UKVoIPTalk.com

I currently have a MAXdsl (up to 8Mb) with AAISP, and am looking to
perhaps 'enter' the VOIP arena.

Currently, our voicecalls are routed via Primus (on our BT rented line)
and we also use 18185 for certain calls, I.e. international.

We tend to make a mix of local, national and international calls (the
latter only ever to Cyprus) so I am looking for a cheaper VOIP option
than our current arrangement.

1. Which company is the market leader for domestic VOIP?

2. Are the monthly costs of VOIP likely to be cheaper than Primus/18185?

3. Are the quality of the calls good?

4. Does VOIP use bandwidth which counts towards usage limits insofar as
the ISP is concerned? (that's perhaps my daft question!)

5. Can I use my existing Draytek 2600 router?

6. Can I use my existing DECT cordless phone system?

TIA

"Tx2" <this.is.an.inv@lid_email_address.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1fd118ff8a95d94989690@News.Individual.NET...
[color=blue]
> 1. Which company is the market leader for domestic VOIP?[/color]
Vonage (via marketing power)
SIPGATE, VOIPFONE, & BT to name but a few for full service
Voipbuster (and other companies from teh same group) for outgoing
[color=blue]
> 2. Are the monthly costs of VOIP likely to be cheaper than Primus/18185?[/color]
mosty work on a pay as you go basis, some charge a coiple of quid for local
telephone number
while others offer this free.

calls to cyprus :
Voipbuster.com : Free (subject to being in credit, 120 days, 300 max
minutes per 7 days) credit can be used
for Uk calls and calls to mobiles etc

Sipgate.co.uk : 4.9p / minute

Voipfone : 1.2p/minute

It is worth checking all providers out, some work out very expensive for
mobiles, but better on some countries.

If you spend a bit more you can use multiple providers, so use SIPGATe for a
free local incoming telephone number and internetcalls.com for free european
land line calls
[color=blue]
> 3. Are the quality of the calls good?[/color]
It does depend, on 2 factors
1- the conenct to the VOIP supplier
2- The Routing your VOIP supplier is using, so Uk calls may be great while
calls to south africa may be
worse, as it is with 18866 etc sometimes, I use VOIP for european calls and
find the quality very good
most of the time, with some provider calls can be hit and miss
[color=blue]
> 4. Does VOIP use bandwidth which counts towards usage limits insofar as
> the ISP is concerned? (that's perhaps my daft question!)[/color]
Yes it does
[color=blue]
> 5. Can I use my existing Draytek 2600 router?[/color]
Should have no problems, but may need toset prot forwarding to make it work
[color=blue]
> 6. Can I use my existing DECT cordless phone system?[/color]
Yes, if you use an ATA you plug that into your router and your phone into an
ATA, some units are only for VOIP, some other a lifeline service where both
your landline and voip calls come in over 1 phone.

On Fri, 24 Nov 2006 14:58:39 -0000, Tx2 postulated:
[color=blue]
>I currently have a MAXdsl (up to 8Mb) with AAISP, and am looking to
>perhaps 'enter' the VOIP arena.[/color]

Are you looking for a VoIP solution for reliably making and receiving
telephone calls or are you more interested in joining the Wright
Brothers to experiment and try to make the blasted thing fly?

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from [url]http://www.teranews.com[/url]

In article <ou1gm2ta80idcfoncs1qu5qt2fq5010sjl@4ax.com>, [email]me@privacy.net[/email]
says...[color=blue]
> On Fri, 24 Nov 2006 14:58:39 -0000, Tx2 postulated:
>[color=green]
> >I currently have a MAXdsl (up to 8Mb) with AAISP, and am looking to
> >perhaps 'enter' the VOIP arena.[/color]
>
> Are you looking for a VoIP solution for reliably making and receiving
> telephone calls or are you more interested in joining the Wright
> Brothers to experiment and try to make the blasted thing fly?[/color]

The former, I guess?

