Do I really need a landline?

whatsitallabout_2

I want to get rid of my landline as it is rarely used and expensive.

My thoughts;

1. Assuming I move to using saynoto0870 I could in theory call from the mobile phones. (all on cheap as chips contracts)
2. If I got rid of the landline, I could then reduce my spend but I would lose the broadband
3. I could boost my mobile signal using vodafone sure signal (£50) - I am with vodafone for home and work but have a poor signal in the house

Questions;
1. Am I better to keep the landline
2. Will vodafone sure signal work without landline broadband or will it work with mobile b/b

Appreciate your help.

Firefly

Looking forward to the replies on this one having just received a bill for the 12 calls I made with BT last quarter.

Cant' do without proper BB though.

Mark_In_Hampshire

Where we live we have Vodafone mobiles. The signal is poor.

We can get ADSL. However it only runs at 1.7Mbps.

We can however get Three 3G which runs at between 2.3Mbps and 2.7Mbps

No need for the 0870 bypass thing as such and using your mobile - install Skype on your PC or sign up for a Sipgate landline number (sipgate.co.uk)

Skype = free calls to landlines, 14.4ppm to mobiles
Sipgate = 5.90 for 1000 minutes to landlines, 9.9ppm to mobiles

You get to drop the landline, in our case speed up the broadband, and retain an inbound landline number with voicemail.

All of this of course depends on you being able to get a decent 3G service - however as the above shows, just because coverage from one network is poor doesn't mean they all will be.

Next step is to get rid of the Vodafone mobiles and get Three ones.

MarkLS12

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

We can however get Three 3G which runs at between 2.3Mbps and 2.7Mbps

....

Sipgate = 5.90 for 1000 minutes to landlines, 9.9ppm to mobiles

Do you use Sipgate over the Three 3G connection?
I would have thought it would not work very well as I thought that response times over 3G would be too slow for it to work properly.

I use Sipgate as my only landline and find it great, I have Virgin Media Broadband (no TV or Phone).

MarkLS12

whatsitallabout wrote: »

3. I could boost my mobile signal using vodafone sure signal (£50) - I am with vodafone for home and work but have a poor signal in the house

Questions;
1. Am I better to keep the landline
2. Will vodafone sure signal work without landline broadband or will it work with mobile b/b
.

I don't think using Sure Signal with mobile broadband is a good idea. You are paying twice for the same bandwith.
Mobile broadband needs a strong 3G signal, if you can get a strong 3G signal at your location, you would better off just moving to that network.

lemontart

forgive me for being dim but is it possible to have broadband with out home phone service?

MarkLS12

lemontart wrote: »

forgive me for being dim but is it possible to have broadband with out home phone service?

You can have cable broadband (Virgin Media) without a phone as it uses the TV cable rather than a phone line.
Broadband via a normal (BT) telephone line requires you have the "voice" service too.

Mark_In_Hampshire

Yes, both Sipgate and Skype work perfectly on our 3G connection - it is 4/5 bar however (full strength).

Yes, you can have broadband without a phone line. Switching from ADSL to 3G speeded up our broadband by 50% but that won't be the case for everyone. It depends on so many factors.

You can always pick up a "3G starter pack" from 3 and take it back if it doesn't work for you (I think, check first!) as long as you do that quickly.

You can't however "take ADSL back" as it were, so if it's dog slow, you're stuck with it to the end of the contract, along with the phone line.

Mark_In_Hampshire

One point to note:

Skype, being free (for the most part - I think we pay a couple of quid a month for the unlimited service) stores voicemail on your local PC.

This means the PC has to actually be switched on and connected for that to work.

I haven't tried that aspect of Sipgate yet, but since it appears you can dial in and pick up voicemail remotely if I read it right, it must be stored at the server end, and is therefore a better landline replacement if you want voice mail.

MarkLS12

The voicemail on Sipgate is great, it is stored on the Sipgate servers.
You can dial in to pick up your voicemails, but you can also
automaticaly get an email each time you are left a voicemail.
The email includes the phone number of the caller and you have have the voicemail attached as an audio file (.wav).
You can also log in to your Sipgate account on the web and listen to you voicemails there.
All the above are free.

You can pay 9p per message to get text notifications too.

lemontart

is 3g compatable with ps3 as my daughter has one and this is stumbling block at the moment