Is there any chance to get rid of the land phone line requirement

[svx94]

My installer never mentioned the phone line, and my phone jack is nowhere near the receiver. I questioned VOOM about the land line, here is the response I got:

... Your receiver must always be directly connected to a traditional land-based telephone line to receive the VOOM Service. If it is not so connected, or if it is connected to a line other than the one you tell us, or if the line is not performing according to our requirements, the VOOM Service may be deactivated. If deactivation occurs, you will still be responsible for all services purchased through the date of deactivation. Your receiver units must also be connected to the same traditional land-based telephone line in order to be eligible to pay the additional receiver fee rather than purchase a separate subscription for each additional receiver...

I don't understand why the satellite services design to use phone line from the beginning, it seems there are better ways to do it without a phone line. I know VOOM is not the only one requires phone line, BUT it is time to change! More and more people use voice over IP, do you want to eliminate those people? Not to mention the cost associated with each installation. If VOOM want to compite with D*/E*, etc. start from getting rid of phone line will be a good selling point.

 

[Fargus]

My installer never hooked up a phone line either and said i wouldn't need it unless i wanted to do pay per view. Obviously he had no clue what he was talking about, but He is the person Voom chose to represent them. I have had uninterupted service since i got VOOM in March. To this day i have not had any interuptions in my service, so im curious when this mandatory phone line is gonna start.

 

[pebbea]

Have you guys tried the wireless extension phone line? You can plug it into any wall outlet and have a wireless phone connection.

 

[VMI]

I know of plenty of people watching VOOM just fine with no phone line connection. I have to believe this is nothing more than laying the groundwork to generate revenue in the future.

 

[CDH]

The phone-line requirement is likely going to be important for PPV programming. (Requiring the box to call in to authorize programming.) Maybe in the future Voom can (like Tivo or ReplayTV) allow a network connection via Ethernet or WiFi instead of dial-up connection?

If not, then I may be looking into something like this:
http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/104/C3325/

It wouldn't eliminate the problem of not having a nearby phone jack, but within the next year I would like to dump my local phone service and just keep cellular.

CDH.

 

[TechCop]

I believe it's more of a security issue...

The sales rep I had (back in May) asked me three times if I had a land-line phone, and stressed that it was required, not optional.

Someday someone will figure out how to "clone" a VOOM receiver (if they have not already done so). It will be little more difficult for them to clone a phone line/location. Therin lies the security.

If cloned boxes ever do start to show up, they will probably start to enforce the phone-line requirement.

Less piracy helps keep prices down, and makes the VOOM customer base more appealing to program suppliers. That's agood thing for all of us.

The recently implemented caller-id is pretty nifty, too.

 

[Voomster]

I have the phone line hooked to one box , and not on the other I believe the phone line is for pay per view and future needs not as yet put into place. Comcast saidthey absolutly required a phone line hook up per receiver and i had those boxes for years and they never questioned it. If you believe your Voom Service will not funtion without a phone line hook-up Then I have a Red Primmed slightly used Bridge to sell you located between S.F. and Marin County

Voomster

 

[1080iBeVuMin]

svx94, I'm in the same boat as you -- home theater too far from phone jack, etc. The installer gave me a choice of running wire around my living room ceiling and walls (ugly) or going with a wireless phone jack for about $50. I got the wireless phone jack. I have no idea if it even works! Probably has never operated once since my install in May -- Voom obviously isn't using it yet.

I might try a modem test with the Voom stb sometime just to see if the wireless jack works.

As everybody says, you will need the phone line for PPV and caller ID.

 

[sanchez]

I'm currently a digital cable subscriber and the reason being is because of this phone line requirement. I'd love to get Voom service. But the one thing that is stopping me is this rediculous land-line requirement by the DSS companies. You would think that as long as DSS has been around they would've came up with a better alternative to a land based phone line. In this day and age with the proliferation of Cellular service many of us have moved exclusively to cellular. It's no brainer in my situation. I am required to have cellular for my job. The cheapest land based phone line I can get through Verizon is ~$30 !!!! I would rather take that $30 and put it toward the Va Va package or other premium service. I just can not justify spending an additonal $30 a month just so my Voom receiver can "call home". I've read about people not using the land line but at the same time I've also read about installers not doing an install because a lack of land lines. Until it's an official option or until there is an alternative I will have to stick with Cable. I unfortunately am not made of money.

 

[BigTVSteve]

Phone Line Requirement/Not Always

I just had a VOOM installation completed with two receivers. Neither the installer nor the retailer ever mentioned a phone line requirement. Both of my VOOM receivers are phone-less and working just fine. I would not have installed VOOM if I had been forced to put two new phone jacks near the receivers.

