topic Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT in Broadband

Router with integrated ATA and DECT

MrHedgehog — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 17:17:08 GMT

I'm considering the Fibre 75 offer from Sky, however, I have concerns about telephony.
My existing ADSL2 router is installed in a downstairs cloakroom, where it connects to a switch and then to fixed wiring around the house.
I rarely use the landline, but occasionally receive incoming calls. I have an analogue phone plugged into the phone socket and that lives in the cloakroom, which was never intended to be a long term solution, it's something I planned to improve at some stage ...and that time has now arrived.
My problem is that the BT431 analogue phone socket in the back of the router isn't going to be that answer, I need something different.
What I really need is a router with integrated ATA and DECT support, to use instead of the router supplied by Sky.

When Sky first offered ADSL, I subscribed to that for a while, but found that Sky didn't permit the use of non-sky supplied routers but, I believe that has now changed ...is anyone able to confirm that?

Secondly, can anyone suggest a ***wall mountable*** router with integrated ATA and DECT support?

My plan 'B' involves a wall-mountable DECT base station to plug into the BT431 socket ...but that means yet another box on an already crowded wall and installation of a fourth mains socket to power that ...I'm not sure I have the space.

Telephony seems to have been poorly thought out by providers who are focussed on internet provision ....integrated DECT support seems to be a serious omission, and it would make the transition to fibre so much easier for those who wish to continue having a fixed phone.

Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT

TimmyBGood — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 17:25:46 GMT

@MrHedgehog

I doubt you're going to find any such hardware: as start no-one has yet identified any router other than Sky-branded units which support Sky Talk Internet Calls.

Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT

TimmyBGood — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 17:27:25 GMT

@MrHedgehog wrote:

What I really need is a router with integrated ATA and DECT support,

Telephony seems to have been poorly thought out by providers who are focussed on internet provision ...

BT/EE did, but then they are unique in having a century of heritage in handset manufacturing. Everyone else is an ISP pretending to be a telco.

Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT

JimM1 — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 17:33:11 GMT

@MrHedgehog You want to have a sky digital phone line, then you need to use the sky supplied router with it's built in ATA interface. Also so that you know, the EE Router interface has way to many issues for there equivalent DV ATA and Dect, the BT side does seem to be way way better in doing so. Check out the EE Forum in particulsr the Digital Phone section and you will see the reported nightmare from customers. Its getting better and is a slow process, but it is all EE Router FW!

Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT

MrHedgehog — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 17:57:57 GMT

I had a suspicion that something like that might turn out to be the case. I can see this turning into a royal pain in the posterior 🙄

Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT

Chrisee — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 18:50:16 GMT

@MrHedgehog the landline market is shrinking fast but your options are to buy a DECT system connect the base station to the Sky hub which works well for me with 4 handsets.. If you want a system that allows you to use any router buy a set of VOIP handsets and buy a Voip servicecfrom a third party. What most people do is to forget landlines and just use mobiles as most contracts allow unlimited calls.

Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT

MrHedgehog — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 07:34:56 GMT

Yeah ...that's what it looks like. I don't want the additional expense of a third party VOIP service just for the occasional received landline call.

As I noted previously, ISP's haven't given enough thought to this, the option of a router with integrated DECT would make the process so much easier.

Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT

Westindieman — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:23:06 GMT

I'm going to try this with my Fritz box. Where would I see my Sky Registrar and password

Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT

Deb3000 — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:28:12 GMT

BT's offering, "Digital Voice", is a proprietary subversion of VoIP, so it only works on their routers. (EE is the same system).

I would expect Sky to be similar. And I don't know about "not thought through"...if you want to lock your customers in and make it as difficult as possible to switch, it's an excellent idea. Or am I just a cynic?

Re: Router with integrated ATA and DECT

TimmyBGood — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 20:53:39 GMT

@Westindieman wrote:

Where would I see my Sky Registrar and password

Generic credentials for broadband access through a non-Sky Hub are well documented (and frequently not required anyway) but the configuration required for Sky Talk Calls is unknown and probably enacted in hardware rather than software settings.

The first Sky Hub with a telephone port appeared in 2019 and no-one has a solution yet.