I want to change phone provider and add a TV package but only socket downstairs is in kitchen, do I need a socket in the living room?

[CrapBag]

We are with BT for phone and bb and are being royally ripped off.

I have looked online and I can get a decent Sky deal for what we are paying. PProblem is this stupid house has silly phone sockets. In all the bedrooms and the unconverted loft, the one outside the study is broken but there are 2 within 2 meters of each other in the bloody kitchen which is where we have the phone and router, all over the kitchen side.

There is nothing in the large front room diner and is too much to run cables from the kitchen.

BT charge nearly £200 for additional phone sockets! I'd rather do without the TV package, we have managed for well over a year. They only thing I really miss is the ability to record stuff.

Online it says that Sky require you to have it plugged into a working phone socket. Is this the case and if so is that the case for all TV package providers? I don't want Virgin so not really interested in them. We use wifi for the net which is on on the tablet but a nightmare on our desk top computer as it doesn't work half the time so I'm not thrilled with the sockets as they are anyway.

I use talk talk and the box is connected to a powerline adaptor which carries the broadband signal through the power cables in the house. I have one adaptor by the router and one in the lounge for the tv connection.

You can find people in the classifieds to fit extension sockets cheaply , usually ex telecom engineers . Sky require you to plug it in which can be a nightmare but that's how they do their updates.

The sky box uses the phone line to dial back when you use pay per view. Every box has a preset credit. If you don't plug it in the phone, then the credit will run out and you won't be able to buy anymore movies. They are supposed to check if your box dial back regularly but in reality they don't. I haven't plugged my sky box in for more than 2 years. Virgin managed to disconnect all our phones except main one when we switched. We haven't fixed it since, so sky box has been unplugged from that point on. Sky never complained about it to me.

(The bit about credit I know because I used to work for the company that supplied sky software).

The firm ware updates are via the satellite feed. And you would want Internet to the box as all the on demand stuff is via broadband.

So if we want Sky we will need to get the socket or we could go with talk talk. Do they do a recording box? Are the channels just freeview channels? We already have freeview built into the TV so didn't really want to pay for something that just have these channels.

You have to be connected to a phone line for the first 12 months of your contract . If it's multi room you always have to be connected . I managed to knock one of my cables out and got a series of snotty letters !
My parents have Virgin which is excellent . My sister has BT You View which is a lot cheaper . Talk Talk also do You View and the boxes / storage are excellent . Have you tried calling BT to get a deal with TV added ?

You can get SKY without plugging it into the phone box. Here's how you do it.

Sky have a provision called 'wireless' connection to the router...so you can have a SKY box, a SKY broadband router & separately purchase the 'wireless connecter' which you connect to your SKY box using wire & then to your wireless router using a pin. Basically it allows your SKY box to connect to the Internet via your router rather than via your phone line.

In our present house we set up 3 months ago - we have this. We had this in the earlier house too where the TV & SKY box were on opposite sides of the room to the phone socket.

It's easily possible. Call SKY to confirm if you want to be sure!

Ah , brand new customers don't need a line connection . Just checked on the forum. Only old gimmer customers like me .

Sorry I must sound confused.., but meant to say that you can make movie payments using this method rather than the old phone line method.

ken I must be lucky then! I haven't got a letter yet.

Tbh if they spring it on me I would just leave at the end of my current contract. Now TV has all the sky stuff and much cheaper. I was going to leave last November saying we would move to now tv. They managed to give me a price of £1 more a month than now tv so we stayed. (DH likes syfy which isn't on now tv).

My rambling basically is saying that ypu can also get sky via now tv. I don't need to record as almost everything and anything I want is on catch up anyway.

And all the internet based tv are multiroom anyway. Why pay them more for it?

We have Netflix which we are using mutli device. And did a trial with Amazon instant video.

artistic that's why they never complained at me then. Mine is on the Internet.

I ended up having to write to the CEO I got so many letters when the line was connected . Drove me insane . I must look dodgy

I have Virgin and they install new cables and boxes for the phone, internet router and TV outlet, and put them where you want. Sometimes they have a special offer for free or reduced installation. Your street may not have the cables.

Arrange what you want with the sales desk before signing the contract, and confirm it by letter or email. I managed to get an underground cable into my garage FOC (the installers prefer to just throw it down in your garden which is less work for them).