About to port from Bell to VoIP.ms - some questions... - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

Robert.Thompson · 2012-02-13, 10:20 AM

Hello:

I am about to port my residential phone number to VoIP.ms and I came across this old post: http://digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=147772

Bottom line says:

"Lesson learned: When porting a Bell number, with DSL on the line, get the DSL moved to a Dry Loop number first. "

Is this what I need to do, now, in Feb 2012?

I have Fibe 25 DSL.

What is a Dry Loop and who installs it and when?

Thanks,

Rob.

grog · 2012-02-13, 12:10 PM

If you don't have voice service but want to get DSL Internet service you need to get a dry loop. The cost varies from place to place (at least in Ontario it does) and typically ranges from $10-20/month.

Robert.Thompson · 2012-02-13, 12:58 PM

Thanks Grog:

Right now I have a Bell phone line and Bell Fibe 25.

I want to cancel my phone line and port my number to VoIP.ms

I read that when you cancel your Bell phone line, Bell cancels your DSL as well - perhaps only temporarily.

I want to do things in the proper order to reduce any down time - I am married & want to keep it that way!

Do I get a 'dry-loop' installed first? If so, what does that mean? Will my DSL still work? Will my Bell phone line still work until the porting is 'in the works'?

And, I will have to pay Bell monthly for a dry loop?

Thanks for any advice,

Rob.

grog · 2012-02-14, 12:14 PM

The dryloop fee is an extra fee that Bell charges and you pay it every month. It's based on a "band rate" so you'll need to check with Bell what band you're in to know what the fee will be but it's usually in the $10-20/mth range.

As for porting your phone without disruption to either that could get tricky. Since Bell is your ISP you would need to arrange the dry loop through them, but there is no reason to setup a dry loop unless you are cancelling your voice service. This is where you need to be careful because if you cancel your voice service with Bell there's a good chance you'll lose your phone number. I've heard of people successfully cancelling with Bell first to avoid an early cancellation fee but I've heard of many more who tried and then had their number port fail. It seems the only "safe" way to port your number is to initiate through the service you're porting to.

Nemnoch · 2012-02-19, 06:14 PM

Some clarification here regarding POTS and Internet and the impacts of the multitude of options available for Phoneline and Internet combinations:

True Dryloop: Copper wire or Fiber Op Internet service with NO phone line at all.
Common Issues:

Dryloop 2: Copper or Fiber OP Internet service with No phoneline service via Copper of Fiber OP. Consumer could have phone service via VOIP or Cable Phone service.
Common Issues: 1)Cable installers commonly cut the old 'phoneline' at the DMARC, which stops the Internet service from working (this is the most common issue). 2) Cable installers commonly wire up all jacks to work with the new phone service, which means no jack allocated to your Dryloop service (this also happens with VOIP services installed at the DMARC)

Wetloop 1: Both Internet and Phone are provided by the same company and both are on Copper/Fiber OP lines.
Common Issues: If the phone service goes down, usually the internet will go down as well.

Wetloop 2: Internet and Phone both on Copper/Fiber Op with each service provided by a different provider.
Common Issues: Most often on a porting the Phone service from Wetloop 1 to Wetloop 2, the new phone provider will take over the entirety of phone circuit, which means the Internet service is no longer coming into the house, and if it does, it won't be provisioned properly. In most cases, the best way to avoid this issue is call your Internet Provider after you have placed your order to move your phone line over, in order for them to to be able to see the wireline transfer request and provision the service on the same circuit.

Nem, who provides this as a public service message.

seanblake · 2012-05-07, 03:54 PM

Did you end up completing the port in to voip.ms?

If not, be careful - I ported my number to them in October of 2011, and I want to complete a port out because I need a POTS line for an alarm system in my new home, and they have been very unhelpful with the port-out process.

RG6U · 2012-07-24, 10:05 AM

Well, I looked into this as well and decided on cable broadband. The complexity of the (hardware/logisticall) set-up is much simpler and less expensive than it is for xDSL. If it's a technical limitation than fine but if it's a mere personal choice/preference than you may want to consider/re-consider your choice.

Onto VoIP.ms, had it since Nov. 1st and don't know why I did not do this switch-over years ago, probably more psychological than anything else. So, if you remove the port fee of $ 25, I've paid out $ 75 since, so about 9.30 a month. The features are just unreal and the bonus, getting an email on my smartphone with a .wav file of a voicemail left on my "land-line".

