FTTP & porting landline to VOIP: success

[Spike]

When my contract for FTTC was due to end, I did the usual research and
armed with that got a good deal with my current supplier (PN) for FTTP.

A couple of days before the technician arrived to do the install, I signed
up for A&A’s VOIP service with a request to port my landline number to
them. I chose their £11 upfront cost route, which they knocked off the
setup fee when the number ported. Total cost was £12.

The fibre install was done in a couple of hours, including pulling long
lengths of it through the ducting, and fitting the ONT box. The new router
connected, and after a phone call to PN the new service came live.

On the morning after my LL contract ended, I had an email from A&A to say
the number port had taken place and my service was now live.

I set the system to switch straight to voicemail and email me the mp3.

I’ve had seven calls so far: two were my tests of the system, one was a
friend who rang off straight away and called our mobile instead, and four
have been scam/sales calls, all of which were abandoned when the VM kicked
in. Result!

So it all went quite smoothly, with one teeny exception.

When the port to A&A was emailed to me, within minutes I got another email
apparently from PN, saying that they were sorry to hear that I was
terminating my FTTP contract and I would have to pay £shedloads, an exact
cost being quoted.

I rang PN as I didn’t want to lose my new service, but they were adamant
that the email wasn’t from them, even though the same termination cost was
mentioned and the pdf was very much in PN’s style complete with logos, etc.
The email didn’t show in my PN webmail account, which it would have done
had it originated with PN.

I asked for a note to be put on my account saying not to terminate my FTTP,
and they did so.

Apart from that, all is running well; I have a much faster service at a
much cheaper price, and my VOIP cost is a minimal £1:20pm. And I’ve got rid
of a desk-cluttering phone and freed up a mains socket.

After some research I installed a UPS to power the ONT and router.

It’s by SKE, the 625VA/360W version, having two AC socket outputs. I gave
it a test after fully charging it, by plugging in two loads to simulate the
router and ONT; an 8W LED and a 20W halogen lamp, and pressing the On
button for the required three seconds. The lamps lit straightaway,
accompanied by a beep every few seconds to let me know it was running on
battery backup. This can be silenced by a one-second push of the On button.

After 4h20m the unit beeped again, as it seemed to have reached 25% full
level, and I terminated the test. This comfortably exceeds my requirement
for 2hrs of backup.

Some points to note:

Both the Battery Level and Load Level indicators are of the four 25% per
segment type.

With only 28W being drawn, no segments of the Load Level indicator were
showing.

With a full battery, all four segments are on, but the instant a load is
drawn, the 75-100% segment turns off, meaning that the remaining capacity
is at an unknown level above the active segment.

The LCD screen needs to be viewed directly from the front otherwise meter
segments appear to on when they are actually off.

The output voltage was showing as 235VAC, input when being charged was
245VAC.

The unit reached a lukewarm temperature during discharge, on the top of the
unit at some point towards the front.

It was completely quiet in operation apart from the beeps.

Some 90% of the instruction manual concerns the management software, which
is only available for Windows. It isn’t necessary to run any software to
use the device.

[Bob Eager]

Post by Spike
Some 90% of the instruction manual concerns the management software,
which is only available for Windows. It isn’t necessary to run any
software to use the device.

https://networkupstools.org/stable-hcl.html

[Spike]

Post by Bob Eager

Post by Spike
Some 90% of the instruction manual concerns the management software,
which is only available for Windows. It isn’t necessary to run any
software to use the device.

https://networkupstools.org/stable-hcl.html

Thanks.

I see that is rated as Orange 2* with the note “based on fragments of
publicly available protocol”.

The unit does its job as is, so I’ll give the download a miss.

[Graham.]

