My phone calls are 1c/min Aust-wide.

[Ray Brown]

No, this is not an ad.

I just thought I would share with forumites cool thing that is VOIP.

About 4 months ago I mate got me onto this.

You should by now all have broadband - its not much more expensive than dial-up. So, put it to good use and make all your phone calls through it.

You need :

1. A VOIP box or VOIP router,
2. A VOIP provider,
3. A second handset,

The VOIP router (I went wireless at the same time) is better than a plain voip box, I got one here...http://www.warcom.com.au/shop/flypage/voip/1250

A voip provider $5 per month- there are many but this one is very cheap ...http://www.freecall.net.au/start.php

A second handset $10 on eBay...http://phones.search.ebay.com.au/ph...Z1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQga10244Z10425QQsacatZ3313


and away you go. @#$%^ off TELSTRA/OPTUS et al.

When my wife saw me setting this up and how much cheaper it was, she promptly sold all her telstra shares.

You dont need a computer to use it. The handset just plugs into the voip box and then into your adsl modem into the phone jack on the wall.


I now make all outgoing calls through a second handset which I have labelled with a big 'V'.

You can also take incoming calls on the VOIP and its free between VOIP phones.

I take all normal incoming calls on the normal handset, and make outgoing calls on the VOIP.

saves heaps on phone bills.

 

[agent 86]

and away you go. @#$%^ off TELSTRA/OPTUS et al.

Ray,

Unfortunately, dont you still pay Telstra for line rental?

(edit. Just noticed , you went wireless)

btw Im looking at 'engin' as 10c untimed,anytime national calls, but $10 per mth

 

[Stewie]

Ray, am I correct in stating that to operate ADSL you need to rent the line from a phone company? I tried to get ADSL through AAPT but they stated that my line was not compatible.

Can you explain why you have two handsets. I don't understand why you receive calls on one handset and make calls on the other??

Stewie

 

[MichaelW]

Wow,

Just had this long discussion over on InvestEd on exactly this topic. I've just gone VoIP at home too and its unreal.

OK, some answers:

Yes, if you use ADSL then you still need to rent your fixed PSTN line off telstra and it needs to be a full service line. But the budget full service line rental is only $19 odd a month. It helps to keep this line anyway as emergency numbers (000) don't work over VoIP yet, but are touted to do so in the near future.

You need to buy an ATA which is a piece of hardware that will allow your PSTN phone to work over your VoIP connection. You just plug it in the middle and you work direct over VoIP without having to do any extra dialling or using "softphone" on your PC. Get one which allows fail-over back to PSTN if your internet connection goes down for any reason. Also get one with quality of service (QoS) capability so you can prioritise your VoIP talking over your usual internet surfing use if both coincide. They only cost about $150.

I'm with Stewie, you shouldn't need two handsets. If you buy the style of ATA I mentioned above then the one phone can operate both PSTN and VoIP. To get PSTN just dial ## first, or whatever your provider requires, but I think ## is standard. My phone is a digital fax/phone base station which operates 4 satellite handsets. I can use these handsets anywhere in the house and be using the VoIP based out of my study. If I need to dial 000 or directory assistance 1223, then I just ## first. It automatically defaults to PSTN if the internet was ever down without intervention.

My plan is a $15 per month plan with Exetel and that includes $15 worth of free calls. Call costs are 10c untimed anywhere in Australia and cheap international rates too. My ADSL broadband connection costs me $40 per month, but I needed that anyway. My Telstra budget PSTN line is $19. So, all up my "incremental" VoIP costs are $34 ($19+$15) per month. My last PSTN only telstra bill was $80-odd, so this represents a pretty sizeable saving every month.

Oh yeah, and your broadband connection needs to be at least 512/256 for VoIP to work.

Cheers,
Michael.

 

[MIZBUF]

Further to saving money on calls I have broadband- but line rental from telstra. I used to have horrendous phone bills as one of the family is O.S in a 3rd world country with no cheap rates offered. If your contact also has computer access you can instal the SKYPE system. You can make direct calls to each other- voice or instant written posting. I also use it for speaking to local contacts who are also hooked up to Skype.
http://www.skype.com/share/tellafriend/?

