Phone services with UPC

chopperbyrne

I assume you run a cable to your phone from the same wall point that their TV/Broadband comes in on, but does it have an RJ11 jack that can be used on any handset or does it need a specialised handset?

dub7_2010

Phone plugs in RJ11 socket on router. I imagine you would get a free phone with the service.

Solair

Their box plugs into the cable socket and there's an RJ11 socket on the back which provides a fairly normal PSTN line interface.

You get:

• Call Waiting
• Call Forwarding
• Caller ID
• Voicemail
  
• etc

It pretty much behaves like a normal eircom line in almost every respect. The dial tone might sound a bit different, and some routers may not connect the call as instantly as a PSTN line, but other than that there's no big deal.
(try pressing # at the end of the number to tell the router to send it)

What some people do is completely disconnect their internal wiring from the eircom incoming line i.e. just disconnect the wires coming in from the street at the first socket.

Then you can connect an RJ11 cable into any of your extension sockets from the UPC box and you will have phone service on all of your extension sockets as normal.

Otherwise, you can just use a DECT digital cordless phone.

Any Irish phone will work with it.

The only downside to this service is that it will not work in the event of a power cut in your house and it shouldn't really be relied upon as the only way of calling 999 / 112 i.e. keep your mobile handy at night.

chopperbyrne

The main thing I'm concerned about is that it'll work with the current set of three cordless handsets I use.

One is connected to the current phone socket and the other two are paired with it, but don't need to be connected with an RJ11 cable.

From what you described, this should be fine.

obonner

Hi. On a similar theme: I would like to install a small exchange to allow some functionality like call transfers, call analysis, etc and was looking at an Agfeo AS 281 all-in-one system.

The manual for the AS281 tells me that it can connect to basic rate ISDN (DSS1, Point to Point, Point to Multi-Point and System Access) and to analogue exchange lines.

Does anybody know what type of line the cable modem offers? Does anybody have experience with installing exchanges on UPC lines and if so what make or model?

All help appreciated!

slave1

Any Irish phone will work with it.

No, not all phones will work, UPC state this in their T&C

The main thing I'm concerned about is that it'll work with the current set of three cordless handsets I use.

It may not, I had the same setup as you, a BT branded base station and 2 cordless handsets, they would not work on the UPC system. Maybe yours will work, just in my case they did not.

Solair

slave1 wrote: »

No, not all phones will work, UPC state this in their T&C


It may not, I had the same setup as you, a BT branded base station and 2 cordless handsets, they would not work on the UPC system. Maybe yours will work, just in my case they did not.

Any phone with an RJ11 plug that is specified for the Irish market will work on it, that includes most phones sold here since the late 1970s.

BT phones are always problematic on Irish lines as they often require 3rd wire ringing. Basically, this means that a capacitor in the BT master socket shunts the ringing voltage onto a 3rd wire in the plug. This was designed to prevent tinkling in the days of rotary-dial / pulse dial telephones and is no longer relevant in modern installations.

Eircom's spec has always been for 2-wire phones, although some eircom RJ11 sockets have a ring-capacitor setup, it's usually not used.

To get your BT phone to work, I'd suggest connecting it to the UPC box using a BT-RJ11 adaptor that contains a ring capacitor, you can get these in Woodies DIY, B&Q and various other places. It looks a bit like a DSL filter in size.