Categorized | VoIP Q&A

7 Comments For This Post

1. Mr. VoIP Says:
   July 8th, 2009 at 10:49 pm

   I have used Skype for over 3 years now. It works very good for me. My borther in New Mexico and I (in Canada) talk together with Skype often and find its voice quality very good. But for some reason, some other people don’t seem to share our same experience.
   Skypes per/minute rates are not the cheapest. But their Unlimited USA and Canada plan for $2.95/month is a good deal.
   Google Talk works quite good too, for me. But, Google Talk is primarily for PC-to-PC calling for free, similar to Skype’s PC-to-PC calling. Google Talk will work over a Dial-up connection too. So, for some people still stuck on dial-up, that is a viable option. There is a service that connects Google Talk to landlines. It’s called GTalk2voip.com
   Another PC based VoIP solution is Efonica. Their per/minute rates are slightly cheaper than Skype.
   Gizmo5 is a Skype competitor with very similar rates and features.
   For my primary home phone system I use my own configurable Linksys SPA-2102-NA VoIP adapter and configure it to work with pay-as-you-go and BYOD (bring your own device) VoIP services like CallCentric, InPhonex, Les.net, and Voip.ms. But, doing it this way takes a little more technical know how, which doesn’t seem to appeal to most people.

2. mikedami Says:
   July 8th, 2009 at 11:51 pm

   It depends on what you use it for, how it connects to the internet, how much are you willing to pay, and if you want it to work with all the phones in your house
   If you just want to have a voice chat, and you just want to have it computer to computer, then Skype will work fine for that, but Skype is more of a VoIP voice messenger then it is a VoIP phone providor, even thought it does have VoIP phone features, and you can call cell phones and landlines, you have to do all the talking through a computer microphone, and listen through your computer speakers (or use one of those computer headsets), or you can get one of those third party USB to RJ-11 adapters to connect a phone to, but the directions to set it up are very vague, and they don’t discuss how to connect it to a landline network (though it is as easy as just connecting the adapter to the wall, after disconnecting the NID first), also, it’s not really a reliable phone connection, so calls can drop due to computer problems or internet access problems, also, the computer and Skype must be running all the time in order to make and recieve calls, and the settings on the computer may be difficult to configure
   If you want phone calls for a really cheap price, you can get a Magic Jack, and based on what I have heard by some people, it is plug and play, and all the drivers are included on the adapter itself (I am not sure about that, as I have never used one), they don’t tell you how to connect it to all the phones around you house, and they usually say you have to connect a phone directly to the Magic Jack, but all you have to do is disconnect your NID (just disconnect the phone jack thing in the box), then connect the Magic Jack to the closest available wall jack (if there is a phone connected to the wall jack, you can get a phone jack splitter so you can connect both), then all your phones should have a dial tone, I have heard some complaints about Magic Jack, but I think most complaints came from people that didn’t know what they were doing, and did something wrong, you do need to keep your computer on in order to make and recieve calls, and you may need to keep a program running, I am not sure though as I am not 100% sure how they work, I think that the Magic Jack is around $40 for the hardware and second year of service (you get the hardware free for a year and you get 1 free year of service, and it’s $20 a year after that)
   Power Phone, Google Phone, and all other services like that should work like Skype or Magic jack, as you will need a computer, run their given software, and need uninterrupted broadband internet access, the following takes the stress off the computer, and simply connects into your router, before your router, or is part of your broadband modem
   If you want a VoIP service that is easy to set up on your own, connects to your router or broadband modem to take the stress off the computer, and gives you a bunch of features, you can get Vonage, you can either set it up yourself or have somebody set it up for you, you can either connect it directly to your router and get service (if you have a router), or you can connect it directly to your modem, then connect your computer or router into it, then you can go disconnect from the NID and connect the Vonage box directly to the wall, and unlike the VoIP services above, they actually explain how to connect it to every phone in your house, if you have it installed for you, be careful, as some Vonage installers may force a useless expensive box on you, saying you need it to work with all the phones in your house, but they just make more money off of it, and should only be used for switching from a landline service to a VoIP service (and they SHOULD offer it for free)
   If you have cable, you might want to ask them about their VoIP/Digital Phone Service, then you can get features you can’t get with the other companies, like Caller ID on TV (requires Digital Cable service and compatible Set Top Box), it depends on your cable company, but some will allow you to install it yourself if you order the service and go in person to pick up the modem, and you install it like all the others, you connect your cable line to the back of the modem (this offers both VoIP service and internet access), disconnect your NID connect a phone line from the Line 1 jack to the wall jack, if you have service, you should hear a dial tone on the other lines, your cable company can come out and set it up for you, and unlike Vonage, they only give you one of those landline to VoIP conversion boxes if you are still using a different phone service, and they offer them for free, otherwise, they will either just connect it to a spare phone jack, or add a jack off an existing one to connect to (at least in my experience)
   EDIT: RICH is right to an extent, if the power goes out, or if you lose your cable/internet connection, your VoIP service will drop out, but if you have Vonage or Digital Phone from your cable company, some cable companies offer a VoIP modem with a battery backup, or if you use Vonage, as long as you connect your broadband modem, your Vonage adapter, and your router (depends how you have Vonage connected, if Vonage is connected between your modem and your router/computer, you don’t need the router powered, if you have Vonage connected to one of the ports 1 through 4, you need the router powered) connected to a UPS, then during a power outage, the UPS will supply power to the modem, the vonage box, and (if required) the router, so if you use a typical wired telephone, or use a UPS for your powered phone/phone base, you can make and receive calls during a power outage

3. Jerv Says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 5:09 am

   No definitely Skype is not the best provider out there.
   1. They’re expensive to half of voip providers around.
   2. They use their own Skype phone and protocol, such disadvantage.
   3. Quality for calling a landline and mobile is not that good.
   I personally use Onesuite.com for my voip calls and its cheaper than Skype and I can use ATA device or any IP phones in the market.

4. RICH Says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 8:52 am

   ANY VOIP can have it’s moments, outages, whatever. Your computer must be on, if you lose power or cable internet, you lose your phone.!! With a landline, you can use a wired phone and still make calls, even with a power failure.!!

5. Hernz V Says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 10:33 am

   No not Skype. It always depends on your calling habits. Some providers will work better on some people, some don’t. By the way, what is Google Phone? The only Google Phone I know is the one with T-Mobile, its a windows based mobile phone and not a voip service.

6. Anonymous Says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 2:39 pm

   I have used Vonage for the last year and a half and really love it. Very few lost calls, good reception, voicemail works great.
   Can’t say anything about the other services because I’ve never used them.
   Good luck in your search.

7. Haris Says:
   July 9th, 2009 at 9:17 pm

   Try SMSDiscount.com, VoIPRaider.com, Nonoh.net instead! Best, cheapest of the lot!