christcorp:

Thanks for your great idea on how to handle the cutover from Verizon to VOIPO. The call-forwarding idea is not anything I had thought of and makes perfect sense. So thanks for that.

My wiring question however is still a question. As I said, the ONT box provides coax and telco connections to my home's internal coax and telco wiring. The problem is that these 2 ONT connections are outside, near the peak of my home's 2-story roof. Getting up there would be a real challenge.

What's not clear to me is when to make the connection between the VOIPO box and one of the small baseboard telco boxes that is close to my router. Of course I can do this easily any time, but my sense is it would not be a good idea to do it with the Verizon phone service still active. But then how to verify the new VOIPO service works OK?

Even if I do wait until the Verizon service is switched over, is it OK to leave the ONT connected to the telco wiring the way it is now? Or do I have to figure a way to break this connection (presumably by taking the cover off the ONT and disconnecting the telco wire that goes to my home telco.)