[WXC/VFX] Xnet Questions

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AllNightNerding

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#15057 1-Aug-2007 21:42

I am thinking of making the change to xnet but jut a coupel of questions.

for every phone in the house will we have to buy one of those phone adapter thingys or could we somehow jury rig a system so that we only need one or something like that.

are local calls included in the base plan fee??

Oblivian

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#80801 1-Aug-2007 21:53

Not sure on the plan specifics, but filters are required wherever phones are used. The raw unfiltered signal is destined for your router.

Niel

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#80806 1-Aug-2007 22:16

Line filters:
With any ISP when you switch to broadband you have to get line filters for every phone/fax/sky you have. The line filter simply removes the ADSL signal and pass only the normal phone signal through. An alternative, which is required if you have a monitored alarm system which is hard wired into your phone line or if you have more than 5 extensions in your home, is to pay the "wiring charge" which is I think $150 and for that they will install a single high quality filter filter (called a central filter) which gives you one socket in your house for your ADSL connection and all the other sockets in your house can be used without individual line filters. In my books, this is the best option if you are willing to pay that much or if the wiring in your home is more than 10 years old (which is lower quality wiring).

Local calling:
Not sure what you mean. They do not provide a phone line rental service. At the moment you have to pay Telecom (or Telstra Clear or a few other companies) for your normal phone line rental which includes free local calling. If you get ADSL, then the ISP will charge you the cost of the ADSL service but you still keep on paying Telecom (or who ever) for the phone line rental.

Perhaps you are mixed up with the VFX VoBB service. This is a phone service over broadband and works similar to Skype and many other products, but with much better quality and reliability. You also get a local phone number assigned, have free local calling, voice mail, and a string of other services (with Telecom you pay a lot extra for these services, but with VFX it is included). But to get VFX you need a special box that plugs into your ADSL modem (between your PC and modem, or a special modem with extra phone ports). Your PC is not used for the service, you do not even need a PC. It is completely stand alone, except for needing a broadband connection.

Within a few month (September for new Telecom connections, December for everyone else including existing connections) you can get only broadband without paying Telecom for the phone line rental. Pricing will be slightly different than what it is now, but that is a whole different discussion.

You can never have enough Volvos!

jpollock

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#80807 1-Aug-2007 22:17

I assume you're talking about VFX, the VoIP plan, and not ADSL since you are talking about local calling areas.

For information on how to wire up your existing phones into the VoIP terminal adapter, have a look at this comment:

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=44&TopicId=14884&page_no=1#79680

Engadget has good guide:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/20/how-to-wiring-voip-to-your-phone-jacks

Vonage seems to have a rather large wiring document too:
http://www.vonage-forum.com/home-wiring-installation-guide.html

I didn't do it that way myself, but it looks like it should work. You may have to revise that if you are going to use VFX on top of DSL... Don't snip the wire from the street if you are using ADSL! :)

As for local calling, from what I understand, you get the same local calling area that Telecom provides. Don't take my word for it though, I'm not a WorldXChange employee. :)

---
http://blog.jason.pollock.ca

grant_k

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#80817 1-Aug-2007 22:42

jpollock: As for local calling, from what I understand, you get the same local calling area that Telecom provides. Don't take my word for it though, I'm not a WorldXChange employee. :)

Yes, that's correct. WxC has interconnects in the various Local Calling Areas which it supports. These are identical to the Telecom-designated local calling areas.

WxC has unusual-looking numbers, and people often ask: "Where on earth is that?" but they are nevertheless local numbers within each Telecom Local Calling Area.

For more details, refer to the NAD document, or the list of active areas published a few months ago by Maverick. A quick dig through the WxC forum will find the latter, and if you want the NAD document, it's on M-Com's web site.