Post by Spike
When my contract for FTTC was due to end, I did the usual research and
armed with that got a good deal with my current supplier (PN) for FTTP.
A couple of days before the technician arrived to do the install, I signed
up for A&A’s VOIP service with a request to port my landline number to
them. I chose their £11 upfront cost route, which they knocked off the
setup fee when the number ported. Total cost was £12.
The fibre install was done in a couple of hours, including pulling long
lengths of it through the ducting, and fitting the ONT box. The new router
connected, and after a phone call to PN the new service came live.
On the morning after my LL contract ended, I had an email from A&A to say
the number port had taken place and my service was now live.
I set the system to switch straight to voicemail and email me the mp3.
I’ve had seven calls so far: two were my tests of the system, one was a
friend who rang off straight away and called our mobile instead, and four
have been scam/sales calls, all of which were abandoned when the VM kicked
in. Result!
So it all went quite smoothly, with one teeny exception.
When the port to A&A was emailed to me, within minutes I got another email
apparently from PN, saying that they were sorry to hear that I was
terminating my FTTP contract and I would have to pay £shedloads, an exact
cost being quoted.
I rang PN as I didn’t want to lose my new service, but they were adamant
that the email wasn’t from them, even though the same termination cost was
mentioned and the pdf was very much in PN’s style complete with logos, etc.
The email didn’t show in my PN webmail account, which it would have done
had it originated with PN.
I asked for a note to be put on my account saying not to terminate my FTTP,
and they did so.
Apart from that, all is running well; I have a much faster service at a
much cheaper price, and my VOIP cost is a minimal £1:20pm. And I’ve got rid
of a desk-cluttering phone and freed up a mains socket.
After some research I installed a UPS to power the ONT and router.
It’s by SKE, the 625VA/360W version, having two AC socket outputs. I gave
it a test after fully charging it, by plugging in two loads to simulate the
router and ONT; an 8W LED and a 20W halogen lamp, and pressing the On
button for the required three seconds. The lamps lit straightaway,
accompanied by a beep every few seconds to let me know it was running on
battery backup. This can be silenced by a one-second push of the On button.
After 4h20m the unit beeped again, as it seemed to have reached 25% full
level, and I terminated the test. This comfortably exceeds my requirement
for 2hrs of backup.
Both the Battery Level and Load Level indicators are of the four 25% per
segment type.
With only 28W being drawn, no segments of the Load Level indicator were
showing.
With a full battery, all four segments are on, but the instant a load is
drawn, the 75-100% segment turns off, meaning that the remaining capacity
is at an unknown level above the active segment.
The LCD screen needs to be viewed directly from the front otherwise meter
segments appear to on when they are actually off.
The output voltage was showing as 235VAC, input when being charged was
245VAC.
The unit reached a lukewarm temperature during discharge, on the top of the
unit at some point towards the front.
It was completely quiet in operation apart from the beeps.
Some 90% of the instruction manual concerns the management software, which
is only available for Windows. It isn’t necessary to run any software to
use the device.

Hi Spike,
you may recall that I replied to the post you made in uk.d-i-y last
month and I told you I was also about to do the same thing. It also
turned out a success.
The thing I did differently was to order a new PN fibre service before
the old VDSL contract ended which was due to happen on the 11th Oct.

I put the order in on 23rd Sep and the engineer (from Kelly
Communications) did the fibre installation on 8th Oct, it went live
before he left so at this point I had two PN broadband services
running plus the phone line.
Three days later I port the number over and as expected, I get an
automated email from Plusnet saying I was moving my *broadband*
service to A&A (!) but there was no penalty as I was beyond the 18
month mark (by about 10 minutes).
It took a further six days for the port to happen, at 10AM on 18th Oct
and the broadband and phone ceased on the copper pair, and almost
immediately the number was available on the A&A Voip service.

So there was about nine days of overlap where I both PN services
running together. Perhaps I should ask for a waiver.

A&A do warn you that getting their service working on Asterisk over a
NATed connection can be "challenging", and they're not wrong. I've
managed it, but the setup is rather different compared to most other
providers. No issue with ATAs and VOIP phones, but I've litrally just
noticed that A&A wont register usng GiffGaff mobile data on CSipSimple
on my Android phone. WiFi is OK.

[Woody]

Post by Graham.