On Fri, 24 Nov 2006 14:58:39 -0000, Tx2
<this.is.an.inv@lid_email_address.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>
>I currently have a MAXdsl (up to 8Mb) with AAISP, and am looking to
>perhaps 'enter' the VOIP arena.
>
>Currently, our voicecalls are routed via Primus (on our BT rented line)
>and we also use 18185 for certain calls, I.e. international.
>
>We tend to make a mix of local, national and international calls (the
>latter only ever to Cyprus) so I am looking for a cheaper VOIP option
>than our current arrangement.
>
>1. Which company is the market leader for domestic VOIP?[/color]
Vonage is the market leader but don't take that as a recommendation as
to the VSP you should go with. Choose them only if you want an
inflexible but out of the box solution. Imho, they are overpriced.
You do not need to use just one provider.
For uk calls I would recommend voip.co.uk. Vyke.co.uk have a good deal
but there have been no reports posted here, afaik, on the company.
If you are dialling internationally you do not have to choose a UK
based company for those international calls. For example I use an
Australian company for calls to Australia.
Check out the extensive list of VSPs on the sipbroker.com web site.
You might check out the Betamax companies for outgoing
calls...sipdiscount etc. and look at Voipfone too - they are
particularly good on the incoming side as they have a good voicemail
system, 1471, caller display, callwaiting.[color=blue]
>
>2. Are the monthly costs of VOIP likely to be cheaper than Primus/18185?[/color]
I think so yes. However, another advantage is you can forget about all
this dialling of codes, to access different providers, if you use a
Sipura ATA, such as the Sipura/Linksys SPA-3102 you can set up a dial
plan so that the correct provider will be chosen for the type of
number dialled - plus you can set up speed dial numbers - no more
programming of every phone in the house as it is all central. The
SPA-3102 will allow a single incoming number (plus a landline if you
have one) and 5 outgoing providers (plus a landline if you have one).[color=blue]
>
>3. Are the quality of the calls good?[/color]
Yes.[color=blue]
>
>4. Does VOIP use bandwidth which counts towards usage limits insofar as
>the ISP is concerned? (that's perhaps my daft question!)
>[/color]
Yes. The amount used depends on the codec. Typically, for a good
quality connection, it might be 16MB/hour.[color=blue]
>5. Can I use my existing Draytek 2600 router?[/color]
Yes.[color=blue]
>
>6. Can I use my existing DECT cordless phone system?[/color]
Absolutely, no problem, indeed it makes the set up far easier as you
don't have to do any wiring.[color=blue]
>[/color]
Lastly, if you are able to get Telewest then you can have a broadband
only connection and can ditch the landline - however, you should have
a mobile switched on at all times to cater for 999 calls. Voip.co.uk
do cover 999 but if your broadband is down or the power has gone off ,
you'll need your mobile phone.

Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.

On Sat, 25 Nov 2006 10:55:21 GMT, Brian A said in article
<vp6gm2d0uqk37ernt3cero3e112epuin25@4ax.com>:
[color=blue][color=green]
>>2. Are the monthly costs of VOIP likely to be cheaper than Primus/18185?[/color]
>I think so yes. However, another advantage is you can forget about all
>this dialling of codes, to access different providers, if you use a
>Sipura ATA, such as the Sipura/Linksys SPA-3102 you can set up a dial
>plan so that the correct provider will be chosen for the type of
>number dialled - plus you can set up speed dial numbers - no more
>programming of every phone in the house as it is all central.[/color]

Certainly you can do that. Indeed you can have months of fun learning
about scores of ATA parameters. Most of these parameters are pretty
much incomprehensible to even the diehards in this newsgroup.