Good luck with your VoIP adventure...; )

2012-02-13, 10:20 AM	#1
Robert.Thompson Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Posts: 83	About to port from Bell to VoIP.ms - some questions... Hello: I am about to port my residential phone number to VoIP.ms and I came across this old post: http://digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=147772 Bottom line says: "Lesson learned: When porting a Bell number, with DSL on the line, get the DSL moved to a Dry Loop number first. " Is this what I need to do, now, in Feb 2012? I have Fibe 25 DSL. What is a Dry Loop and who installs it and when? Thanks, Rob.

2012-02-19, 06:14 PM	#5
Nemnoch Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 958	Some clarification here regarding POTS and Internet and the impacts of the multitude of options available for Phoneline and Internet combinations: True Dryloop: Copper wire or Fiber Op Internet service with NO phone line at all. Common Issues: Dryloop 2: Copper or Fiber OP Internet service with No phoneline service via Copper of Fiber OP. Consumer could have phone service via VOIP or Cable Phone service. Common Issues: 1)Cable installers commonly cut the old 'phoneline' at the DMARC, which stops the Internet service from working (this is the most common issue). 2) Cable installers commonly wire up all jacks to work with the new phone service, which means no jack allocated to your Dryloop service (this also happens with VOIP services installed at the DMARC) Wetloop 1: Both Internet and Phone are provided by the same company and both are on Copper/Fiber OP lines. Common Issues: If the phone service goes down, usually the internet will go down as well. Wetloop 2: Internet and Phone both on Copper/Fiber Op with each service provided by a different provider. Common Issues: Most often on a porting the Phone service from Wetloop 1 to Wetloop 2, the new phone provider will take over the entirety of phone circuit, which means the Internet service is no longer coming into the house, and if it does, it won't be provisioned properly. In most cases, the best way to avoid this issue is call your Internet Provider after you have placed your order to move your phone line over, in order for them to to be able to see the wireline transfer request and provision the service on the same circuit. Nem, who provides this as a public service message. __________________ The preceding post and all opinions expressed are solely those of the poster and do not reflect the opinions of any other person or business

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2012-02-13, 12:10 PM	#2
grog Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Streetsville, ON Posts: 823	If you don't have voice service but want to get DSL Internet service you need to get a dry loop. The cost varies from place to place (at least in Ontario it does) and typically ranges from $10-20/month.

2012-02-13, 12:58 PM	#3
Robert.Thompson Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Posts: 83	Thanks Grog: Right now I have a Bell phone line and Bell Fibe 25. I want to cancel my phone line and port my number to VoIP.ms I read that when you cancel your Bell phone line, Bell cancels your DSL as well - perhaps only temporarily. I want to do things in the proper order to reduce any down time - I am married & want to keep it that way! Do I get a 'dry-loop' installed first? If so, what does that mean? Will my DSL still work? Will my Bell phone line still work until the porting is 'in the works'? And, I will have to pay Bell monthly for a dry loop? Thanks for any advice, Rob.

2012-02-14, 12:14 PM	#4
grog Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Streetsville, ON Posts: 823	The dryloop fee is an extra fee that Bell charges and you pay it every month. It's based on a "band rate" so you'll need to check with Bell what band you're in to know what the fee will be but it's usually in the $10-20/mth range. As for porting your phone without disruption to either that could get tricky. Since Bell is your ISP you would need to arrange the dry loop through them, but there is no reason to setup a dry loop unless you are cancelling your voice service. This is where you need to be careful because if you cancel your voice service with Bell there's a good chance you'll lose your phone number. I've heard of people successfully cancelling with Bell first to avoid an early cancellation fee but I've heard of many more who tried and then had their number port fail. It seems the only "safe" way to port your number is to initiate through the service you're porting to.

2012-05-07, 03:54 PM	#6
seanblake Rookie Join Date: May 2012 Location: Ottawa, ON Posts: 4	Did you end up completing the port in to voip.ms? If not, be careful - I ported my number to them in October of 2011, and I want to complete a port out because I need a POTS line for an alarm system in my new home, and they have been very unhelpful with the port-out process.

2012-07-24, 10:05 AM	#7
RG6U Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 25	Well, I looked into this as well and decided on cable broadband. The complexity of the (hardware/logisticall) set-up is much simpler and less expensive than it is for xDSL. If it's a technical limitation than fine but if it's a mere personal choice/preference than you may want to consider/re-consider your choice. Onto VoIP.ms, had it since Nov. 1st and don't know why I did not do this switch-over years ago, probably more psychological than anything else. So, if you remove the port fee of $ 25, I've paid out $ 75 since, so about 9.30 a month. The features are just unreal and the bonus, getting an email on my smartphone with a .wav file of a voicemail left on my "land-line". Good luck with your VoIP adventure...; )