 

[geoffw]

I used to have horrendous phone bills as one of the family is O.S in a 3rd world country with no cheap rates offered.

Do none of the phonecards have cheap rates to your country?

Mexico via telstra was something line 30-40c per minute. Many cards can't do much better, but after some hunting, we found one which gave us 2.5c pm.

 

[Peter 14.7]

Great Post Ray Brown.

How do you get your wireless from?

I agree Telstra is a dinosaur re old tech.

Peter 147

 

[Kenny]

Great thread. I've been thinking about it ever since I started using Skype.

Can anyone comment on the phone voice quality and any dropouts etc that may occur. The risk of broadband outage leaving you with no landline could be a problem. Guess you can always use a mobile.

REgards,

Kenny

 

[Aceyducey]

Kenny,

If you have fixed line ADSL as opposed to wireless if broadband goes down you still have your old-fashioned POTS - the telstra phone line.

What is making me hungry atm is the dual wi-fi/mobile handsets....use wireless VOIP in areas with wireless and the mobile network everywhere else. Now that will be saving a lot of money

Cheers,

Aceyducey

PS: With VOIP providers be a little cautious of companies such as Engin which sell you the ATA box discussed above but lock it to their network. This makes it harder to switch providers if you want to. Best to get your own ATA box which can be used with any provider.

 

[geoffw]

Do any of these VOIP providers offer discounts on fixed to mobile? With teenage daughters, that's our biggest expense. (Even capped plans on their mobiles didn't work- they kept on exceeding their caps).

 

[sparky23]

I have been saying for some time now that anyone still holding Telstra shares should be seriously considering how wise that might be. We have had VOIP since November as I was finding that we still seemed to have a phone bill between $250 - $300 despite everyone in the house also possessing a mobile phone. So now the boys are on a $30 per month phone card, I still have my $15 per month plan with free calls all day Sunday and free calls between 7.00am and 7.00pm (hey I'm at work for any day time calls I might need to make) and husband hsa a $15 deal including phone through the Austar package. So we pay the $19 line rental which we need because of broadband - not quite wireless yet in this area - and the VOIP calls are through tpg who just take $20 off the credit card when the money for calls runs out which is about every 4 or 5 weeks. The cost to have the VOIP service including broadband with tpg is $49.95 per month which is the price that we also paid for our
512k broadband without the VOIP so apart from the equipment outlay it costs no extra and that speed has been fine for our uses though there is a 1.5 at $69.95. Check out the tpg web-site.

I find that if there is too much downloading happening in our 5 computer household it can be a problem for sound quality on the calls but no doubt there is a gadget that we could buy & it would be fixed.

Sparky

 

[Aceyducey]

Personally I only see downside for Telstra.

Fixed line installations and revenues continue to fall while Telstra must maintain the same amount of infrastructure, hence constantly increasing line rental costs that will lead to further erosion.

They are not dominant in the mobile sector.

While their broadband share is strong and in the short-term getting stronger, their new network is required to make the next step in service delivery and they dare not roll it out without a long-term exclusivity agreement. Meanwhile other ISPs such as iiNet are rolling out ADSL 2+ networks and buying backhaul infrastructure that bypasses Telstra's network. The public isn't yet really aware of ADSL 2+ but soon will begin to be.

Their new movie download service is clumsy to use (simply how long it takes) and basically is educating people about getting free content from the web.

And today Reeltime announced a killer positioning move in the on-demand movie sector and will be positioned to wholesale on-demand content via more than 80 ISPs to TVs within six months (that's a share I'm considering droping a 50 in).

All Telstra has is buckets of money, a blocking position in exchanges used to slow down competition and the ability to push up line costs for other providers (defying regulatory bodies). This market power will erode over time.

They're also doing a great job of alienating their largest shareholder while making the stock 'on the nose' for a full float - and simultaneously destroying staff morale!

Like Telstra's board, I wouldn't advise my mother to buy Telstra shares at the moment!

