Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

[gaffer]

I have been looking around & have been wondering if it would make more sense for me to switch my phone service over to one of the VoIP companies that are providing service in the Calgary area.

Is anyone here using this as a home phone line? What are the pros & cons & how hard is it to set up, what is the quality like etc.?

This was the company that I was looking at for those who are not familiar with this. http://comwave.net/CDN/iPhone/index.htm

Discuss.

Andrew

[Kor]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

I have been looking around & have been wondering if it would make more sense for me to switch my phone service over to one of the VoIP companies that are providing service in the Calgary area.

Is anyone here using this as a home phone line? What are the pros & cons & how hard is it to set up, what is the quality like etc.?

This was the company that I was looking at for those who are not familiar with this. http://comwave.net/CDN/iPhone/index.htm

Discuss.

Andrew

When I was down in the US working for a week a couple of guys had converted their whole houses. Basically they cut the phone line from the phone company where it came into the house, and plugged it into a PC on broadband. Then all phones in the house were run through the VOIP server. These were family guys so they had others in the house who needed to use the phone etc. They were very pleased, they said that nobody could tell that it was not a regular telephone system after this. The big draw for them was both reduced rates and the ability to get either a 1-800 number or multiple phone numbers in different area codes around the country.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

i have a buddy i work with that did it in the spring and his would drop calls and stuff on him so he quit but i imagine its alot better now
i think i may switch to it simply because right now i pay 45 bucks a month to telus and use my home phone maybe 20 minutes a month total..

[Billip]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

I currently use Vonage as my VoIP provider for my home phone. I am fairly happy with it, but some issues still piss me off. Vonage's web site always seems to be broken in one way or another, and I have had to reboot my VoIP terminal adapter a few times (once because of no dial tone - which is generated by the adapter when it has successfully connected to it's upstream link, and once because my Caller ID stopped working). You can't beat not paying long distance though. The call quality is also very very good, however I have noticed huge lag when the bandwidth of the connection is saturated (ie: you're downloading stuff from KaZaa or Limewire). There are a few other irregularities with it such as 911 not working, and 310-1010 (ie: Pizza Hut) doesn't work. Those "special numbers" type numbers don't work, because there isn't a way to nail down your location with VoIP (other than IP block, but they're not doing that yet).

Let me know if you have more questions.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

damn so pizza hut don't work?? crazy i guess i could use my celly tho

[Stonewall]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

So Billip what do you do if the power goes out?

[R_Ethug]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

use a celly i imagine

[gaffer]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

This is the thing. I already have a cell phone that I am not paying for so if the Voip "goes out" for some reason then I can resort to that as a back up. The only complications I can see so far are making sure it connect to my home alarm & sattelite dish.

The up side if I figure that I can save about $50.00 per month on my phone bill with the great deal that they have on long distance, not to mention that calling features that cost $$$ with Telus are free with Voip in many cases.

This all started when I realized that I am paying Telus $23.95 per month for unlimited calling when I am only using an average of 100 long distance minutes per month. That figures out to 24 cents per minute which is way higher than what I would pay if I did not have a calling plan & paid the standard 9 cents per minute. Man I am a sucker.

Andrew

[Stonewall]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

use a celly i imagine

You see that is the problem, a phone is concidered an essential service there for they have to have a 99.4% (or something) up time. The whole british phone system is set to be upgraded to VoIP by 2008 but they can't proceed till they find a way to power the unit in an emergency (which they haven't yet). So what if there is a blackout, your cell is dead and you are in need of help? your screwed. I don't know how these VoIP companys get around that law but I would love to know.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

hrmm never thought of it like that brent.. i personally hate telus (home lines) because like i said above i pay 50 bucks a month for basically nothing..

[gaffer]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

hrmm never thought of it like that brent.. i personally hate telus (home lines) because like i said above i pay 50 bucks a month for basically nothing..

I am sick of Telus & thier lack of customer service and what I really hate is that automated voice thing they have when you call them. I wanna kill someone everytime I use that thing.

As for the power outage, the power does not go out that often and even then I cant use the phone anyways cause all I have are cordless phones. If the cell isnt charged I can plug it into the car, or go to a neighbours house to use the phone. If all else fails I will light a signal fire.

I am not too worried about being trapped without a phone personally.

Over at RedFlagDeals.com they have a special http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/ma...omments/16110/

I think I will be signing up for this ASAP.

Andrew

[Billip]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

You're right, if the power goes out your screwed, and if the internet goes out your screwed, and if there are routing problems you're screwed. Lots of screwage. However, I have a cell phone that I can use in those situations... I also use the cell to dial Pizza Hut and other numbers that the VoIP can't dial.

The way VoIP providers get around telecom regulations at the moment is because they're not considered telephone service providers. They are internet appliances. There is no regulation of them. I imagine this will change in the years to come, along with regulation of internet service in general. The telephone is considered an essential service right now, however I would propose that in the future, as more services migrate to work over IP, that the internet will be considered an essential service. I imagine that is many years away, but I can see it happening.

All telecom companies handle internal traffic and external connections digitally right now, whether it's over IP or Frame Relay or ATM is up to them, so the whole infrastructure is in place for everything to be digital. The thing which isn't digital yet is consumers connections to telecom companies. That will change soon. VoIP is here to stay, and it will absolutely change the telephone as we know it. It's cheaper (for providers), uses bandwidth much better than an analog call, and doesn't require as much infrastructure to support (copper to each house from a central hub).

[R_Ethug]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

check out http://www.vonage.ca/ they are supposibly the best VOIP provider.. that one package for 20/mo is killer but i phoned them today and i cannot keep my current number but oh well i can live with it to save 28/mo

[gaffer]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

check out http://www.vonage.ca/ they are supposibly the best VOIP provider.. that one package for 20/mo is killer but i phoned them today and i cannot keep my current number but oh well i can live with it to save 28/mo

That would be good, but I just had business cards printed with my home phone which double as the phone # for my business.

I think that Comwave lets you keep your old number.

Andrew

[Flanders]

Re: Anyone Using VoIP for phone line???

you can use this for your home, but I use it for PC-to-PC phone chats.
www.skype.com

freaking great quality, but you're talking to your PC microphone...I use it for playing UT2003/2004 with my neighbors