[WXC/VFX] New Customer... advise please?

Forums › Vodafone New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › [WXC/VFX] New Customer... advise please?

Aaroona

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#119233 25-May-2013 12:31

So my mum needs a phone every now and then, but not enough to warrant getting a home line.

I thought "hey, VOIP!"

I just have a few questions; how does the calling charges work? I.e. if I get a CHCH number, does that mean I can call all chch calling regions without being chanced the p/m rate? The website isn't very clear..

Is it easy to set VFX up on an android phone? Is there any extra configuration required?

How quickly does a line get provisioned? I am literally only here for a day, and I want to have it setup befor I leave? (if it cant be done today, I will just say use 2talk)

The signup form online asks for a phone number, does this mean I have to have a previous number, or can it just be a contact number? the website isn't very clear...

RunningMan

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#825178 25-May-2013 12:37

Calls within your local calling area are free. Outside your area is charged from 5c/min.

You'd need OpenVFX to use on an android device. Basic config should be fairly simple.

Fairly sure the number is just a contact number so they can call you before it's up and running.

Aaroona

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#825184 25-May-2013 12:43

RunningMan: Calls within your local calling area are free. Outside your area is charged from 5c/min.

You'd need OpenVFX to use on an android device. Basic config should be fairly simple.

Fairly sure the number is just a contact number so they can call you before it's up and running.

so does that mean that I wont be able to get it setup today?

RunningMan

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#825186 25-May-2013 12:45

No idea sorry, try giving them a call and see...

coffeebaron

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#825190 25-May-2013 12:58

You would definitely need to phone in; but being open VFX, I'm not sure if you would be able to get this provisioned outside of (Mon-Fri) business hours.

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Aaroona

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#825194 25-May-2013 13:06

Thanks for the replies, guys. I will just go with 2talk for now, I think. 2talk can be setup in a matter of minutes, and I found them generally pretty good.

freitasm

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#825198 25-May-2013 13:17

There's a reason VFX comes preconfigured on a router or ATA device: It Just Works (TM).

Open VFX, like 2talk and other solutions needs YOUR expertise to get it going. If you think your mum will be able to fix any problems in a SIP client, fine...

also, I know people like to talk about VoIP in mobile devices. But have you considered how much battery this goes through, the need for constant WiFi or mobile data connections, paying for mobile data if the SIP is active, etc, etc?

Why not just have an ATA device and handset?

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Aaroona

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#825235 25-May-2013 15:18

freitasm: There's a reason VFX comes preconfigured on a router or ATA device: It Just Works (TM).

Open VFX, like 2talk and other solutions needs YOUR expertise to get it going. If you think your mum will be able to fix any problems in a SIP client, fine...

also, I know people like to talk about VoIP in mobile devices. But have you considered how much battery this goes through, the need for constant WiFi or mobile data connections, paying for mobile data if the SIP is active, etc, etc?

Why not just have an ATA device and handset?

Thanks MF.
Well aware of the shortcomings and advantages. The number is going to be used only a few times a month, so the battery etc. isn't a large concern. I've set it up so it only connects etc when wifi is connected, otherwise stays disconnected.
She said she'll keep an eye on the battery on her sIII and see if there's any negative affects.

I've decided to go with 2talk... I hear great things about VFX, but I think I'll just leave that for now and see how she goes with 2talk.

Might look into VFX for myself at home, even if its to just trial.

rwkell

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#829018 31-May-2013 20:19

Did you end up trying this on Android?

I expect you've already put this together. Just a few notes to add to the good points the others have raised.

You can setup both 2Talk and WxC SIP accounts on Android and there are a number of SIP clients. I use CsipSimple on Sony Ericsson (now Sony) phones. Not all Android phones implement sound similarly and some phones have issues getting the SIP client to integrate with the phone's mic, internal speaker and speakerphone. I've found the nightly build of CsipSimple has the most debug features to workaround this on the most popular phones.

The other reason I use CsipSimple is because it's the only free client that I could find last year that supports the G729. This uses about a quarter of the bandwidth of the more common G711a codec and gives higher quality calls over 3G. I recommend you have a phone with a 1GHz processor or faster if you're going to run SIP with G729.

I expect you've done the figures, but another obvious advantage of your Mum running the VoIP line on her Android phone is that she can make and receive calls on the move for the price of the data (from about 5c/min to under 1c/min depending on the data bundle she's using).

I realise you've probably already set this up, I hope the info helps the next person searching.