Residential VOIP Providers in NZ

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networkn

Networkn
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#95675 10-Jan-2012 14:57

Hi There!

Who are offering VOIP Packages in NZ presently? Currently I know about:

2Talk (Cheap and HORRIBLE Customer Service in my opinion, but feature rich and CHEAP)
Conversant (Cheap Mobile Calls, no bundled minutes with plans, much better customer service, $50 setup fee!)
VFX (Moderately expensive (Mobile calls at least), reportedly better service
Kiwilink (Cheaper End of the market, can't speak to service levels as no experience or reports)

Any others worth mention?

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#566977 10-Jan-2012 16:11

Slingshot (CallPlus) iTalk. Slightly cheaper than Xnet VFX but much worse customer service (from my friend's experience).

Petercarlos

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#568107 12-Jan-2012 20:46

You can check with therealpbx.com. They provide services all across the globe including NewZealand. I am availing their services and till now happy with it. It is comparatively less costly as well as their support is good. They offer a lot of features which seems advanced to me. You may check with them as they provide services with charge free Evaluation period.

networkn

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#568113 12-Jan-2012 20:56

Thanks Peter, but the pricing is way outside of what's available locally.

semigeek

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#568114 12-Jan-2012 20:57

There is Orcon Genius $75 a month
http://www.orcon.net.nz/external/genius/campaigns_landing_genius.php

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#568129 12-Jan-2012 21:53

networkn: ...
Kiwilink (Cheaper End of the market, can't speak to service levels as no experience or reports)

I used Kiwilink at our Auckland house for most of 2009 and once I got things setup, it worked OK. Call quality was not as good as Xnet's VFX, which I have been using at our farm for over 5 years now. Kiwilink's website is just a wrapper around 2Talk's platform, but they do add some value in extra service, which is much needed, as 2Talk offer none whatsoever.

The only significant price difference between VFX and 2Talk/Kiwilink is with their mobile calls. VFX are 28c per minute, and the others were 24c or 25c last time I checked.

TBH, this small saving is not worth it for a vastly inferior product. Xnet really do support their customers exceedingly well. I installed a new VoIP router this week, and their tech. support guys had me changed over in just a couple of minutes! That's what I call service

freitasm

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#568135 12-Jan-2012 22:07

grant_k: The only significant price difference between VFX and 2Talk/Kiwilink is with their mobile calls. VFX are 28c per minute, and the others were 24c or 25c last time I checked.

If someone is overlooking VFX to save 3c to 4c on a mobile call, without having the full customer service it comes with it...

techmeister

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#568143 12-Jan-2012 22:41

Would just like to point out that with the bundle deals the prices are much cheaper than quoted here for 2talk, mobile calls end up about 10c a minute.
2talks customer service has improved, they have auto provisioning on some devices, and their + platform promises more reliability and much more features.
If you get 2talk through one of their agents they will provide support.

You can use lots of overseas ITSP as well, but not sure the price or quality would be any better.
If ITSP support is a must for you then VFX may be the best way to go.

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networkn

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#568150 12-Jan-2012 23:01

techmeister: Would just like to point out that with the bundle deals the prices are much cheaper than quoted here for 2talk, mobile calls end up about 10c a minute.
2talks customer service has improved, they have auto provisioning on some devices, and their + platform promises more reliability and much more features.
If you get 2talk through one of their agents they will provide support.

You can use lots of overseas ITSP as well, but not sure the price or quality would be any better.
If ITSP support is a must for you then VFX may be the best way to go.

When someone (2Talk) is offering voice services (A generally considered fairly important service) and they take 1-4 days to respond to a ticket and have no technical support via phone of which to speak, I don't consider this acceptable. VFX is 10c a minute to mobiles more than Conversant who also have good customer service.

techmeister

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#568152 12-Jan-2012 23:07

networkn:
techmeister: Would just like to point out that with the bundle deals the prices are much cheaper than quoted here for 2talk, mobile calls end up about 10c a minute.
2talks customer service has improved, they have auto provisioning on some devices, and their + platform promises more reliability and much more features.
If you get 2talk through one of their agents they will provide support.

You can use lots of overseas ITSP as well, but not sure the price or quality would be any better.
If ITSP support is a must for you then VFX may be the best way to go.

When someone (2Talk) is offering voice services (A generally considered fairly important service) and they take 1-4 days to respond to a ticket and have no technical support via phone of which to speak, I don't consider this acceptable. VFX is 10c a minute to mobiles more than Conversant who also have good customer service.

As I said if support is important to you then might be better off with VFX or Conversant.
Support is not important to some people because they know what they are doing or have access to someone
that does.

hairy1

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#568190 13-Jan-2012 06:58

As others have said it depends on whether you want on-going support or not. I have been with both VFX and 2talk and at the end of the day it came down to the hardware quality rather than support. I found that all the support in the world didn't fix crap hardware (which was VFX certified by the way).

