BT Phone line Required?

I am sorry, maybe I am just confused?, can someone clarify this for me:

We just moved into a house in Sheffield - we would like to get broadband internet access and some level of basic t.v. services.   It appears that all my options will require me to also get a BT phone line.   So that means that we would have to pay 12 pounds a month to rent the phone line no matter what service we choose.   

I just want to make sure I have that correct, because it seems odd to me to have to pay for a phone line when I do not want phone service.  I think I understand that my internet and tv may possibly come off that phone line and that is why I need them but then why am I paying a separate charge to rent the line and then receive services.

I could get tv with out the BT line via satellite - but I really need internet, so I have to rent the line right?

I am sorry to talk in circles, but I am so confused.

It's because most broadband here is ADSL, which is through phone lines. Most providers go through BT, which is why they require a BT line. There are other options, like TalkTalk, which are not BT but is a phone service; cable, if your area has that; or Sky, which gives you TV, internet and phone all inclusive. Here it's very unusual for people not to have a land line anyway, which is why you'll generally see phone included in these offers.

Can you not get Virgin in your house?  Sheffield is generally a really well-connected area for cable service (we've had it all over the city) and that does not require a phone line.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that - Virgin does not serve S11 according to their web page and sales staff.
TalkTalk told me that in order to set up my service they would need to "reconnect" my BT line for 99 pounds and that I would have to then rent the line each month? 

 I just want to make sure I am not getting pushed into a more expensive option.

You can get Sky without a BT line, if you just want it for TV.  I didn't want to pay for a BT line because we have Virgin cable internet and use Vonage in lieu of a regular landline.  I did have to pay a fee (it was £25 or £30 IIRC) but I had no problem getting Sky without a landline, I just had to specifically mention it to them when I signed up for the service.

Ah, if the house doesn't have an active phone line it will need to be reconnected by BT, who own the physical lines. Again, this is because broadband here is primarily DSL, which is through phone lines.

Most providers go through BT, which is why they require a BT line. There are other options ... like Sky, which gives you TV, internet and phone all inclusive.

Just to clarify, if you get internet from Sky, it'll come through a BT landline, so you'll still have to pay the £12/month to BT.  I wouldn't recommend Sky, though.  We have them, and only stick with them because we're thinking about moving and it's cheaper to keep Sky than to switch and then move.  

Sky sucks.  Our broadband connection has dropped to 172 kbps (not a typo - 0.17 mbps) since Thursday, and I'm on hold with them right now trying to get it fixed.  This is phone call number 5 about this issue, and I've been on hold for 34 minutes.

If you don't want to get a BT line, you can get mobile broadband (a "dongle") through T Mobile, 3 and one or two others.  They claim it's high speed but mine isn't a lot of the time. It's ok for browsing and doing emails but if you need to download documents or want to use it for downloading movies or music regularly it's not that great.

Unfortunately as mentioned most internet in the UK is ADSL which requires you to have a house phone.  I know a few people that went with BT initially before switching to TalkTalk, but for the £99 connection and the rate you'd pay for TalkTalk per month (just under £20 for home phone & internet - your line rental is inclusive in the price) + any monthly usage.  However you'll be locked into a contract with BT (most likely a year to 18 months) before being able to switch to TalkTalk or you'll automatically be in a contract with TalkTalk.  We used to have BT with Plusnet, then switched to BT for home phone & internet (cost about £50 a month!), then eventually switched completely to TalkTalk which is about £19 / month.

I know PlusNet formerly a Sheffield company are now owned by BT used to have pretty reasonable rates for home phone & internet, but personally I prefer TalkTalk for their inclusive International Package compared to paying an extra £5 on top of everything else and internet separate price package from BT...

If you haven't already checked you may want to look at Broadband Checker to see what's available in your area and see if anyone has any home phone & internet packages.  I know O2 and Orange had some pretty good packages (with discounts for their contract mobile customers), but didn't really look further into them as TalkTalk worked out cheapest for us personally.  If you can get a Sky package for home phone, internet & TV that may be good, however your £12 line rental is on top of their package price, not inclusive plus if you want the International Talk option its an added £5) so price adds up, but could still be cheaper than having a separate home phone / internet bundle on top of your Sky subscription.

As Shahbanou mentioned Mobile Broadband is an option, however in addition to the issue of connection you'd be more than likely paying a higher rate for it than getting a home phone & internet package.

One of the pros to having a landline:
Believe me if you ever have to call any companies for their Customer Service you'll want a home phone to use instead of a mobile since pretty much no companies have 0800 (toll-free, except from using a mobile - you still have to pay) lines anymore they're all 0870 / 0845 etc. which charge to use and from a mobile you're looking at extortionate rates compared to using a landline.  This is even applicable to some chain stores instead of having direct numbers.   

