Switching broadband when you need a landline

A landline is no longer automatic

Many full-fibre products are broadband-only. If you need a phone number, say so on the order. Digital voice over the broadband connection is not the same as a traditional analogue line, especially during a power cut.

Numbers and dependent devices

If you want to keep a number, request it as part of the switch. If a burglar alarm, pendant or monitored device uses the line or a specific router, speak to that supplier before anything changes.

Who still needs the phone

A landline still matters for some care alarms, fax-like devices, and people who will not use a mobile. It does not matter for most households who only ever used it because broadband used to require it. Decide which of those you are before you compare.

Full fibre often arrives as broadband only, with a digital voice add-on or nothing. A social tariff may or may not include a phone. Ask. A cheap broadband deal that strands a telecare pendant is not cheap.

If you want to keep a number, say so at the start of the order. Number porting is a separate request. One Touch Switch does not silently carry every number that was ever on the account.

Dependent kit

List alarms, pendants, and any payment terminal before you agree a cease. Contact the alarm company as well as the broadband provider. They do not share a ticket.

Test the replacement, if there is one, before the old line dies. A promise that ‘digital voice works with your alarm’ is a sentence to test, not a sentence to trust on the morning the engineer leaves.

What to do with this guide

Use this page as a checklist, not as a quote. The decisions sit with you and with the provider: the address, the contract you already signed, and the offer they will actually sell. OneTouchSwitch can show a mock catalogue and explain the switching process. We do not send the One Touch Switch messages, we do not set exit fees, and we do not decide social-tariff eligibility.

Before you act, write down four things. The premises, including the flat number. The early-termination figure in pounds if you are still in a minimum term. Whether a television package, a phone number, or a care alarm depends on the line. And the date you can be at home if an engineer is required. If any of those is unknown, you are not ready to order, however clear the guide feels.

Then compare at the address. Look at the opening monthly price and, separately, the minimum-term cost: later months, setup, and a confirmed exit fee. A first-year figure is useful and it is not the whole term when the contract is longer. Order with the gaining provider only when you have decided the numbers work. Do not cancel the old service first. Keep the confirmation and the old router until the new line has worked. If the situation in “Switching broadband when you need a landline” does not match what the provider just told you, use the provider’s written answer.

If you are helping someone else, you need their authority. Paying a bill is not authority. A parent, a landlord, or a housemate cannot One Touch Switch a contract that is not theirs. Sit with the account holder, or get the provider to note an authorised contact, before a date is agreed.

Related reading on this site is there to stop a second mistake. Full fibre is a way of building, not a speed. A social tariff is a provider’s discount for people who qualify, not a promo code. An exit fee is a number you ask for. Availability is the premises, not the town. If you only remember one of those, remember the premises.

When the new service is up, return borrowed kit to the address the old provider named and keep proof of postage. Check the first bill against the price you were told, including the month the introductory rate ends. If it does not match, query it while the order email is still easy to find. A comparison is finished only when the bill matches the promise.