Post by Spike
When my contract for FTTC was due to end, I did the usual research and
armed with that got a good deal with my current supplier (PN) for FTTP.
A couple of days before the technician arrived to do the install, I signed
up for A&A’s VOIP service with a request to port my landline number to
them. I chose their £11 upfront cost route, which they knocked off the
setup fee when the number ported. Total cost was £12.
The fibre install was done in a couple of hours, including pulling long
lengths of it through the ducting, and fitting the ONT box. The new router
connected, and after a phone call to PN the new service came live.
On the morning after my LL contract ended, I had an email from A&A to say
the number port had taken place and my service was now live.
I set the system to switch straight to voicemail and email me the mp3.
I’ve had seven calls so far: two were my tests of the system, one was a
friend who rang off straight away and called our mobile instead, and four
have been scam/sales calls, all of which were abandoned when the VM kicked
in. Result!
So it all went quite smoothly, with one teeny exception.
When the port to A&A was emailed to me, within minutes I got another email
apparently from PN, saying that they were sorry to hear that I was
terminating my FTTP contract and I would have to pay £shedloads, an exact
cost being quoted.
I rang PN as I didn’t want to lose my new service, but they were adamant
that the email wasn’t from them, even though the same termination cost was
mentioned and the pdf was very much in PN’s style complete with logos, etc.
The email didn’t show in my PN webmail account, which it would have done
had it originated with PN.
I asked for a note to be put on my account saying not to terminate my FTTP,
and they did so.
Apart from that, all is running well; I have a much faster service at a
much cheaper price, and my VOIP cost is a minimal £1:20pm. And I’ve got rid
of a desk-cluttering phone and freed up a mains socket.
After some research I installed a UPS to power the ONT and router.
It’s by SKE, the 625VA/360W version, having two AC socket outputs. I gave
it a test after fully charging it, by plugging in two loads to simulate the
router and ONT; an 8W LED and a 20W halogen lamp, and pressing the On
button for the required three seconds. The lamps lit straightaway,
accompanied by a beep every few seconds to let me know it was running on
battery backup. This can be silenced by a one-second push of the On button.
After 4h20m the unit beeped again, as it seemed to have reached 25% full
level, and I terminated the test. This comfortably exceeds my requirement
for 2hrs of backup.
Both the Battery Level and Load Level indicators are of the four 25% per
segment type.
With only 28W being drawn, no segments of the Load Level indicator were
showing.
With a full battery, all four segments are on, but the instant a load is
drawn, the 75-100% segment turns off, meaning that the remaining capacity
is at an unknown level above the active segment.
The LCD screen needs to be viewed directly from the front otherwise meter
segments appear to on when they are actually off.
The output voltage was showing as 235VAC, input when being charged was
245VAC.
The unit reached a lukewarm temperature during discharge, on the top of the
unit at some point towards the front.
It was completely quiet in operation apart from the beeps.
Some 90% of the instruction manual concerns the management software, which
is only available for Windows. It isn’t necessary to run any software to
use the device.

Hi Spike,
you may recall that I replied to the post you made in uk.d-i-y last
month and I told you I was also about to do the same thing. It also
turned out a success.
The thing I did differently was to order a new PN fibre service before
the old VDSL contract ended which was due to happen on the 11th Oct.
I put the order in on 23rd Sep and the engineer (from Kelly
Communications) did the fibre installation on 8th Oct, it went live
before he left so at this point I had two PN broadband services
running plus the phone line.
Three days later I port the number over and as expected, I get an
automated email from Plusnet saying I was moving my *broadband*
service to A&A (!) but there was no penalty as I was beyond the 18
month mark (by about 10 minutes).
It took a further six days for the port to happen, at 10AM on 18th Oct
and the broadband and phone ceased on the copper pair, and almost
immediately the number was available on the A&A Voip service.
So there was about nine days of overlap where I both PN services
running together. Perhaps I should ask for a waiver.
A&A do warn you that getting their service working on Asterisk over a
NATed connection can be "challenging", and they're not wrong. I've
managed it, but the setup is rather different compared to most other
providers. No issue with ATAs and VOIP phones, but I've litrally just
noticed that A&A wont register usng GiffGaff mobile data on CSipSimple
on my Android phone. WiFi is OK.

Is that a system issue or is it just that CSipSimple is now long
obsolete? I like that prog but I have had difficulties with it on a Moto
using a Sipgate number in the same way as you so eventually gave up.
However I still have it on my 7yo Huawei P8Lite (2017) and it works a treat.

[Spike]

Post by Graham.

