Phone
A number of telephone services are available across the Island.
Landline Telephone Services
Traditional copper-based landline telephone services are being replaced with digital telephone services called VoIP.
VoIP over Fibre is a good alternative if you rely on a landline to make telephone calls, and do not have a good mobile telephone service in your property or cannot use a mobile telephone.
It works in much the same way as a copper-based telephone service. The main difference is VoIP uses a Fibre broadband connection instead of a copper telephone line. Although it uses a broadband connection, you do NOT need to pay for a broadband service if you only want to make calls and not use the internet.
If you want to make calls and access the internet, you will need to subscribe to both a broadband and VoIP service. Further information about the current range of broadband services can be found on our Broadband page.
Service Providers
There are currently two providers of residential VoIP services in the Island:
VoIP services are also available to businesses from:
To find out if VoIP is available to you, please type your postcode into our Postcode Checker. You can also contact a VoIP Service Provider for further details.
Temporary Exclusions
Not everyone will be able to have a VoIP service at the moment. In particular, some consumers may:
- Have specialist care devices, panic buttons, or security alarms, lift lines, or other equipment, that work using their current service and may not be compatible with a VoIP service;
- Rely solely on a landline service to make telephone calls and will need their new VoIP service to work at all times (even in a power-cut); or,
- Need extra work to have their new service connected (also known as an ‘intervention’ or ‘exception’), but may have to wait for this work to be carried out.
There may also be other reasons for a temporary exclusion. Please read Temporary Exclusions for the Switch-Off Plan for more information.
To check if a Fibre-based VoIP phone service is available to you, please enter your postcode into the Postcode Checker and contact your service provider to confirm your needs.
To ensure a appropriate solution is put in place, those who have needs such as those detailed above will be given more time to transition.
What is needed for a VoIP service?
To have a Fibre-based VoIP phone service, you will need:
If you wish to retain a landline telephone service, your service provider will need to transfer your current service to the Fibre network. This transfer may include a one-off connection fee. Some service providers currently waive this fee.
There may also be an additional cost to install Fibre if you require extra installation work before Fibre can be connected. The cost for this work can vary, so if work is required, it is worth obtaining 2 or 3 quotes.
Your service provider will be able to confirm more details about what the installation work will involve and how much it will cost.
As VoIP phone services work over a broadband connection, you will need a Fibre compatible router. If you do not have a Fibre-compatible router, these can be purchased from Manx Telecom and Noventre when subscribing to their services.
Some service providers may offer a free router, so it’s worth asking service providers about any available offers before subscribing to a new service.
Although you will need access to the internet, if you only wish to make phone calls and don’t need to go online, you won’t need to subscribe to a broadband service as well.
Similar to copper-based landline services, there are various packages available at different prices, depending on when and where you want to call. Manx Telecom and Noventre will be able to advise which tariff would best meet your needs.
If you do not have a digitally enabled telephone handset, you may need to purchase a new compatible telephone. Your service provider will be able to advise if your current telephone is compatible. Handsets can be purchased from Manx Telecom and Noventre, or other retailers of electrical goods.
Contact details for Manx Telecom and Noventre can be found on our Service Providers page.
