When we were upgraded from copper line to fibre, the copper lines were removed, and the 'box' here at home was replaced by a fibre driven one. There is a phone socket on the box that the original phone plugs into. Previously, the copper line terminated in a splitter, phone in one socket and internet box in the other.
Nothing changed with respect to the phone, same phone and the same number. The internet speed changed considerably to 1 Gb down and 600 Mb up. We also gained the option of a second distinctly different phone number that we could use for business purposes perhaps.
Changing to fibre made it so simple for the supplier, that that to encourage the take up of fibre, we have unlimited calls to French mobiles, and to fixed lines in France and many other countries. There is no data limit on the internet part either. Our mobiles will also connect for calling/receiving to the home wifi, as well as for normal data, so we are not dependent on the airwaves while at home, and it reduces the mobile mast congestion for those actually mobile.
One important point. The copper line supplied power to the phone from the exchange, and if you had a simple phone, no built in answer machine etc, then it would continue to work during power failures, powered by the exchange batteries, even though internet was lost. We kept such a phone for emergency use. That safety net goes away with fibre. Your box on the end is powered by you, and a mains failure loses all communication. Modern mobiles alleviate that to a great degree, but if you are in the sticks with no home mobile coverage, you have no fallback in a power cut.
One advantage in our circumstances is the the lack of electrical interference to the fibre lines, strung up on the original poles here. We were always hearing the tick tick tick of the many electric fences, picked up by the copper line 'aerials' on the way to our place and faithfully reproduced in our earpiece.
Andrew.
community.bt.com