On Sat, 25 Nov 2006 22:54:31 +0000, B <Á@> wrote:
[color=blue]
>On Sat, 25 Nov 2006 10:55:21 GMT, Brian A said in article
><vp6gm2d0uqk37ernt3cero3e112epuin25@4ax.com>:
>[color=green][color=darkred]
>>>2. Are the monthly costs of VOIP likely to be cheaper than Primus/18185?[/color]
>>I think so yes. However, another advantage is you can forget about all
>>this dialling of codes, to access different providers, if you use a
>>Sipura ATA, such as the Sipura/Linksys SPA-3102 you can set up a dial
>>plan so that the correct provider will be chosen for the type of
>>number dialled - plus you can set up speed dial numbers - no more
>>programming of every phone in the house as it is all central.[/color]
>
>Certainly you can do that. Indeed you can have months of fun learning
>about scores of ATA parameters. Most of these parameters are pretty
>much incomprehensible to even the diehards in this newsgroup.[/color]
I think that you underestimate people who post here. It is true that
everyone doesn't have the same depth of knowledge and understanding in
everything, but there are lots of people who are experts in their own
particular field of interest.
Those who want to use Vonage ONLY have little or no need of this
group, they are often non technical people.
Help is always given to those who want a more flexible system, where
they are in control, and where they are keen to put in the effort.
At some time we have all had to put in the effort to learn about new
technologies, those who are technophobes will just have to pay for
their services be it via higher than necessary service and call
charges and/or someone to set up a system for them. The rest may seek
help here.
Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.

On Sun, 26 Nov 2006 12:08:09 GMT, Brian A said in article
<e6tim2ta2ejt4be8o4a088g12rhpik8hgc@4ax.com>:
[color=blue]
>Those who want to use Vonage ONLY have little or no need of this
>group, they are often non technical people.[/color]

They may still have a need for this group because they may not even
know that there are services like Skype and Vonage available. In any
case they may well be interested in opinions about these and other
services.

I think it's a great pity that anyone who asks about Vonage and Skype
in this group often gets treated like a leper. For some people the
convenience of an out-of-the box solution is worth paying a little
extra for. Depending on individual circumstances and needs Vonage or
Skype may work out more cost effective.

I have used both Vonage and have also gone through the hassle of
setting up an ATA from scratch. "Hassle" is not to strong a word for
it. People here were certainly helpful in suggesting settings for my
PAP2 and I fully acknowledge this help. However there was still a lot
of trial and error involved before I got the desired result.

So I now use both Vonage and various other of the service providers
that many around here rave about. I also propose to give Skype a try
in the not too distant future. There's not a clearcut winner overall.
Despite what many of the diehards here would make you believe, Vonage
and Skype will suit some people and should not be dismissed out of
hand

The OP suggested he was a complete beginner and for all we know, he
might prefer an out-of-the-box solution over the hassle of configuring
his own ATA. At least let's give him the choice.

In article <v58jm2t8h8outg1004cdc71ls7c9p6p7eh@4ax.com>, Á@ says...
[color=blue]
> The OP suggested he was a complete beginner and for all we know, he
> might prefer an out-of-the-box solution over the hassle of configuring
> his own ATA. At least let's give him the choice.[/color]

I'm happy with giving anything a try. I'm not worried if it is out-of-
the-box, but I have no idea what an "ATA" is!

I'm pretty savvy when it comes to most things technical, but VOIP is a
new area to me, and I'd like to get into the game somewhat.

Happy to experiment a little, but don't want to spend lots of money and
time on rubbish.

In article <MPG.1fd3bbeac8473247989687@News.Individual.NET>,
[email]this.is.an.inv@lid_email_address.com[/email] says...
[color=blue]
> Happy to experiment a little, but don't want to spend lots of money and
> time on rubbish.[/color]

One thing that has confused me is what the call charges are.

If I call another VOIP number, any VOIP number, is it free?

If I have to pay for that call (to another VOIP number) how can it be
cheaper than a normal landline call made via, for example, Primus?

I appreciate calls to a fixed landline will cost, but they don't seem
cheaper than calls to, for example, Cyprus that I make using 18185.
Gradwell fees to there are circa 10p per minute, whereas with 18185 they
are 1p per minute.

I'm probably missing something, but VOIP might be the new kid on the
block, I just can't see (yet) how it is a cheaper alternative to POTS.