Good luck!

There still seems to be a lot of confusion about whether an existing BT line is needed at a property or not to sign up for phone/ADSL service with another provider.

The outside lines are still owned by BT, but now under control of the OpenReach division which was created just a few years ago under an agreement with the telecoms regulator Ofcom.   OpenReach is obliged to provide connection and maintenance services on equal terms to its parent BT company and to all independents. 

Officially then, there is no longer any requirement to have BT install a line before you can get service from somebody else.  You can sign up with Acme Telephone Inc. and they arrange with OpenReach to have the line installed and connected for you (and in fact if they don't have their own equipment at your local exchange, they'll be contracting to provide your service via the BT equipment as well).   However, some providers have a policy of not providing new service unless there is an existing BT line to the property, because of the fees they will have to pay OpenReach to get the line installed. 

So having an existing BT line is not necessary any more, but some service providers don't want to know you unless you already have one.

Believe me if you ever have to call any companies for their Customer Service you'll want a home phone to use instead of a mobile since pretty much no companies have 0800 (toll-free, except from using a mobile - you still have to pay) lines anymore they're all 0870 / 0845 etc. which charge to use and from a mobile you're looking at extortionate rates compared to using a landline.  This is even applicable to some chain stores instead of having direct numbers.   

It's not yet widely publicized, but if you are with BT calls to 0845 & 0870 numbers are now included in packages where you have "free" calls to regular (01/02) numbers (i.e. whatever periods - weekends only, evenings & weekends, any time - you get inclusive regular calls, you now also get inclusive 0845/0870 callsin those same periods). 

For other uses, this site has a growing database of regular numbers which can be used to reach many companies and government departments:

http://www.saynoto0870.com

It's not yet widely publicized, but if you are with BT calls to 0845 & 0870 numbers are now included in packages where you have "free" calls to regular (01/02) numbers (i.e. whatever periods - weekends only, evenings & weekends, any time - you get inclusive regular calls, you now also get inclusive 0845/0870 callsin those same periods). 

For other uses, this site has a growing database of regular numbers which can be used to reach many companies and government departments:

http://www.saynoto0870.com

Very true, I thought that was one of BT's new selling features?  Oh well.     Only thing is if you go with BT for home phone you have to pay an extra charge on top of it.  However, it doesn't quite pander out unless you make a lot of landline calls.

Very true, I thought that was one of BT's new selling features? 

Yes, it seems to be.  I meant that a lot of people (including existing BT customers) don't seem to be aware of the inclusive 0845/0870 deal yet. 

Sky sucks.  Our broadband connection has dropped to 172 kbps (not a typo - 0.17 mbps) since Thursday, and I'm on hold with them right now trying to get it fixed.  This is phone call number 5 about this issue, and I've been on hold for 34 minutes.

The outside lines are still owned by BT, but now under control of the OpenReach division which was created just a few years ago under an agreement with the telecoms regulator Ofcom.   OpenReach is obliged to provide connection and maintenance services on equal terms to its parent BT company and to all independents.

This is exactly what has happened in my case.  Sky got BT OpenReach to come out to the house to check the line to see what's going on.  Of course once the BT guy came in the problem stopped, the line checked out fine, and we're now connected at 1.3 mbps, which is a speed not seen around these parts in some time.  Sky says if it happens again, let them know.

Getting past the initial Sky broadband technical support has been the key to dealing with them, as the second line Sky broadband people (the "Customer Solutions" team) have all been knowledgeable and helpful.

I have been researching this as well because DH has a dongle with a crap plan - I need unlmited!
So below is my research makes more sense to go Sky
02 -
with mobile service 17.13+11.50 lines rental
w/out mobile service  22.02 +11.50 line rental
total 28.63-33.52
Sky
Variety/kids Pack 18.50
Broadband/line rental 21
total 39.50

With sky we get better cable, line and unlimited internet

I have been researching this as well because DH has a dongle with a crap plan - I need unlmited!
So below is my research makes more sense to go Sky
02 -
with mobile service 17.13+11.50 lines rental
w/out mobile service  22.02 +11.50 line rental
total 28.63-33.52
Sky
Variety/kids Pack 18.50
Broadband/line rental 21
total 39.50

With sky we get better cable, line and unlimited internet

Just a word of advice before signing anything with Sky - check with Broadbandchecker.com to make sure that those plans are available in your area.  O2 and Sky (phone & internet) are not available in all residential areas...  Same for Virgin.