do i need a landline telephone number?

HI

I am writng you for advice concerning broadband connections.
My house is cabled but I do not have a landline telphone number and I do not really want one. Do i need a land line telphone number to get a broadband connection? If no, what are the providers that give such a service?

Thank you for the attention paid.

Regards

Andrea Gagliardi

[Admin]

Hi Andrea

If you want traditional broadband then you need a working telephone line either a BT line or a Virgin Media Cable line, there really is no way round it.

The only other options are:

Satellite - more expensive than getting a phone line installed and paying for it
Wireless - In some areas there are wireless providers who basically have a big wireless network and for a fee will let you connect. These are very rare in the UK though, and example is http://www.w3z.co.uk/ but they are only based in a few areas of rural Derbyshire.
3G - Some of the big mobile telephone suppliers are now offering mobile broadband where for a set fee per month they will offer you a broadband-style service over the mobile phone network. We have yet to trial this ourselves and it is so new that there are not many reports from real customers as to how good it is, by its very nature though for most people it won't give the same speed and reliability as fixed line broadband just yet.


Hope this helps, any more questions just ask!

I use "Now Wireless Broadband" (http://mynow.co.uk) which, as the name suggests, is wireless broadband. I have no landline in my home and pay £14/month for a 512kbps connection. It basically works through the same technology as mobile phones.

So far as I know they only operate in London and the South-East. Unfortunately, they don't appear to be taking on any more customers. You have to enter your postcode on their website to progress any further, and many friends tell me that the site says the service isn't available to them. Even with my postcode, it says that they aren't taking on any new customers in my area.

Have a look at the website and see what you can do. By the way, they have a customer services number which they don't seem to publish to the wider world. It's 0800 056 9555 ;-)

I'd be interested to know if anyone else knows of a similar service in London. I have the feeling that I may be onboard a sinking ship and would like to know of a "plan B"!