Switching away from BT to VOIP help with confusion

Louiscar

Hi,

I am paying for a BT line around £22 pm and I actually don't use it that much, mainly now incoming but really  I'm throwing money down the drain.

I have been thinking that a VOIP solution (not BT or Virgin as they as just as expensive seemingly) that allows me to keep my phone number and allows me to use my existing DEC Panasonic cordless phones.

I am however, confused about what I need exactly and how to implement this.

Currently my broadband provider is Virgin on 100Mbs which is good enough. I use and Asus router after setting their hub as a modem only.

Can someone help me untangle the confusion of what I need to buy to achieve the above. I understand Sipgate is a good option but I don't really know how to implement this all.

I do want to save all that wasted money I'm giveing to BT not only because of my low use but also I've had a crackling line they have never been able to fix since 2015 and it drives me mad :-)

[Deleted User]

I use a Fritz!Box as my router which has a built in DECT base station. The Fritz!Box calls out on a VOIP connection set up in the router. I am guessing that your router doesn’t offer this facility?

This link explains what you need to be looking at. It is for a Gigaset phone but you will note that there needs to be a DECT base station which has a LAN wired link to your router.

https://www.gigaset.com/hq_en/cms/voip.html

littleboo

If you want to use existing phones, you will need an ATA, which will have an analogue phone port on one side and ethernet on the the other. You would configure the ATA with your Sipgate account details and plug the DECT base station into the ATA. Alternatively, something like a Gigaset Go Box or  N510 has a DECT base station built in and you could register your handsets to that, and do away with the current DECT base station and the analogue interface. You would need to check on capability with your handsets.
You will need to port the number from BT to your chosen VOIP provider

jon81uk

Why not just take out landline phone service with Virgin? Pretty sure you can get it for basically the same price as broadband only with them

Louiscar

jon81uk said:

Why not just take out landline phone service with Virgin? Pretty sure you can get it for basically the same price as broadband only with them

Nope it's just as expensive as BT if not more! I considered changing to Virgin some time ago and not impressed.

BT's own VOIP which they'll force everyone on to in a few years is just as bad

From what research I've done VOIP can be so much cheaper from other providers and it seems to me that Virgin and BT are just making a  mint over the true costs

Louiscar

littleboo said:

If you want to use existing phones, you will need an ATA, which will have an analogue phone port on one side and ethernet on the the other. You would configure the ATA with your Sipgate account details and plug the DECT base station into the ATA. Alternatively, something like a Gigaset Go Box or  N510 has a DECT base station built in and you could register your handsets to that, and do away with the current DECT base station and the analogue interface. You would need to check on capability with your handsets.
You will need to port the number from BT to your chosen VOIP provider

Hi Littleboo,

Thanks for the reply, the only reason I wanted to use my existing DECT cordless phones is because I have them on 3 extensions and answerphone. I thought it'd be good to be able to keep them simply because they all have their charging stations.

However, I'm not against considering changing to dedicated phones or some other hardware if it's an easier solution.

I'll look at the Gigaset  go box / N510 as I've not heard of these soltuions.

@Dolor

Thanks for the link I'll have a look. The confusion for me  are precisely the variations and options that seem to be available.

I'm kind of trying for one solution that gives me pretty much a landline style phone which gives me the cordless ability to have a couple of handsets around the flat.

jon81uk

Louiscar said:

jon81uk said:

Why not just take out landline phone service with Virgin? Pretty sure you can get it for basically the same price as broadband only with them

Nope it's just as expensive as BT if not more! I considered changing to Virgin some time ago and not impressed.

BT's own VOIP which they'll force everyone on to in a few years is just as bad

From what research I've done VOIP can be so much cheaper from other providers and it seems to me that Virgin and BT are just making a  mint over the true costs

Okay, I’ve just looked again and I was an introduction price that made it look like broadband and phone was the same price as broadband only with Virgin. It is normally £7 different. 

I’m on BT full fibre so have their digital voice but don’t use it. When we joined up there was no difference in price with or without phone, but now it seems to be £5 a month difference. If that becomes the case for me I’ll get rid of the landline as we don’t use it .

[Deleted User]

Are your Panasonic phones DECT-GAP. GAP stands for Generic Access Profile which makes it easy to use the phones with a third-party adapter or Fritz!Box. Have a look at the specs for a Fritz!Box 7530AX which offers FTTP via WAN; Wifi 6; DECT connection for up to 6 phones; VOIP and 5 answering machines. Secondhand 7530s are readily available on a well known buy/sell website.

You can also make and receive VOIP calls on any mobile using an App that connects to a Fritz!Box.

https://youtu.be/U63VDFlPf4k

Louiscar

@[Deleted User],

I'm not sure it's quite a while ago that I bought these KX-TGJ320E I think I'll try to find out if they have the GAP

 I just bought a really good expensive Asus router so I really don't want to change that if possible. I assume the Fritzbox is a router?

I believe there are adaptors that I can get for normal DECT phones or I could always get some other gear.

@Jon81uk

The last time I looked at BT's offering it was almost as much as I'm paying for my landline.

I understand with a provider like Sipgate there are no standing charges to worry about and you can either pay per phone call (not great prices) or pay around a tenner pm for free calls.

I could see myself using this as mainly incoming and not paying a monthly as I only occasionally use BT for outgoing and then I have to deal with crackling / pops and wheezing constantly between March and October because they just can't find the reason (ongoing since 2015) but that's another story. Sipgate will save me a ton of money whichever I choose it's just how to implement it

EDIT:

Just checked with Panasonic that my phones are indeed DECT-GAP. So I guess the easiest path is to get an adaptor unless I can use a Fritz alongside my existing modem but that  might be a bit OTT

matelodave

You dont need to faff around changing routers or your phones - get an ATA like this, plug the phone into the phone orifice and cable the ethernet port to your router lan and then sign up with SIPgate or some other VoIP provider

https://www.amazon.co.uk/voip-phone-adapter/s?k=voip+phone+adapter

have a llok at the SIPgate website to see how to set it all up - https://www.sipgatebasic.co.uk/

Louiscar

matelodave said:

You dont need to faff around changing routers or your phones - get an ATA like this, plug the phone into the phone orifice and cable the ethernet port to your router lan and then sign up with SIPgate or some other VoIP provider

https://www.amazon.co.uk/voip-phone-adapter/s?k=voip+phone+adapter

have a llok at the SIPgate website to see how to set it all up - https://www.sipgatebasic.co.uk/

Brilliant matelodave!!

This is a clear path to getting what I need. Thanks for the heads up. I think this is the way forward for me, much appreciated.