But I would certainly agree that Sol is doing an exceptional job of fostering competition in the telecommunications market

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[Ray Brown]

Hi all,

Ray,

Unfortunately, dont you still pay Telstra for line rental?

(edit. Just noticed , you went wireless)

btw Im looking at 'engin' as 10c untimed,anytime national calls, but $10 per mth

• I pay AAPT for line rental - at a discount rate.
• By wireless - I mean just a wireless network in my house, not as in wireless direct to the provider. I still have a line.

 

[Ray Brown]

Can you explain why you have two handsets. I don't understand why you receive calls on one handset and make calls on the other??

Stewie

Hi Stewie,

• I have one handset for VOIP and one for normal PSTN. I can use them both for calling out and receiving incoming calls, but I think it's better that the normal phone handset just works normally, with no special procedures (##) etc for safetys sake. And for simplicity for other houshold members. They won't accidentally use the PSTN for STD calls. $XXXXXX ouch.

I mean the handset I got was one of those telstra slimline 50 thingys for 10 bucks - new!

 

[Ray Brown]

You need to buy an ATA They only cost about $150.

Hi MW,

$150. Thats a bottle of Henchke Mount Edelstone 1998.

I bought a ten buck phone instead.

 

[Ray Brown]

I also use it for speaking to local contacts who are also hooked up to Skype.
http://www.skype.com/share/tellafriend/?

Hi Mizbuf (?)

• Yes, SKYPE is excellent VOIP too, I use it alot when away from home at the hotel. Works fine with a dial-up connection (80c for local call to ISP) then off I go making hours of STD calls through the built in microphone in my laptop. Seems a bit wierd, talking into a 30cm x 20cm 'mobile phone' with a 13" screen...
  
• I find SKYPE particularly good for just texting and sending file as well.

 

[thefirstbruce]

what are the rates for landline to mobile via VOIP??? don't ring landline that much for private use anymore. all my significant others have mobiles or are never home....

I have an Optus capped mobile plan. Tend to make most calls using it now. Handy bloody things them mobiles....it's my alarm, reminder, and address book too....and I used to hate them...

 

[Ray Brown]

TFB, mine is 25c/min. Not cheap but not too bad.

How do you get your wireless from?

I agree Telstra is a dinosaur re old tech.

Peter 147

Your grammar hides your exact question, so....

• HOW? From the wireless router that is plugged into my DSL modem to my laptops wireless LAN card.

• WHO? AAPT provides my broadband service. Its so cheap I've forgotten how much it is. 512/256 service, 12 GB per month free (more than I can eat), includes line rental.

Tech wreck - absolutely. Though I cant help thinking there will be a spike in the share price once the sale goes through.


I'm sure a small penalty for spelling/grammar/syntax faults would raise the profile of this venerable forum.

 

[Ray Brown]

Can anyone comment on the phone voice quality and any dropouts etc that may occur. The risk of broadband outage leaving you with no landline could be a problem. Guess you can always use a mobile.

REgards,

Kenny

Hi Kenny, I thought.... you know.. South Park...

anyway,

• Voice quality on VOIP? Fabulous! well not quite. It has a little latency and some faint echo. The fidelity is actually better than normal phone due to...... err....(too technical for me). It is prone to chop and intermitant dropouts when surfing on my connection at the same time as talking on the VOIP.
  
• But generally, my wife now chats the leg off the chair without complaint - and she is very techno-dubious.

 

[Ray Brown]

What is making me hungry atm is the dual wi-fi/mobile handsets....use wireless VOIP in areas with wireless and the mobile network everywhere else. Now that will be saving a lot of money

Cheers,

Aceyducey

• Do tell - any more info/links there?

PS: With VOIP providers be a little cautious of companies such as Engin which sell you the ATA box discussed above but lock it to their network. This makes it harder to switch providers if you want to. Best to get your own ATA box which can be used with any provider.

Too right - do your research. I looked at engin, briefly - there was a catch. Check out the links I provided in my original post. They are all independant companies. (I think)