Post by Spike
When my contract for FTTC was due to end, I did the usual research and
armed with that got a good deal with my current supplier (PN) for FTTP.
A couple of days before the technician arrived to do the install, I signed
up for A&A’s VOIP service with a request to port my landline number to
them. I chose their £11 upfront cost route, which they knocked off the
setup fee when the number ported. Total cost was £12.
The fibre install was done in a couple of hours, including pulling long
lengths of it through the ducting, and fitting the ONT box. The new router
connected, and after a phone call to PN the new service came live.
On the morning after my LL contract ended, I had an email from A&A to say
the number port had taken place and my service was now live.
I set the system to switch straight to voicemail and email me the mp3.
I’ve had seven calls so far: two were my tests of the system, one was a
friend who rang off straight away and called our mobile instead, and four
have been scam/sales calls, all of which were abandoned when the VM kicked
in. Result!
So it all went quite smoothly, with one teeny exception.
When the port to A&A was emailed to me, within minutes I got another email
apparently from PN, saying that they were sorry to hear that I was
terminating my FTTP contract and I would have to pay £shedloads, an exact
cost being quoted.
I rang PN as I didn’t want to lose my new service, but they were adamant
that the email wasn’t from them, even though the same termination cost was
mentioned and the pdf was very much in PN’s style complete with logos, etc.
The email didn’t show in my PN webmail account, which it would have done
had it originated with PN.
I asked for a note to be put on my account saying not to terminate my FTTP,
and they did so.
Apart from that, all is running well; I have a much faster service at a
much cheaper price, and my VOIP cost is a minimal £1:20pm. And I’ve got rid
of a desk-cluttering phone and freed up a mains socket.
After some research I installed a UPS to power the ONT and router.
It’s by SKE, the 625VA/360W version, having two AC socket outputs. I gave
it a test after fully charging it, by plugging in two loads to simulate the
router and ONT; an 8W LED and a 20W halogen lamp, and pressing the On
button for the required three seconds. The lamps lit straightaway,
accompanied by a beep every few seconds to let me know it was running on
battery backup. This can be silenced by a one-second push of the On button.
After 4h20m the unit beeped again, as it seemed to have reached 25% full
level, and I terminated the test. This comfortably exceeds my requirement
for 2hrs of backup.
Both the Battery Level and Load Level indicators are of the four 25% per
segment type.
With only 28W being drawn, no segments of the Load Level indicator were
showing.
With a full battery, all four segments are on, but the instant a load is
drawn, the 75-100% segment turns off, meaning that the remaining capacity
is at an unknown level above the active segment.
The LCD screen needs to be viewed directly from the front otherwise meter
segments appear to on when they are actually off.
The output voltage was showing as 235VAC, input when being charged was
245VAC.
The unit reached a lukewarm temperature during discharge, on the top of the
unit at some point towards the front.
It was completely quiet in operation apart from the beeps.
Some 90% of the instruction manual concerns the management software, which
is only available for Windows. It isn’t necessary to run any software to
use the device.

Hi Spike,
you may recall that I replied to the post you made in uk.d-i-y last
month and I told you I was also about to do the same thing. It also
turned out a success.
The thing I did differently was to order a new PN fibre service before
the old VDSL contract ended which was due to happen on the 11th Oct.
I put the order in on 23rd Sep and the engineer (from Kelly
Communications) did the fibre installation on 8th Oct, it went live
before he left so at this point I had two PN broadband services
running plus the phone line.
Three days later I port the number over and as expected, I get an
automated email from Plusnet saying I was moving my *broadband*
service to A&A (!) but there was no penalty as I was beyond the 18
month mark (by about 10 minutes).
It took a further six days for the port to happen, at 10AM on 18th Oct
and the broadband and phone ceased on the copper pair, and almost
immediately the number was available on the A&A Voip service.
So there was about nine days of overlap where I both PN services
running together. Perhaps I should ask for a waiver.

Hi, Graham. Glad your transfer to fibre and your number port both went
well; we seem to have had just about parallel adventures at almost the same
time!

PN were efficient, and I guess that’s because they were hitting two targets
at the same time: installing fibre and winding up their phone service.

Interesting that you also got the non-PN email just as the number port took
place; I’ve no idea what lay behind that, and I guess PN either don’t know
or don’t want to know. Either way, it didn’t affect anything.