Getting reliable hardware sorted out more of my issues than on-going support. Once I got 2talk setup I haven't needed their support. I can't recall the last time my 2talk connection went down.

Cheers, Matt.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

techmeister

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#568193 13-Jan-2012 07:47

hairy1: As others have said it depends on whether you want on-going support or not. I have been with both VFX and 2talk and at the end of the day it came down to the hardware quality rather than support. I found that all the support in the world didn't fix crap hardware (which was VFX certified by the way).

Getting reliable hardware sorted out more of my issues than on-going support. Once I got 2talk setup I haven't needed their support. I can't recall the last time my 2talk connection went down.

Cheers, Matt.

Couldn't agree more, may I ask what hardware your using ATM?

hairy1

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#568195 13-Jan-2012 07:56

techmeister:
hairy1: As others have said it depends on whether you want on-going support or not. I have been with both VFX and 2talk and at the end of the day it came down to the hardware quality rather than support. I found that all the support in the world didn't fix crap hardware (which was VFX certified by the way).

Getting reliable hardware sorted out more of my issues than on-going support. Once I got 2talk setup I haven't needed their support. I can't recall the last time my 2talk connection went down.

Cheers, Matt.

Couldn't agree more, may I ask what hardware your using ATM??

I started off with a Linksys WRTP54g and went to a Linksys WRP400. I am now on using a Gigaset S685 IP. I reckon the WRTP had a dodgy power supply that used to spike and the same with the WRP. The WRP is still here using the voice section only for my house alarm. I never figured out which part of the WRP was dropping the connection (the router or the voice) but it appeared the voice section was at fault. I now use an ASUS RT-N16 router for the broadband (PPPOE wireless).

Cheers, Matt.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

andar

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#568231 13-Jan-2012 09:09

My 2 cents worth:

I have been with 2Talk for over 18 months now. I am using a Linksys SPA2102 with normal analogue phones.

I have only needed to contact their support on 2 occasions, the first turned out to be some incorrect settings on my ATA and the second was a billing issue. Both issues were resolved within a week with little fuss and both issues occurred very soon after signing up, since then no issues.

My impression of their support is that it is quite good if you don't mind waiting a day or two for a reply.

The call quality was not as good as a normal POTS line until I recently found that 2Talk now provide an auto provisioning option. Since using this I have not been able to notice any difference in call quality from my POTS line (before anyone asks I have not looked at the setting differences to find out what has changed).

I have been so impressed with the phone I recently ditched my Telecom landline and ported the number to 2Talk, this was a very painless process and now this is my main phone line.

My point is, support is not that important if nothing goes wrong.

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#568258 13-Jan-2012 09:52

techmeister:
hairy1: As others have said it depends on whether you want on-going support or not. I have been with both VFX and 2talk and at the end of the day it came down to the hardware quality rather than support. I found that all the support in the world didn't fix crap hardware (which was VFX certified by the way).

Getting reliable hardware sorted out more of my issues than on-going support. Once I got 2talk setup I haven't needed their support. I can't recall the last time my 2talk connection went down.

Cheers, Matt.

Couldn't agree more, may I ask what hardware your using ATM?

I have been using a Linksys WRTP54G for over 4 years, but this week have replaced it with a Cisco SRP521W. Nothing else has changed, but we noticed a significant improvement in call quality. With the old Linksys router there were brief dropouts in outgoing voice every so often, lasting only a fraction of a second, but sufficient to cause the person at the other end to ask you to repeat numbers or names that were unfamiliar.

With the Cisco, the call quality is as good as a very good landline in an urban area, even though we are in quite a remote area.

All of the LAN ports on the Linksys had also ceased to function at 100Mbits/sec for some reason, but still worked at 10. With the Cisco, we are back at full speed, which is nice. Previously I had thought my PC was to blame, but it turned out to be the Linksys router.

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#568292 13-Jan-2012 10:37

I can vouch for the Cisco SRW series of routers... they are awesome. The call quality is awesome perfect. I have the SRW527 and a Fritz Box 7340, both connected to 2Talk and I have no complaints.

I recommend 2Talk, although I do have a few issues every now and then, but only minor issues.
Like when I call another one of my 2Talk numbers the ringing tone is American, not like our usual NZ ringing tone. I think it must be a setting on the remote side. The remote side is running a Linksys Pap2t, over a Vodafone 3G router with high gain antenna.

IMO, stay away from the Linksys Pap2t if you want superior call quality.

2Talk has an excellent set features like Remote dial tone, which you can use in conjunction with Vodafone's NZ Best Mate and an Android program like Prefixer.

This will allow you to make a dial plan on your android which specifies that all landline etc calls go through 2talk, making them free. Call quality is still perfect, and not subject to VOIP 3G errors because its a normal GSM call.

As far as I'm aware, no other NZ ITSP offer such services?

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