTL socket. Does anyone know for sure what the situation is with this?

[scrotnig]

Originally Posted by Chris T

I'd go for the latter option myself, with the proviso that it may not technically be legal to open the BT master socket, even if it is just to pull the extension wiring out of it to re-use in the NTL socket. Does anyone know for sure what the situation is with this?

I thought it was ok to wire your own extensions? In order to do this, it mus surely be legal to wire them into the master socket in some way.....otherwise it would be illegal to sell the kits. But I don't know.

Originally Posted by Mark B

I thought it was ok to wire your own extensions? In order to do this, it mus surely be legal to wire them into the master socket in some way.....otherwise it would be illegal to sell the kits. But I don't know.

I would have thought it should be the same for all telcos. At what point does NTL equipment in a subscriber's home become 'hands-off'?

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by Chris T

I would have thought it should be the same for all telcos. At what point does NTL equipment in a subscriber's home become 'hands-off'?

Have a look at http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk/WPP/Wi...telephone.html

Originally Posted by ianathuth

Have a look at http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk/WPP/Wi...telephone.html

Thanks - so according to that page, you can only open up a BT master socket and extract the extension wiring from it if the master socket is of a certain design that includes a panel the subscriber is allowed to mess about with.

That's a very informative page, I'd recommend the thread starter have a read of it.

Originally Posted by Chris T

Wow! That looks like a great deal - are the handsets good quality?

The handsets are good quality Chris, I bought a set last week and they are clear as a bell, much better than the old ones with the ariels.