The fibre has now been running for over 30 days without a hitch - long may
that continue!

The router reports a link speed of 1000Mbps, but I’m on their 145M service.
I don’t do gaming or big downloads so wouldn’t gain from a speed increase.

I’m sorry to say that your last paragraph is far too technical for me! I
wanted to avoid several things concerning a digital phone service, such as
the complexity of setting one up, the extra box, and the physical phone
itself. I’d have to say that A&A’s voicemail-to-mp3 service is working fine
in fielding calls, most of which seem to be sales-related.

I’m glad I made the changes, and it sounds like you are too. Many thanks
for the report. Good stuff all round.

Post by Graham.
A&A do warn you that getting their service working on Asterisk over a
NATed connection can be "challenging", and they're not wrong. I've
managed it, but the setup is rather different compared to most other
providers. No issue with ATAs and VOIP phones, but I've litrally just
noticed that A&A wont register usng GiffGaff mobile data on CSipSimple
on my Android phone. WiFi is OK.

[Woody]

Post by Spike

Post by Graham.

Post by Spike
When my contract for FTTC was due to end, I did the usual research and
armed with that got a good deal with my current supplier (PN) for FTTP.
A couple of days before the technician arrived to do the install, I signed
up for A&A’s VOIP service with a request to port my landline number to
them. I chose their £11 upfront cost route, which they knocked off the
setup fee when the number ported. Total cost was £12.
The fibre install was done in a couple of hours, including pulling long
lengths of it through the ducting, and fitting the ONT box. The new router
connected, and after a phone call to PN the new service came live.
On the morning after my LL contract ended, I had an email from A&A to say
the number port had taken place and my service was now live.
I set the system to switch straight to voicemail and email me the mp3.
I’ve had seven calls so far: two were my tests of the system, one was a
friend who rang off straight away and called our mobile instead, and four
have been scam/sales calls, all of which were abandoned when the VM kicked
in. Result!
So it all went quite smoothly, with one teeny exception.
When the port to A&A was emailed to me, within minutes I got another email
apparently from PN, saying that they were sorry to hear that I was
terminating my FTTP contract and I would have to pay £shedloads, an exact
cost being quoted.
I rang PN as I didn’t want to lose my new service, but they were adamant
that the email wasn’t from them, even though the same termination cost was
mentioned and the pdf was very much in PN’s style complete with logos, etc.
The email didn’t show in my PN webmail account, which it would have done
had it originated with PN.
I asked for a note to be put on my account saying not to terminate my FTTP,
and they did so.
Apart from that, all is running well; I have a much faster service at a
much cheaper price, and my VOIP cost is a minimal £1:20pm. And I’ve got rid
of a desk-cluttering phone and freed up a mains socket.
After some research I installed a UPS to power the ONT and router.
It’s by SKE, the 625VA/360W version, having two AC socket outputs. I gave
it a test after fully charging it, by plugging in two loads to simulate the
router and ONT; an 8W LED and a 20W halogen lamp, and pressing the On
button for the required three seconds. The lamps lit straightaway,
accompanied by a beep every few seconds to let me know it was running on
battery backup. This can be silenced by a one-second push of the On button.
After 4h20m the unit beeped again, as it seemed to have reached 25% full
level, and I terminated the test. This comfortably exceeds my requirement
for 2hrs of backup.
Both the Battery Level and Load Level indicators are of the four 25% per
segment type.
With only 28W being drawn, no segments of the Load Level indicator were
showing.
With a full battery, all four segments are on, but the instant a load is
drawn, the 75-100% segment turns off, meaning that the remaining capacity
is at an unknown level above the active segment.
The LCD screen needs to be viewed directly from the front otherwise meter
segments appear to on when they are actually off.
The output voltage was showing as 235VAC, input when being charged was
245VAC.
The unit reached a lukewarm temperature during discharge, on the top of the
unit at some point towards the front.
It was completely quiet in operation apart from the beeps.
Some 90% of the instruction manual concerns the management software, which
is only available for Windows. It isn’t necessary to run any software to
use the device.

