News

NewsHow To Keep Your Landline on the NBN
How To Keep Your Landline on the NBN

How To Keep Your Landline on the NBN

Tags: Telco & Broadband
Last updated by Jacqui Dent on

If the NBN is coming to your area, you’ve probably heard that there’ll be changes to your landline service. Once your home is connected to the NBN your landline service will be delivered over the internet. So how will that affect your phone, how can you prepare for the switch and who’s got the best NBN landline plans?

QUICK FACTS:

  • Once the NBN is connected at your home, your copper landline will be disconnected.
  • Whichever NBN plan you choose will need to have a landline service included.
  • To get your landline phone service working, you will need to plug your phone handset into your modem or NBN connection box rather than the phone socket.
  • Any analogue handset should work with your new NBN service, provided you have a compatible modem. Your provider can supply you with this and may even include it for free as part of your plan.
  • You will be able to keep your landline phone number when you switch to the NBN.

Telstra NBN Plans with Landline Calls Included:

As you probably gathered from our quick facts, getting your landline set up on the NBN can be tricky. That’s why it can often be best to choose a full service NBN provider like Telstra for your plan. With a Telstra NBN plan you’ll get 24/7 phone support, unlimited standard local, national and mobile calls, and a free modem that will be ready to deliver your landline service.

Telstra also offers handy solutions for customers switching their landlines to the NBN, like handsets that can connect wirelessly to your modem and adapters that can help your existing landline phones do the same.

And until 25 February this year Telstra will waive the $240 connection fee for new customers choosing a Telstra NBN no-contract plan.

Optus NBN Plans with Landline Calls Included:

 

 

Optus is another great choice for your NBN internet and landline service. All plans come with pay-as-you-go landline calls included. Or for $5 extra you can add unlimited local and national calls, and for another $5 you can get unlimited mobile calls to Australian numbers as well.

All Optus NBN plans come with a premium WiFi modem included which should come ready to deliver your landline service. Optus offers 24/7 phone support.

iiNet NBN Plans with Landline Calls Included:

iiNet also offers NBN plans with landline calls. All iiNet NBN plans come with pay-as-you-go calls as a standard feature. But if you choose a plan with Standard Plus speed (the best value option for most households) you’ll get unlimited local and national calls included with your internet.

All iiNet plans on a 24-month contract come with a modem included which should come ready to deliver your landline service. iiNet also offers 24/7 phone support.

Mobile Alternatives to Your Landline:

If you don’t mind giving up your landline number and get good mobile reception at your place, you might find it easier to ditch your landline and get a mobile phone instead. Whereas once mobile calls were more expensive than landline calls, those days are long over and you can get a mobile plan with unlimited talk and text for as little as $10 per month, and sometimes even less.

Check out these plans from the WhistleOut database with unlimited talk and text included.

 

 

More Information About Your Landline on the NBN

There are a couple more important things you should know about your NBN landline service:

  • Unlike your current landline, if the internet or power goes down at your home, your landline will also lose connection. If there are people in your family without access to a mobile phone,it’s best to keep a cheap prepaid mobile charged with a little credit at home in case of an emergency.
  • If you have a medical alarm or security system that connects over your landline, you will need to contact your device provider to make sure it will still work when you connect to the NBN.

For more information about landline on the NBN, see the full WhistleOut guide.

 

Jacqui Dent is associate editor at WhistleOut, Australia's largest mobile phone and internet comparison site.

As a result of services provided by us, WhistleOut Pty Ltd may pay The FiftyUp Club a portion of any fee of that they receive from their providers. These fees may be based on either referrals to third parties or on application or approval for products from third party providers.

Originally posted on .

Join the conversation

FiftyUp Club
How To Keep Your Landline on the NBN

Share your views with other members. 

Want to leave a comment? or .
Read our moderation policy here.
Joan
Joan from WA commented:

do I need to place the landline near the NBN box ? 

Someone
Someone from QLD replied to Joan:

The landline is part of the NBN box. As there are various ways the NBN is installed across Australia, you should ask this question of your preferred service provider when the time comes. 

Someone
Someone from VIC commented:

thanks to everyone who responded, my husband (nearly 90) like the "old'phone" service large numbers and LOUD ring,,, any idea how I can get one connected PLease....Margo 

Someone
Someone from QLD commented:

Your handset should still work on the NBN, however, your best bet is to ask all questions you have when the NBN comes to your area. 

Alfred
Alfred from QLD commented:

If you change your NBN plan from one company to another, it can take from 2 to 6 weeks to have your number ported from your current company to another company. That means you can be without a phone for that length of time. They say that NBN is good, they could have fooled me, it is a disaster. 

Someone
Someone from VIC commented:

Oh please my husband is nearly 90 and cannot use the small phones with the NBN, he refuses to use the new system and as h e is also deaf cannot hear thw soft ring etc I am almost out of my mind trying to get e phone he can use 

Someone
Someone from VIC commented:

Have you looked at a phone like this? "Telstra SP817 Big Button Phone" 

Ron
Ron from NSW commented:

I see where you said that that you could keep your phone number when you are connected to the NBN. When I was connected the NBN technician gave me a new Telstra phone number saying that Telstra had changed it without telling me. It took two weeks to get my number back then Telstra had the hide to charge a fee to reconnect. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

We have been with Southern Phones for over 5 years. Our current Plan is for Landline, Free national calls, - 2 Mobiles, Credit refund on all national calls & SMS emails linked to Laptop & Internet, with data limit which we have never fully used. Cost is in 2 figures in total each month & well under any of the plans you list below. 

Someone
Someone from VIC commented:

I went with TPG. Cheaper than your outlined plans and good service. For cheap low usage mobile I used ALDI. Excellent so far! 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

Some older Australians do not want the NBN, they only want to keep a simple landline. Not fair! 

Someone
Someone from VIC commented:

Why do you only show figures for Sydney. Melbourne members also need information 

Someone
Someone from QLD commented:

There are other locations in Australia besides Sydney and Melbourne, but the people who live in those two cities do not seem to think so. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

What happens to your phone line if you do not have internet. Carol nsw 

Gertrude
Gertrude from NSW commented:

Please some one tell me 

Comment Guidelines