Yes. So far as the public network is concerned (more precisely BT and
Kingston-Upon-Hull Communications --- I have not asked C&W or the cable
companies) the answer is in an article I wrote for the September issue of
'Practical Electronics'. It's simplest to quote the relevant paragraph...
= = = =
Death knell for dial phonesOne minor casualty of the new network is the humble dial telephone that some
of us still use. Whilst the new MSAN access hub mentioned above have
interfaces for conventional POTS telephones (not to mention all sorts of
broadband and optical fibre connections as well), it will recognise only
tone dialling telephones. The old loop-disconnect or pulse signalling used
in phones fitted with dials and first-generation push-button keypads will
not be recognised and BT will have to contact all subscribers to make sure
they are aware of the change. The timetable states that migration to the new
network will begin in 2006, with most users transferred two years later.
Diehard dial fans need not worry, however, as adapters will be available,
and a simple and effective solution is already on sale in the USA. It's a
matchbox-sized converter that plugs in series between your telephone's line
cord and the phone socket. It is designed for the U.S. (Western Electric,
RJ-11) plugs and sockets but that's a minor problem. On incoming calls it
does not interfere in any way. On outgoing calls it recognises each digit
dialled and sends the appropriate touch-tone signal in the short pause
between each digit. Obviously you can use it only on lines that recognise
tones only; if you used it on a normal BT line you would get wrong numbers
because the exchange would recognise both the pulse and tone signals for
each digit dialled. You can see the product at
http://www.sandman.com/pdf/page91.pdf ; the order reference is CID6K.