Hi Spike,
you may recall that I replied to the post you made in uk.d-i-y last
month and I told you I was also about to do the same thing. It also
turned out a success.
The thing I did differently was to order a new PN fibre service before
the old VDSL contract ended which was due to happen on the 11th Oct.
I put the order in on 23rd Sep and the engineer (from Kelly
Communications) did the fibre installation on 8th Oct, it went live
before he left so at this point I had two PN broadband services
running plus the phone line.
Three days later I port the number over and as expected, I get an
automated email from Plusnet saying I was moving my *broadband*
service to A&A (!) but there was no penalty as I was beyond the 18
month mark (by about 10 minutes).
It took a further six days for the port to happen, at 10AM on 18th Oct
and the broadband and phone ceased on the copper pair, and almost
immediately the number was available on the A&A Voip service.
So there was about nine days of overlap where I both PN services
running together. Perhaps I should ask for a waiver.

Hi, Graham. Glad your transfer to fibre and your number port both went
well; we seem to have had just about parallel adventures at almost the same
time!
PN were efficient, and I guess that’s because they were hitting two targets
at the same time: installing fibre and winding up their phone service.
Interesting that you also got the non-PN email just as the number port took
place; I’ve no idea what lay behind that, and I guess PN either don’t know
or don’t want to know. Either way, it didn’t affect anything.
The fibre has now been running for over 30 days without a hitch - long may
that continue!
The router reports a link speed of 1000Mbps, but I’m on their 145M service.
I don’t do gaming or big downloads so wouldn’t gain from a speed increase.
I’m sorry to say that your last paragraph is far too technical for me! I
wanted to avoid several things concerning a digital phone service, such as
the complexity of setting one up, the extra box, and the physical phone
itself. I’d have to say that A&A’s voicemail-to-mp3 service is working fine
in fielding calls, most of which seem to be sales-related.
I’m glad I made the changes, and it sounds like you are too. Many thanks
for the report. Good stuff all round.

Post by Graham.
A&A do warn you that getting their service working on Asterisk over a
NATed connection can be "challenging", and they're not wrong. I've
managed it, but the setup is rather different compared to most other
providers. No issue with ATAs and VOIP phones, but I've litrally just
noticed that A&A wont register usng GiffGaff mobile data on CSipSimple
on my Android phone. WiFi is OK.

Anyone know who actually provides the A&A Voip service? I would doubt
that A&A are big enough to handle the potential number of
customer/users, or conversely have enough VoIP users to warrant their
own servers etc. so it would suggest that the actual 'infrastructure' is
provided by another outside organisation?

[Theo]

Post by Woody
Anyone know who actually provides the A&A Voip service? I would doubt
that A&A are big enough to handle the potential number of
customer/users, or conversely have enough VoIP users to warrant their
own servers etc. so it would suggest that the actual 'infrastructure' is
provided by another outside organisation?

A&A do. They're primarily a business telecomms outfit (with a sideline in
prosumer broadband), so a few consumers on their service is small beer
compared with companies with thousands of lines. They operate their own
network and datacentres - a few VOIP servers are neither here nor there.

Their service voiceless.aa.net.uk is actually provided by two physical
servers (A & B):

$ host voiceless.aa.net.uk
voiceless.aa.net.uk has address 81.187.30.118
voiceless.aa.net.uk has address 81.187.30.116
voiceless.aa.net.uk has IPv6 address 2001:8b0:0:30::5060:1
voiceless.aa.net.uk has IPv6 address 2001:8b0:0:30::5060:3
$ host 81.187.30.116
116.30.187.81.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer a.voiceless.aa.net.uk.
$ host 81.187.30.118
118.30.187.81.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer b.voiceless.aa.net.uk.
$ host 2001:8b0:0:30::5060:1
1.0.0.0.0.6.0.5.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.3.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.b.8.0.1.0.0.2.ip6.arpa domain name pointer a.voiceless.aa.net.uk.
$ host 2001:8b0:0:30::5060:3
3.0.0.0.0.6.0.5.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.3.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.b.8.0.1.0.0.2.ip6.arpa domain name pointer b.voiceless.aa.net.uk.

Some notes on their 'new' VOIP platform (11 years ago):
https://www.revk.uk/2013/05/new-voip-platform.html
- not sure if that's still true or has been replaced since then.

Theo