Tesco VOIP

wavelength_2

One of the main reasons I tried Tesco VoIP was because their 08 tariffs were the same as BTs (peak rate anyway) and much cheaper than Skype. Oh well, the search for value phone calls, without line rental charge continues!

Garetha

BexTech wrote:

I don't have a landline so have to rely on VoIP

So how do you connect to the internet? :think:

Heinz

Cable?..........

BexTech

Correct, I have cable broadband, this doesn't use a phone line, it uses a co-ax connection, like cable TV, so I dumped my BT landline when I had tested VoIP over cable broadband for a few months and was happy with it.

Lady_K

Can you definitely use tesco internet phone through skype? Has anyone tested this?

I'd use it just for talking to my daughter in student accom where there is no landline I'm on win98 though and she is win xp whats the quality like?

wavelength_2

I don't have a Tesco phone, but I found the following comment on avforums.com:

"This tells me that the handset in the tesco packs are indeed standard rebadged USR 9600 handsets and work fine with other VoIP handset devices such as Skype once the SkypeMate software is installed."

So a definite maybe!

Hope it helps a bit.

mk-donald

There are now TWO Tesco VoiP handsets in Tescos - well there were on Friday evening in Milton Keynes Extra Kingston.

The original/first one that was reduced to £14.99 until close of play today (with a further £5 off coupon that was circulated in free papers here), and a fresh one selling alongside it at £19.99 that is a bit more 'designed', is in black and has some form of cradle included in the box. I didn't have my glasses so didn't study it in detail just noticed they've added a fresh one. Both had £5 call credit stickers on them.

The first/original one looks identical to the Yealink USB-P1K
see http://www.yealink.com/en/newest.asp
and it like the other Yealink phones seems to have built in drivers
and that website offers download 'connectors' to integrate most of their handsets/devices with Skype, MSN Messenger, the VoipCheap/Finerea crowd etc.

I've used their USB-P4K and USB-B2K (sold by many firms as if their own!) with the VoipBusterMate connection software very successfully - mostly for calls to/from Italy over VoipBuster/InternetCalls/VoipCheap [all clones of each other with different price patterns/freebies] and quality generally very impressive, but sometimes poor with echo.

Hope this helps.

Lady_K

My daughter got a tesco internet phone and rang my landline on it. The quality was not very good with a lot of interference and breaking up. Is this likely to stay that way? I'm going to get one myself is the quality better from tesco phone to tesco phone rather than tesco to landline?

BexTech

Lady_K wrote:

My daughter got a tesco internet phone and rang my landline on it. The quality was not very good with a lot of interference and breaking up. Is this likely to stay that way? I'm going to get one myself is the quality better from tesco phone to tesco phone rather than tesco to landline?

The breaking up is often down to the broadband connection. The upload bandwidth is a lot lower than the download bandwidth, so if the PC is busy on the internet then it is quite easy for the call to break up, whilst to the person using the VoIP service the call could well sound fine, but to the person on the standard phone the call could break up. If both are using VoIP then both up and down traffic could break up. This added to the fact USB phones are mostly terrible at the best of times, as USB is ropey and could be the cause of the sound breakup.

I rarely have problems, only when I forget to put my BitTorrent client on pause whilst chatting, as although I can here fine, my voice is breaking up the other end, but that's only when I forget.

If you have a microphone and speakers/headphones, I'd give https://www.VoIPStunt.com a try, you can use USB phones with the service, but as said they aren't great.

I use VoIP Stunt and Sipgate with an ATA, and the call quality is excellent, unless I forget to switch off the BitTorrents.

Lady_K

Thanx the problem is though shes at uni with no landline so now she has a tecsco phone really its that one I'll need to get as the calls wont be free otherwise. I just wondered if tesco to tesco would be better than tesco to landline or if anyone had any tips for improving quality