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Wireless home phone to replace traditional phone

BigBen121
Advocate

I am thinking of moving my home ohone servie which is $40/ per month to the new wirless home phone service. Are there any disadvantages anyone is aware of? Since the device being sold is an Alcatel HUb with a phone jack in the back, Can I plug in a splitter so that I could run two phone off the same hub.  What I want to do is use this device for our home which has phone in the livingroom and one in an offfice. Both has phone cords running to them. Could I replicate this with a splitter?

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

jrueger
Ambassador

I suspect that this might depend upon how your house is wired for phone service and how you currently receive phone service. I recently switched from the regular home phone service (via fibre which really is voip anyway) to the wireless home phone exactly because of price.  The only feature I am missing is call blocking for nuisance calls - it is not available for cellular numbers.  I use cordless phones so the main base unit plugs into the Alcatel box and I am good to go.  I do have the house wired for phone service (Cat3) in the same manner as for network service so I can connect any phone jack to a central point with a patch cable.  If your house is completely hardwired for phone service you might have to experiment with the splitter - one jack on the splitter going into a wall jack that hopefully will connect through to the phone in the other room - and the other splitter jack connected to the phone in the same room as the Alcatel box.  Both room phone jacks should be terminated at a central point in your house where the phone cables enter your house.  You might be able to locate the Alcatel box there if you can somehow connect to the phone wiring in the house - that will depend on just how your house is wired.  Your wiring may be just all the cables spliced together or connected with screw terminals in a box.  If that is the case you would need to connect in the same manner with a cable coming from the Alcatel box (RJ12 jack) that terminates on the other end with bare wires you can splice or wire into the screw terminals. So after the long-winded response - the short answer is it depends on how your house is wired.

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Nighthawk
Community Power User
Community Power User

The one thing I heard was that some of the calling features you get on the landline will not be available on the wireless home phone service.


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jrueger
Ambassador

I suspect that this might depend upon how your house is wired for phone service and how you currently receive phone service. I recently switched from the regular home phone service (via fibre which really is voip anyway) to the wireless home phone exactly because of price.  The only feature I am missing is call blocking for nuisance calls - it is not available for cellular numbers.  I use cordless phones so the main base unit plugs into the Alcatel box and I am good to go.  I do have the house wired for phone service (Cat3) in the same manner as for network service so I can connect any phone jack to a central point with a patch cable.  If your house is completely hardwired for phone service you might have to experiment with the splitter - one jack on the splitter going into a wall jack that hopefully will connect through to the phone in the other room - and the other splitter jack connected to the phone in the same room as the Alcatel box.  Both room phone jacks should be terminated at a central point in your house where the phone cables enter your house.  You might be able to locate the Alcatel box there if you can somehow connect to the phone wiring in the house - that will depend on just how your house is wired.  Your wiring may be just all the cables spliced together or connected with screw terminals in a box.  If that is the case you would need to connect in the same manner with a cable coming from the Alcatel box (RJ12 jack) that terminates on the other end with bare wires you can splice or wire into the screw terminals. So after the long-winded response - the short answer is it depends on how your house is wired.

Thanks this is really helpful. I understand what VOIP is  we have fibre now for our internet and Telus told our home phone has been switched to fibre as well. So it sounds like it may be a similar set up as yourself.

Interesting you say that there is nio blocking for nuisance calls. I realize it is not the same thing but we ge a lot of spam calls on our home phone that are really a pain to block out so I guess it is not a big deal for this not to be offered..

I have a cordless phone as well but we have a number of wired extentions so I may take your advice and play around

Thanks for your helps

NFtoBC
Community Power User
Community Power User

Yes, you should be able to run two phones without problem. You can also plug a cordless phone base into the hub, and have as many phones as the cordless base supports.

 

NFtoBC
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Thanks this is helpful - I suspect however that as I have one cordless phone base and one other phone I  wil have to buy more that are compatible to with the phone base

polecat
All-Star

Does wireless home phone allow you to have your cellphone share the same number and the plan of course. I am on fibre for phone and internet -- tv satellite. Would be nice cellphone rarely used (travel only).... Polecat

That's a good question.  The Alcatel device uses a SIM card - and the service has no data or texting.  You can take the device anywhere and have phone service (so the promotional stuff says).  So maybe you can just put the SIM in your cell phone?  Don't know but an interesting idea.

jrueger ------ Tried to get some info on moving sim cards (got a sales rep) . I am going try  the store might luck out . Also more questions that i need to be answered  can a person isolate phone wiring in side the  house  from fibre and hook up aclatel unit so call display works on tv and able to order pay per view on the tv.  Also 2 other hard wired  phones (basement & shop) would also be back fed from the unit. I don't think they will allow this. If you don.t ask you will never know. Polecat

NFtoBC
Community Power User
Community Power User

@polecat wrote:

Tried to get some info on moving sim cards (got a sales rep) . I am going try  the store might luck out . 


Doubtful.  To my understanding, the SIM is locked to the Hub, and not transferrable to another device.

 


@polecat wrote:

  can a person isolate phone wiring in side the  house  from fibre and hook up aclatel unit so call display works on tv and able to order pay per view on the tv.  


No. The Phone Service needs to be on Fibre to show call display on your Optik TV. Pay Per View should be working through the internet connection to your PVR.

 


@polecat wrote:

can a person isolate phone wiring in side the  house  from fibre and hook up aclatel unit so ... 2 other hard wired  phones (basement & shop) would also be back fed from the unit. 


Yes. You need to make sure your phone wiring is disconnected from the ONT or original copper connection to the telco switch.

 

NFtoBC
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NF to BC  The wireless is in home accounts. I chatted with mobility and sim is locked to the hub. I have telus satellite call display and pay per view are a ?? mark. WE  only use the cell 2-3 times a year.  When top up comes i will look for the cheapest local - ld - text  30 day plan there is. If the sim could be moved it would be very cheap cell phone plan. $10     Polecat

NFtoBC
Community Power User
Community Power User

@polecat 

  For use 2 - 3 times per year, or travel in an RV, I'd create a suitcase phone using the hub, a 12 volt adapter, and a small corded phone.

NFtoBC
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