Voip help! Please!

daleuk_3

Right, I dont know much about the technology. Heres the situation:

Parents currently have a Telewest phone line.
I have convinced them to get broadband for £10 a month + £25 install charge.

I wondered if I should have them cancel the telephone line, keep broadband (as you can now do with telewest) and make use of VOIP? (do telewest have a 12 month contract?? I cannot find details on their website?). They mainy use the phone in the evenings and weekends, often calling mobiles. They would prefer to continue to be able to use a normal style handset (which can be corded). But they wouldnt like the PC on all the time.

They would also like a geograhical telephone number, preferably 01226.

What options do they have? What equipment would they need?

All help appreciated.

daleuk_3

We dont have any equipment at the moment, but should get a free cable usb modem? Will that do. Then use something like the D-Link VTA from Vonage?

I have looked at Vonage, they seem to provide a local number for people to call. They also supply the a phone adapter so our existing telephone can be used. And the voip piece of equipment free after a rebate. Landline calls in the UK are free. Mobile and international calls dont seem much cheaper. Costing £7.99 a month + £9.99 line activation + £5.99 virtual number.

Cheaper are Voipcheap and Voipstunt. No monthly fees as such, top up with credit for mobile calls and landline are then free. But they dont offer hardware or the virtual number?

Any advice?

Reluctant_spender

It might be worth considering this;

VoIP services are still relatively new, and it is not clear how these services and technology will develop in the future. Although these new services may bring more choice and lower prices, consumers need know what they are buying.
Some VoIP services might ‘look and feel’ like traditional telephone services but may not offer (in the same way or to the same standard) the features consumers have come to expect from their home telephone service.
If you’re considering VoIP, ask the provider to explain what their service can and can’t do, before you sign up. Here are some things to check on:

• Check whether the VoIP provider offers access to the emergency services i.e. 999 calls;
• Does the VoIP service depend on your power supply? Ask the provider if they offer back up power in case of power cuts;
• Find out what happens if there’s a problem with your broadband connection – will the VoIP provider offer back up via a traditional telephone connection?
• If you call the emergency services will they automatically know where you are calling from?
• Ask about other features like directory assistance, directory listings and access to the operator. Don’t assume that these are on offer;
• Establish whether you’ll be able to keep your telephone number if you decide to switch to another provider in the future.

Ofcom is currently consulting on how VoIP services should be regulated. Ofcom plans to introduce a mandatory industry code which sets out information that service providers must offer customers to make them fully aware of what VoIP services can and can’t do.
In particular, if reliable 999 access is not available, Ofcom proposes that all providers must seek positive acknowledgement from their customers and make labels available stating that emergency calls cannot be made and recommend that customers fix these labels on their equipment.

daleuk_3

Thanks for that info. Esp concerned regarding the power supply and 999 calls.

BexTech

In all the years we had Telewest cable, if there was a street or area power-cut then the TW phoneline went down too.

Still (as we are VoIP only) with we have a house mains failure then we would lose the phone system, but we've never had just the house mains failing only the whole street / area.

The modem TW supply does have a USB port, but I'd advise not to use USB and install all the crap they give you, just use the Ethernet port on the cable modem instead.

I use VoIPStunt on a Linksys PAP2 ATA which is connected to my router which is connected to the cable modem, to this I have my house phones connected, this means I can make and receive calls without the need of the PC being on. I joined VoIPStunt when they offered an incoming number.

There is a way of setting up an 01 or 02 number to work with VoIPStunt, but discussion of this would need to be done via PM.

I also started with VoIP from near the begining so had 15+ months of completely free calling all for €6 (Six Euro). I haven't had a landline for over 18 months now, and just use VoIP.