BlueCurve Modem telephone ports

[cnachtigal]

We have just received our BlueCurve Modem and have it set up so the WIFI and TVs are working.  I noticed that there are 2 telephone ports on the back of the BlueCurve.  The only information I can find about the BlueCurve and these ports is that it supports up to two telephone lines.  There is nothing about how to connect them and make the telephones functional.  Does this mean that with the BlueCurve we could get rid of the Arris Telephone Modem that currently gives us telephone service in the house?  I unplugged the Arris Modem and plugged the telephone into the BlueCurve I don't get anything.  Maybe I didn't wait long enough for it to initialize.

Please direct me to any information/resources about using the BlueCurve for the telephone connection (if there is any).

Thank you

[rstra · Accepted solution]

You need to talk to Shaw about transferring your phone service from the Arris to the BlueCurve, this would allow you to return the dpt to Shaw. Keep in mind, your existing setup may have the Arris in another part of the house and connected to the house phone wiring, it may not be convenient to install the BlueCurve where the Arris is located now.

https://support.shaw.ca/t5/phone-articles/shaw-digital-phone-terminal-wiring-guide/ta-p/6715#bluecur...

[Yo_Sup]

The Bluecurve Gateway do not have a built in back up battery for power outage. For continued phone in a blackout you'd need to plug in the Internet modem to a UPS backup power supply. The Phone modems have a built in battery that can last about 1hour fully charged, 3 hours on standby.  However, you save $2 on phone modem rental fees

[Sith]

Hi there, will Shaw actually discount your bill by $2 a month if you do this? The 2$ amount noted on the phone bill seems to be like the modem rental, where it is noted but not actually ever discounted.

[rickatk]

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@cnachtigal wrote:

We have just received our BlueCurve Modem and have it set up so the WIFI and TVs are working.  I noticed that there are 2 telephone ports on the back of the BlueCurve.  The only information I can find about the BlueCurve and these ports is that it supports up to two telephone lines.  There is nothing about how to connect them and make the telephones functional.  Does this mean that with the BlueCurve we could get rid of the Arris Telephone Modem that currently gives us telephone service in the house?  I unplugged the Arris Modem and plugged the telephone into the BlueCurve I don't get anything.  Maybe I didn't wait long enough for it to initialize.

Please direct me to any information/resources about using the BlueCurve for the telephone connection (if there is any).

Thank you

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I have found out that apparently you will need to put your Gateway next to the phone modem or risk losing signal to all the jacks in the house. Apparently the phone feature in the Blue Curve Gateway isn't ready for primetime and is certainly more complicated than simply switching over from the Arris phone modem to the Gateway modem. I am all for it though I would like to drop the Arris phone modem and let the BlueCurve Gateway do the phone work. All part of a unified communications hub.

[Yo_Sup]

Sith

I'm not sure. I've decided to keep rental on the Phone Gateway. $24 isn't much of savings to remove from the bill or ditch the battery. If the battery stops working, I can get a modem exchange from Shaw. The 2 Dollar - not sure how that works , maybe depends on how Shaw does it if it's embedded into the phone subscription or separate to the modem within the package price.

Rickatk

Depends on how your house is wired. The coax box is outside, that splits to two coax lines on either end of the home. Same connection. I ditched the built in home coax line and used a splitter to connect both the Internet and Phone modem in the laundry room with Shaw's installation in 1998. My home is from 1991, not wired for Ethernet. 

Shaw cuts the Telus line on the outdoor box jack splitter so you can plug the phone modem into the house RJ11. Normal Procedure 

[rstra]

If there is a phone jack near the BlueCurve, you could back feed the dial tone back to the demarc, there is likely a spare pair. But, I think the BC Gateway is more of a simple self install product, plug a wireless phone base station in the back and away you go. 

[Whythis]

I am pretty annoyed to find out that after all the time I spent setting up the Shaw Bluecurve which was not at all as easy as they claim, that the phone lines are not set up! 

I spent hours on that chat getting the internet to work and now I have to try to speak to someone to get the phone lines to work again? This is super disappointing. Definitely not worth the head ache. It's not really that much faster or better. I wish I had kept the 300 bps system that I had!

[mdk]

@Whythis --  I wish I had kept the 300 bps system that I had!

The slowest modem that I ever had was a "fast" 1200 baud -- 4 times your 300 baud modem.  🙂

At one time, the "NetNorth" network of Canadian universities used 9600 baud modems, and dedicated telephone-lines.

NetNorth interconnected to the BITNET ("Because Its Time") network of USA-based universities.

[rstra]

If the BlueCurve is online it is up to Shaw to provision they phone line, all you need to do is plug in a phone.