Digital Phone Service
Tell me about the Digital Phone Service
Can I keep my current phone number if I switch to the Digital Phone Service?
Can I continue to use my existing phone or fax machine with the Digital Phone Service?
What exactly is VoIP Phone Service?
How is VoIP service different from a landline?
What kind of phones work best?
Can I use the current wiring in my home?
How will my phone number be transferred?
Will digital phone or broadband Internet service work with my medical device or alarm system?
How reliable is the Digital Phone Service?
Tell me about the Digital Phone Service
Becket Broadband offers Digital Phone Service, which in use is just like that of a traditional telephone. This technology, called VoIP, connects phone calls over the Internet, rather than using traditional copper wiring. Digital Phone Service includes free long-distance calling in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; 911 service; call blocking; voicemail and more. Digital Phone Service is available both bundled with broadband Internet service and as a stand-alone service.
Digital telephone service may not be appropriate for use with medical devices or alarm systems.
As with broadband Internet service, digital telephone service will not be available during power outages unless you have installed a battery backup (uninterruptible power supply) or other backup system.
Can I keep my current phone number if I switch to the Digital Phone Service?
Yes. Digital Phone Service includes the option to transfer your current phone number to your new service. If you do wish to retain your current phone number, it is critical that your telephone service remain active with your current provider until you are notified by Whip City Fiber that your number has been successfully transferred to your new Digital Phone Service. If you cancel your existing phone service before the transfer has occurred, you will lose your current phone number forever.
Can I continue to use my existing phone or fax machine with the Digital Phone Service?
In most cases you can simply plug in your existing devices just as you did with your landline and have no issues. There may be some older units that are not compatible with our newer technology for technical reasons, but most anything produced in recent decades should be fine. You do not need to use the special filters that are used on DSL landlines, either.
For helpful information on how to use a fax machine with your Digital Phone Service, visit support.ooma.com/home/faxing-with-ooma/.
What exactly is VoIP Phone Service?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. With VoIP technology your phone signal and service are provided over the fiber network and Internet, digitally, rather than over the copper wires many of us grew up with. If you have ever used Zoom or Skype you have used this type of voice service.
In many parts of Western Massachusetts, the landline provider has chosen not to continue support for copper-based service. With fiber-optic Internet you have the option to add VoIP phone service to your account. This is our Digital Phone Service option.
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How is VoIP service different from a landline?
VoIP communications travel across our fiber-optic network and the Internet rather than over dedicated copper lines. This provides for reliable and low-cost telephone service with many bells and whistles, including:
- Keeping your previous phone number if you like—or you can get a new one
- Unlimited local and long-distance calling, including service to Mexico and Canada
- Blocking of pesky telemarketing calls and other unwanted calls as well
- Call forwarding
- Voicemail-to-email
- Caller ID
- And much more
What kind of phones work best?
The Digital Phone Service works best with cordless phones that have a main base station and additional units to place around the home. You will have the best performance if your phones are newer models (less than five years old). Older phones may produce distortion, echoes, and feedback—which are mitigated by using newer models.
Can I use the current wiring in my home?
Our technicians will not connect the Telo VoIP unit to any previous wiring in your home. For best performance we recommend using wireless phones with a newer (less than five years old) main, base station handset and additional handsets to place around the house. However, existing telephone wiring may work. You can try it out yourself or hire a technician to check it out for you.
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How will my phone number be transferred?
Our tech support staff will work with you to transfer or "port" your phone number to our Digital Phone Service. Your phone will remain connected to the original landline while your number is being ported. During this time a temporary number will display as your caller ID when you make outgoing calls.
Please do not cancel your previous phone service until you are certain that your number has successfully ported, or you will lose your phone number.
During this period it is very important that you watch your email for confirmation that the porting is complete or communications about any possible issues which need to be resolved.
If you have a second stand-alone phone, you may want to plug it into the Telo VoIP device right away. When porting is complete, your incoming calls will ring on that phone, so you won't miss any of them.
When you receive an email confirming that your number has successfully ported, your phone base will need to be plugged into your Telo device in order to receive calls on it and any associated handsets.
You can always reach out to the Whip City Tech Team for assistance at 413-485-1204.
Will digital phone or broadband Internet service work with my medical device or alarm system?
For an overview of various options, see this Q&A on our Additional Services FAQ page. Note that Whip City Fiber cannot provide technical support for these services. You'll want to speak with these service providers directly.
Yes. There are two important things to know about 911 with your Digital Phone Service:
You will register your 911 terrestrial address when the device is installed. Whenever you move the device to another terrestrial address, it is critical that you update your 911 address for emergency response functions.
If the power or Internet is out, you will lose all phone function, including 911. Please review the information on our Outages page to make sure you are prepared.
How reliable is the Digital Phone Service?
The reliability of VoIP services is dependent on a number of factors. No system is 100% reliable, due to planned provider service outages, weather, traffic accidents, etc. Power and Internet access are both necessary for the phone to work. If power is out and you do not have a generator or other sufficient back-up power, both Internet and digital phone services will not operate until the power is restored. See our Outages page for more information about what you can do to prepare.