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I have Bell Sympatico internet - cancelling Bell land line - Do I need dry loop?

19K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Dr.Dave  
#1 ·
My first post on the forum. I hope you guys can help me understand this. :)

I have my internet service with Bell Sympatico (with the Speedstream 4200 modem) and am quite happy with the service because I have a (grandfathered) unlimited download package.

After years of having a Bell land line, I've grown tired of the costs and am finally leaving Bell and transferring my land line phone number to IP based FreePhoneLine (i.e. Fongo). I initiated that transfer today.

However, I am now reading a few posts about dry-loop. I didn't know about this before I initiated the transfer process above. From what I can figure out, dry-loop is just a phone line without a dial tone. This got me thinking/worrying. Will my Bell Sympatico service be affected when I ultimately cancel my Bell land line?

1. If I cancel my Bell land line, wouldn't my Bell Sympatico internet service just work the same as before? Why do I need this dry-loop thing?
2. Does Bell charge for this dry-loop service? Is it a one-time fee or a monthly fee?

Thanks for any answers that you can provide on these issues.
 
#2 ·
Yes. You need to get the dry loop installed on a second line before cancelling the land line. That's because Bell typically disconnects the entire line when phone service is stopped. That results in loss of DSL and it takes some time to get it reconnected as a dry loop. Bell may try to charge for the dry loop but will usually drop the charge if asked. This may be a good time to consider other options such as higher speed DSL on a dry loop or using another provider. It may not be cost effective due to dry loop charges but it's worth looking.
 
#7 ·
I decided to call Bell support directly.
They have told me that there is no dry loop charge (ie. no monthly charge, no one-time charge).

I also found this document, that indicates that depending on your internet provider, you may be charged a dry loop fee.
  • BELL DSL Internet Customer - Bell does not charge a Dry Loop fee (as of January 17, 2011)
  • Other DSL Internet Customer (ie. Acanac/Teksavvy) - Dry Loop fee will vary. Please contact your internet provider for Dry Loop fee (as of January 17, 2011)

  • Cable Internet Customer (ie. Cogeco/Rogers) - there is no Dry Loop fee (as of January 17, 2011)