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Major broadband supplier owned by BT to axe ANOTHER service after already closing TV and mobile offerings
It comes ahead of a major change to landline services nationwide
A MAJOR telecoms provider with hundreds of thousands of customers will close another service.
Plusnet, which is part of the BT Group, is axing its landline services for good.
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The telecoms firm told The Sun that it will no longer offer home phone services to existing customers once analogue services are switched off.
This means that customers who still want landline phone service in the future will be forced to move to a different telephone company that offers a digital service.
It comes as all copper-based phone lines will be switched off by the end of December 2025.
To replace this redundant service, telecom firms are beginning to issue landline phones which operate digitally.
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These use a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service and work by connecting to the back of your broadband router.
Existing Plusnet customers can continue to use their existing home phone service for now, but will need to make the move to broadband-only or move company for good in the near future.
Plusnet told The Sun that for those customers who would still like a home phone service in future, exclusive access to the very best deals on BT and transition to their digital landline service will become available.
However, customers who wish to ditch their landline service once their contract expires will also get exclusive access to EE mobile deals to help them stay connected.
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Why are traditional landline services being shut down?
LANDLINE phone calls have traditionally been delivered over the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
However, this network is old and becoming harder and more expensive to maintain.
As a result of this, BT has decided to retire its PSTN by December 2025, which means that other providers that use BT's Openreach network must follow the same timescale.
Other companies with their own networks, such as Virgin Media, plan to follow a similar timescale.
Customers wishing to keep a landline phone must move to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service to take advantage of new "digital" landline services.
If you already have a broadband connection, for example, to the Internet, the VoIP service will use this.
If you don't have a broadband connection, your provider will supply one specifically to support the VoIP service, but you shouldn’t pay extra for your VoIP service if you don’t take up a broadband service.
Unlike some traditional corded analogue phones, a digital phone will only work in a power cut if it has a battery backup.
If you are dependent on your landline phone - for example, if you don't have a mobile phone or don't have a mobile signal at your home - your provider must offer you a solution to ensure you can contact emergency services when a power cut occurs.
For example, a mobile phone (if you have a signal) or a battery backup unit for your landline phone.
This solution should be provided free of charge to people who are dependent on their landline.
Currently, any new Plusnet customers can only sign up for broadband-only tariffs on the firm's website.
This is the third service that Plusnet has announced it plans to axe, after it previously shut its TV service and has begun winding down its Plusnet Mobile operations.
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Plusnet Mobile stopped selling its own-brand sim-only mobile plans to new customers at the end of March 2023.
At the beginning of May 2023, existing Plusnet Mobile customers started to receive emails confirming that the network is in the process of winding down its services.
Plusnet's mobile services piggyback off the EE network which is also owned by the BT Group.
All Plusnet sim cards will stop working in the coming months, so you'll need to switch to ensure that you can still make calls, receive texts, browse the web, and keep your number.
Affected customers can switch to another network without a fee, and it doesn't matter if they're mid-contract.
To switch now, you must phone Plusnet on 0800 079 1133 and ask for your final bill.
And if you want to keep your number - make sure to switch as soon as possible.
To keep your number, you'll need to request a switching code by texting "PAC" to 65075.
You'll then need to give this code to your new network provider within 30 days of joining.
Plusnet Mobile customers can also take advantage of exclusive EE deals by contacting the network directly.
But it's important to remember that they might not be the best deals on offer.
It comes after Plusnet withdrew its YouView TV subscription service from sale in January 2021.
A number of channels were removed in March of the same year, and existing customers lost the remaining subscription channels and associated recordings on November 1, 2021.
Plusnet TV was first trialled in 2013 but didn’t officially launch until 2015.
It piggybacked off parent company BT's YouView-based platform with a limited range of premium channels, including BT Sport.
In other news, BT has delayed its move to axe traditional landlines for millions of customers.
The telecoms giant originally proposed that all of its customers would be migrated from copper landlines to digital phones by 2025.
It's part of BT's Digital Voice Changeover plan and requires all households to have an internet connection.
However, the deadline for the switch has been delayed due to all companies pausing non-voluntary migrations.
BT's original completion date is now unlikely to be met due to concerns over putting vulnerable Brits at risk.
As of December 2023, as ordered by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, all non-voluntary migrations have been halted temporarily.
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The national pause in the rollout means customers won't get swapped unless they choose to.
An updated timeframe for the completion of the switch is yet to be confirmed.
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