The VOOM advertising does state: "Wired phone line required." It is obviously not required from a technical viewpoint. The VOOM software downloads are performed through the satellite dish. Typically, pirate TV chips for other systems are disabled by software downloads through the dish, not through phone lines.

I would schedule an installation and not mention the phone issue. If the installer pushes it when he arrives, you can always cancel the installation and not pay anything. I think most installers would do the installation without the phone being installed rather than wasting their time and not getting paid. If the issue comes up late in the installation, you still have three days to cancel the installation and not owe anything.

If the VOOM retailer you talk to for scheduling purposes states that you have to have a phone connection, just tell them that you only have wireless service. I suspect they would waive the requirement.

Does anyone have direct experience with this issue and can answer these questions for us:

1. Did the installers walk away from the job when they arrived on site and found that they could not hook up to a phone line?
2. Did anyone who was forced to use a phone connection at the time of installation have success with just using an over the floor telephone cable from an existing remote jack? You could then just remove the phone cord after the installation...

 

[Ilya]

Welcome aboard sanchez and BigTVSteve!

1. Did anyone who was forced to use a phone connection at the time of installation have success with just using an over the floor telephone cable from an existing remote jack? You could then just remove the phone cord after the installation...

This is my case. I do not have a phone outlet in my TV room. (I will probably get one of those wireless extenders if and when this becomes a necessity.) Neither the initial installer, nor subsequent STB upgrades/replacements required phone line connection, though I had an extender cord ready just in case. My latest STB was not connected to the phone line ever since its February/March installation, until just recently when I decided to try the CallerID feature.

VOOM (as some other satellite providers too) officially requires the presence of the phone line, but technically they have not started enforcing this requirement, and it's not clear how soon they are going to.

Also, FYI, the STB works just fine over VoIP service (like VONAGE). So, if you have a DSL or a cable modem there is always a VoIP option for you.

Good luck!

 

[kormic911]

The thing with the phone line is this, sometimes and I mean SOMETIMES it can cause issues when it comes to activating the equipment also some things like the program guide is downloaded over the phone line between 2am and 5am if the reciever is turned off, yea weird I know but this is the information that is given to us as to the real reason a phone cord is required for each reciever.

 

[voomvoom]

The thing with the phone line is this, sometimes and I mean SOMETIMES it can cause issues when it comes to activating the equipment also some things like the program guide is downloaded over the phone line between 2am and 5am if the reciever is turned off, yea weird I know but this is the information that is given to us as to the real reason a phone cord is required for each reciever.

I've been Vooming over 13 months and I've never had a phone line hooked to my STB. And believe me, I get the program guide as well as other downloads through the satellite. I believe the phone line is intended for the future and PPV. And now, obviously for Caller ID. It will also be used to keep up with multiple receivers, to ensure you don't put it in your neighbors house or a relatives house, etc. (they call that stealing). If you don't use it, unplug it.

 

[kormic911]

Im just going by what we are "required" to tell customers when we are activating their equipment. While this is not always true, it has happened in the past and I know because I have taken calls from them...

 

[spahoose]

Downloads from phone lines?

Im just going by what we are "required" to tell customers when we are activating their equipment. While this is not always true, it has happened in the past and I know because I have taken calls from them...

Not sure who told your this but, you don't receive downloads over phone lines, ird uses phone line to communicate with voom's system to let them know that you did receive your software downloads, you have not moved equipment to a different address, how many times you have had to reboot your system, ppv events,when available, etc.

 

[Vreesar]

I don't have an active phone line in my house. I just use my cellular phone. Installer didn't even mention anything about a phone line. However, when I called to set up service initially they did require that I provide a working telephone number so I just gave them my cellular phone number

Never ever have I had an issue with this for the last 8 or 9 months. At this point in time it is not Technically required, just contractually required. If at some later date it becomes technically required I'll have to figure something else out but untill then I'm Vooming without a Landline.

 

[VegasVoomer]

From what I have read the phone line is causing lots of lock-ups. How can they expect you to keep a phone line connected if it does nothing but cause problems? And if it works anything like Direc--the PPV purchases will be stored on the access card. The STB built in modem calls VOOM computer at night and send PPV info to them which is transferred to your bill. A signal will be sent from the satellite to YOUR stb and tells it to clear the PPV info off the card once a month. Then you start over. And yes it also will tell them where the stb is located via caller id at their end.

 

[Walter L.]

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=14477