Second phone line advice.

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Red C220

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 30, 2011
Messages
4,519
Location
Kent/Surrey Border
Car
2021 Mazda MX-30 EV, 2014 FF
I need a second phone line at home and I'm not particularly up to speed with things like internet phones (is that VOIP?).

So here are my requirements:-

I'm currently with BT for phone and internet.

I'm building a log cabin office type thing in the back garden and I need internet and phone in there, mostly incoming calls.

We have a BT home hub in the house.



I don't really want to go to the expense of having a new line run and installed in the cabin. Can I fit a booster or extension to the existing internet hub to give me coverage in the new building?

Cabin will be circa 15 meters from the house.

Do BT have some sort of broadband phone?

Any phone specialists out there?
 
Why not simply run an extension from your existing install to the cabin ?

Do you need a separate number ?
 
If you run a telephone extension to your garden cabin then you can only have one HomHub on the line at any one time. If your wireless broadband will reach the cabin then great as you could also use a cordless phone. If not, why don't you run a telephone extension down to the cabin and also a CAT5 or CAT6 cable from you HomeHub to provide you with broadband there. You could just buy a long Ethernet lead-IE, an RJ45 plug each end-Simples
 
Siemens (and undoubtedly some others) do a cordless VoIP phone with a separate charger stand from the wired in base. That way you can locate the handset away from the Internet connection. Works well with for instance sipgate.co.uk or other SIP providers I'm sure

Matt
 
Has anyone used BT Broadband Talk?

BT.com | BT Broadband Life

Also if I can only connect one hub to the broadband line - is there such a thing as a booster that attaches to the existing hub that can be put elsewhere in the building to extend the wireless (or even wired) range?
 
BT had Broadband talk with a separate line and number I think it was called Broadband Talk. I was on it for 2 years but changed the package in August
 
BT had Broadband talk with a separate line and number I think it was called Broadband Talk. I was on it for 2 years but changed the package in August

Ahh - this looks promising - so it's a stand alone second line with it's own phone number?

If it is that could be just what I'm looking for.

I assume it works from the hub so the second part of my previous post now needs an answer.
 
Don't know how the internet phones work, but whatever/however they work, no doubt the easiest way for any supplier to sell you an additional line is via their current connection to the house.
So I would run Cat5e cables from the house to the cabin (you can get external grade). Broadband will be faster by cable than wireless. Phone can be routed down Cat5e. Stick several cables in - you can also run av down the cables too.
 
Yes it's plugged into the hub, I used cordless phones with the base connected to the hub and the phones worked fine around the house. If you wanted to dial out on your normal phone line you had to press 5 first on the handset. When using the hub phone you also has to enter the STD code then the number just like using a mobile and the usage was shown separately on your bill.
 
Cat5e looks like the route - I need to run electrics up there so the Cat5e can be installed at the same time.
 
Ahh - this looks promising - so it's a stand alone second line with it's own phone number?

If it is that could be just what I'm looking for.

I assume it works from the hub so the second part of my previous post now needs an answer.

It's expensive to run...

Look at Sipgate and Soho666 - better value but the same thing.

Be aware that Wireless quality fades over distance - you really need to think about hardwire.

I have used an 0845 number for years which used to redirect to my home number. It's been invaluable as I can forward it anywhere. I use this combined with VOIP. I do publish a 'normal' phone number on my website for the few who do not like 0845.

Be aware with VOIP if Internet goes so does your phone line. Some providers allow a 'default' number that they will fall back to in this situation.
 
My main reason for wanting a second line is Mrs Red C220 is disabled and I don't want the phone ringing in the house.

She sleeps sporadically throughout the day and is physically and mentally a lot brighter if left to her own devices and not woken by phones ringing and such.

That plus I really don't like publishing the home phone number due to the amount of rubbish calls.
 
Cat5e looks like the route - I need to run electrics up there so the Cat5e can be installed at the same time.

I have an office in the back garden. I have a wireless router in the house and in the office, using one internet connection. Landline goes to the house, landline and IP phone running off router in the office. I use a Siemens cordless and voipfone, but other solutions are available.

If you trench in a plastic conduit you can run phone and electric through it to your cabin, and leave flexibility for adding anything else.

Hope all goes well!

Cheers

Jon
 
I have an office in the back garden. I have a wireless router in the house and in the office, using one internet connection. Landline goes to the house, landline and IP phone running off router in the office. I use a Siemens cordless and voipfone, but other solutions are available.

If you trench in a plastic conduit you can run phone and electric through it to your cabin, and leave flexibility for adding anything else.

Hope all goes well!

Cheers

Jon

So you have a hard phone cable run to your office from the house?

Does having two hubs connected not create any conflicts?
 
So you have a hard phone cable run to your office from the house?

Does having two hubs connected not create any conflicts?

I do.

Originally I wanted to set up an extended network, but couldn't make it work. (Not to say a mor talented person couldn't). So I run 2 networks, without any issue to date.

Cheers

Jon
 
If you trench in a plastic conduit you can run phone and electric through it to your cabin, and leave flexibility for adding anything else.


DONT run phone or cat 5 through the same conduit as mains electricity. Not only is it dangerous in the case of damage to the cables, the magnetic field of the mains cable will interfere with the phone and data transmission.

Use SWA cable, so the armour forms a screen. (SWA also does not need to be in a conduit)

Keep phone & data about a foot away.
 
DONT run phone or cat 5 through the same conduit as mains electricity. Not only is it dangerous in the case of damage to the cables, the magnetic field of the mains cable will interfere with the phone and data transmission.

Use SWA cable, so the armour forms a screen. (SWA also does not need to be in a conduit)

Keep phone & data about a foot away.

Interesting.

I have 2 years of experience suggesting it's not a problem, but I will ask my electrician when I next get him in to do some lighting work.

Cheers

Jon
 
Hi Jon.

My old job used to include inspecting & testing electrical installations, and it would certainly have been a fail under 16th edition regs. That's why offices etc have multi-compartment trunking systems.

IIRC under 17th edition, the relevant regs are.....

BS 7671:2008
132.7 (vi) & 132.11 Electromagnetic influence
515.1 Prevention of mutual detrimental influence

also see IEC 60364-5-51
AM9

If the data cable is well screened, EMI is reduced substantially, so there is not necessarily a problem experiencedin every installation (but the longer the parallel cable run the worse the potential problem is), but consider the following scenario.

Rodent chews conduit, gains access and chews insulation on both the phone/data cable and the power cable. Moisture then enters the conduit.

Result - mains voltage present in the phone line/data line - risk of electric shock.

The regs don't exist just to ensure that things work... they are to ensure that when things go wrong, nobody gets hurt.

Cheers

Andy
 
Last edited:
I have a phone package with Orange which provides a second line through the internet box. It provides a different phone number to my home phone. On that line I get free UK landline calls 24/7 + free calls to 30 countries 24/7. As part of the package I also get a basic Nokia mobile phone, 250 free mins + texts per month, my landline charges included and the broadband connection. All this for a flat fee of £25.00 per month. I use a cordless phone (three dotted around the house) for incoming calls to my home number and use the "internet" line for all my outgoing calls. Might be worth investigating further to see if this would suit your requirements.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom