VoIP: Do I need a phoneline at all? What phone to buy? Thread poster: Andrea Re
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Andrea Re 
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:44
English to Italian
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Hi there,
I need a word of advice. I currently use Voipstunt (I believe the same as Voipbuster that Brandis mentioned not long ago) for all the landline calls in the UK and overseas, plus some of the calls to mobiles and sms to use up my credit.
Since I am about to move house, I was toying with the idea of doing away altogether with the ordinary phone line and get only an internet connection (Telewest, for those who are in UK) and use VoIPstunt to phone.
Do you think it... See more Hi there,
I need a word of advice. I currently use Voipstunt (I believe the same as Voipbuster that Brandis mentioned not long ago) for all the landline calls in the UK and overseas, plus some of the calls to mobiles and sms to use up my credit.
Since I am about to move house, I was toying with the idea of doing away altogether with the ordinary phone line and get only an internet connection (Telewest, for those who are in UK) and use VoIPstunt to phone.
Do you think it is feasible or is it still too risky a proposition?
Also, someone has mentioned to me that you can now buy one of these VoIP phones that work even when the computer is switched off (I am currently using headphones). Anybody knows more about these phones, like cost, quality, reliability and so on?
Thanks,
Andrea
[Edited at 2006-09-23 22:43] ▲ Collapse
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Krys Williams
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:44
Member (2003)
Polish to English
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| I have read warnings | Sep 24, 2006 |
Hi Andrea,
I have read warnings that not all VOIP services enable calls to the emergency services. You would need to check that out before dispensing with a landline, although I guess that is irrelevant if you have a mobile phone as well.
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craigs
Local time: 12:44
English to Portuguese
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| Lots of folks do that | Sep 24, 2006 |
The only risk is if the internet connection goes out for some time. How reliable is your service? If you have a regular number through voip, you really don't need another house phone. But once again, it needs to be reliable.
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Larissa Dinsley
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:44
Member (2003)
English to Russian
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Hi Andrea,
We are also thinking of getting rid of the telephone connection altogether. I would be interested to hear about your experiences if you go ahead.
For the handset, have you tried Amazon? They are usually good in this area.
Larissa
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Robert Zawadzki (X)
Local time: 18:44
English to Polish
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| Voice quality | Sep 24, 2006 |
I guess your connection is going to be way better than mine (I theretically have 1M/256k ADSL but actual rates are much worse). The Internet does not guarantee bandwidth and sometimes voice quality deteriorates and I switch to other services (after VoIPStunt I try SkypeOut, but sometimes I am forced to pick up an ordinary phone). Also, I do not think people can call you using an ordinary phone, when you have VoIPStunt (they can if you have a SkypeIn number, but I did not try it). I think I had p... See more I guess your connection is going to be way better than mine (I theretically have 1M/256k ADSL but actual rates are much worse). The Internet does not guarantee bandwidth and sometimes voice quality deteriorates and I switch to other services (after VoIPStunt I try SkypeOut, but sometimes I am forced to pick up an ordinary phone). Also, I do not think people can call you using an ordinary phone, when you have VoIPStunt (they can if you have a SkypeIn number, but I did not try it). I think I had problems calling freephone numbers.
So my advice is to have ordinary phone, some calling plan with a minimum fixed charge, and use it when there are problems with VoIP or to call emergency services. Ordinary phone works when power is down, provided you do not use a phone that needs power - apart from now standard wireless receivers I have one attached to a cable just in case. I remember calling a power company using it last year.
Remeber, people pay a whole lot more calling your mobile than your landline number.
See http://blogs.nmss.com/communications/2006/04/more_on_caller_.html
"Let me illustrate the cost of calling a mobile subscriber in various places by referring to current SkypeOut rates. The cost of calling any subscriber - fixed or mobile - in the US is € 0.017 ($ 0.021) per minute. Similarly the cost of calling any fixed-line subscriber in western Europe is € 0.017. However, the cost of calling a mobile subscriber is much higher:
France - mobile € 0.164
Germany - mobile € 0.200
United Kingdom - mobile € 0.205" ▲ Collapse
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Andrea Re
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:44
English to Italian
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for your comments | Sep 24, 2006 |
Just a couple of quick points:
With VoIPstunt I can receive phone calls since I was given a phone number (although with with a Coventry code and I am in Dundee about 6 hours' drive away.....). I think VoiPstunt does have problems with free phone numbers, but I need to check. However the reason why I want to do away with the landline is because it is so expensive (£11 a month + VAT with BT) for something that I pretty much do not use. If I have to give up on free phone numbers as wee, so b... See more Just a couple of quick points:
With VoIPstunt I can receive phone calls since I was given a phone number (although with with a Coventry code and I am in Dundee about 6 hours' drive away.....). I think VoiPstunt does have problems with free phone numbers, but I need to check. However the reason why I want to do away with the landline is because it is so expensive (£11 a month + VAT with BT) for something that I pretty much do not use. If I have to give up on free phone numbers as wee, so be it.....
As to types of phones, I'll have a look on Amazon, but I was hoping to hear some first hand experience.
Andrea
Update:
Looked on amazon and found this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/VoIP-V654SK-Cyberphone-Skype-Telephone/dp/B000E0XRFQ/sr=8-2/qid=1159087534/ref=pd_ka_2/026-3666114-9529242?ie=UTF8&s=electronics
and nothing else:(
[Edited at 2006-09-24 08:46]
Freetoll calls are still free on voipstunt and skype, 0845 numbers are way cheaper on Voipstunt, 0870 are similar in cost.
Mobiles to the UK are similar in cost and not that dissimilar to what BT charges (which is very difficult to work out at the best of times).
[Edited at 2006-09-24 09:00] ▲ Collapse
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Andrea Re
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:44
English to Italian
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TOPIC STARTER | technology cheapnet - Fritzbox | Sep 24, 2006 |
Someone was mentioning this to me as a way of using VoIP even with the PC off. Anybody knows what they are talking about?
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