Skype types

Wig

I'm with NTL currently all my calls go through 1899 and I have broadband 1mb for a rediculous £18 / mth but I am also getting my £10.50 line rental refunded as part of a deal I struck so all I pay NTL is £18 / mth, but the deal comes to an end this month or next month, I will have to phone up to find out when exactly.

I am considering what to do next. I'd like to keep internet access, so I will have to ask them to reduce my INTERNET charge to something like £9.99 so that I can cancel completely my line rental and move all my calls to the internet & mobile payg.

I don't like the idea of having to leave the computer on 24/7 hence the mobile payg is a backup for people trying to contact me.

For me to make calls, I will have to have an internet phone.

Tesco internet phone gives you a landline number free so people can phone you (as long as your computer is on) and outgoing calls are charged at 2p minute which is expensive but apparently no connection fee.

Skype as far as I can see will not give you a landline number so people can't call you from a UK landline (wait for it) and they will charge you 1.2p per minute....and I think they have used some word-trickery about VAT, and I think the actual Skype rate is 1.35 pence/min

In order to get a landline number for your Skype you have to "subscribe" (read line-rental here) which is £20.71 per year or £6.90 per quarter +VAT???

So can I have your thoughts and ideas please, I can't continue to pay ntl for line rental because I hardly ever use the phone, for the last year I've been tied up with this broadband offer which as I said they deducted from the line rental NOT the broadband price :mad: !!! So now it is time to lose the NTL line rental.

And your suggestions on how to tell NTL that I want a reduction on my broadband whilst at the same time (or just after) I will be cancelling my line rental....they aint going to like that! I also just realised that there is a cancellation period on line rental, I think they will ask for either 1 month or 2 months notice, which is rediculous!

As far as internet phones are concerned is Tesco the best deal? (seeing as you get a landline number free.)

mrnomoneybags

You could get a proper IP phone so your computer doesnt need to be on.

paul_h

Wig wrote:

In order to get a landline number for your Skype you have to "subscribe" (read line-rental here) which is £20.71 per year or £6.90 per quarter +VAT???

You can get a free incoming number with https://www.sipgate.co.uk

Most (if not all) exchange codes in the UK are available.

It is possible to configure most analogue telephone adapters (such as the LinkSys PAP2) for more than one service, i.e. use sipgate for incoming and a different VOIP service for outgoing calls...

BarGin

You could get Freetalk for £6.99 a month which includes a local geographic number and all your calls to 01 and 02 numbers.

http://www.freetalk.co.uk/

BarGin

bunking_off

My usual comment to people contemplating getting rid of their standard telephony line : not to discourage you from doing it, but make sure your mobile is fully charged and you know where it is. I'll give you the facts, you can draw your own conclusions about whether it concerns you either way.

Voice telephone lines are engineered to a different level of reliability compared to internet access. 999 access may be available from your internet telephony service, but it will not be to the same level of reliability as standard telephone service....on normal telephony, 999 is given priority routing over normal calls, provides detailed location information should you be unfortunate enough to make a silent call, and has measures to keep the line open even should you (or an intruder into your house) put the phone down mid call. You shouldn't rely on an internet telephony service to help you in emergency situations...if there's a fire in your home, you could lose power and be unable to summon assistance.

You make your own judgement on the probability of these things versus the cost savings. I do know the Home Office/emergency services are concerned about the issues that could arise in such situations. Since only cable companies allow you to have solely internet access, there isn't much prevalence of it over here, but in the USA regretably there have been fatalities due to 911 not working properly on internet phones. By all means go ahead with your plan, just make sure your mobile is charged up and you know exactly where it is.

ioscorpio

BT internet phone for £5.99

http://www.shop.bt.com/invt/ccm142