New to VoIP – help/recommendations please!

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SuperHemi

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#141287 7-Mar-2014 11:21

I currently have DSL broadband and traditional landline phone connection at my apartment. However, the apartment building I live in has recently starting offering free DSL broadband connections (50GB per month).

I am planning on taking up the free broadband offer, but I figure that if I can get free broadband, I may as well switch to a VoIP line rather than paying for a traditional homeline.

At the moment I have standard cordless phone, and a basic 1-port DSL modem connected to a 4-port wireless router.

I have a few questions I’m hoping you guys might be able to help me with:

If I switch to VoIP, what new equipment will I need?
- I read that if I buy an ATA, I can use my existing phone for VoIP? Is this likely to be the best option? If so, what brand/model ATA would you recommend?
- Or can I get a new router with ATA built in (my existing wireless router has been playing up recently, so I’d be tempted to go for this option if its a similar price)? Again, recommendations regarding brand/model would be appreciated.
What is the best VoIP provider to use? I’m thinking of signing up to 2talk.
Can I keep my current landline phone number when I switch to VoIP?
Is there anything else I should be aware of be before switching to VoIP?

Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

sidefx

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#1000682 7-Mar-2014 12:15

VoiP quality, performance and reliability will be heavily dependent on your DSL connection. What are the details of this free DSL? who supplies it, is it shared between all flats, etc?

I love my VoiP (2talk with VDSL via snap) but if your DSL connection is not great, you will have a bad experience no matter what VoiP provider\hardware\etc you choose.

EDIT:

In answer to your questions:

1) ATA should be fine if you're happy with your current modem\router. I'm perfectly happy with all in one in the form of a fritzbox
2) 2talk works very well in our house. Only other one I might consider is WxC who I've also heard good things about
3) Yes, just port it over
4) See my answer above - this would be my no.1 concern especially with "free" DSL

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coffeebaron

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#1000705 7-Mar-2014 12:57

If you are new to VoIP, go with WXC Communications. Get a Cisco SPA112.
Quality will depend on the DSL connection though. Do they have a private DSLAM etc. Are they using CG- NAT.

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wongtop

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#1000710 7-Mar-2014 13:04

Or you could consider other non voip options with lower up front costs (but higher ongoing costs than voip) such as Vodafone's home phone wireless at $25/month or if you are on 2degrees add a landline number to you mobile ($20/month on pay monthly or free on the share everything plans at the moment)

robjg63

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#1000717 7-Mar-2014 13:31

I set up a 2talk account a while back.
Just played with it a little - seemed ok.

Last year while travelling I set up their IOS app on an ipad and called home (NZ) from wifi in a hotel in Italy (oh - and Dijon France). Worked faultlessly in both cases - the wifi was just the free hotel wifi and not superfast.
The people I called said it sounded just like an ordinary NZ phone call.

As said above your experience would depend on the quality of the braodband connection - but it doesnt require spectacular quality to work well.

You can set up a 2talk account for free as well if you want to test it - its an 028 number and you get a small amount of credit to try it out. You could port your landline number to 2talk if it tests out ok.

If you have a smartphone (IOS/Android) you could just install the 2talk app on your phone and when you are at home it will use the wifi and when you are out and about use 3G. 2talk also has a call answer facility as I recall.

All pretty flexible.

They have some 'how tos' for some phones here : https://www.2talk.co.nz/support.html if you want a 'phone' permanently hooked up - but you could buy a cheap android phone that ran the 2talk app over wifi and just leave it plugged into a charger at home - might be cheaper than a specialised sip phone.

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SuperHemi

39 posts

Geek

#1006469 15-Mar-2014 22:41

Thanks for the replies.

Not sure about the quality of the free broadband yet. All I know is that it is supplied by Actrix, we get 50GB per month, and need an ADSL modem/router capable of supporting PPPoE to connect. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes once I'm connected.

Can anyone recommend a DSL modem/wireless router with built in ATA? I'd rather have one box that can do everything, instead of three separate devices.

Cheers!

oxnsox

1923 posts

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#1006491 15-Mar-2014 23:39

Netcom NF4V might suit. It supports ADSL/VDSL and has 2 phone ports and NZ support. There it's a thread here somewhere about the unit.

farcus

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#1006511 16-Mar-2014 02:38

I've been using 2talk now for about four years or so without any trouble.
Quality is good and rates are great.
I use a pap2t ATA but this is a pretty old unit now - the newer version (and probably better) is the spa112 from Cisco.

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RunningMan

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#1006550 16-Mar-2014 09:14

SuperHemi: Thanks for the replies.

Not sure about the quality of the free broadband yet. All I know is that it is supplied by Actrix, we get 50GB per month, and need an ADSL modem/router capable of supporting PPPoE to connect. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes once I'm connected.

Can anyone recommend a DSL modem/wireless router with built in ATA? I'd rather have one box that can do everything, instead of three separate devices.

Cheers!

Probably depends which VoIP provider you want to go with. If you are choosing WxC, then going with something they support makes VoIP very easy and reliable.

chevrolux

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#1006574 16-Mar-2014 09:57

SPA112 is the best ATA around IMO. Cheap and very reliable.

It is supported by WxC for VFX and 2Talk also have an auto-provisioning tool for the SPA too.

There is also the SPA122 which has routing abilities too but is seldom ever needed.

SuperHemi

39 posts

Geek

#1006709 16-Mar-2014 13:51

Think I might get a Netcom NF4V - sounds like it suits my needs pretty well (plus it supports VDSL/fibre). I'm guessing it will be easy enough to set up VoIP on this device using either 2talk, iTalk or wxc as the provider?

sbiddle

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#1006713 16-Mar-2014 13:54

Work? It should. You will have to configure everything yourself though since none of these VoIP providers support autoprovisioning of the device.

chevrolux

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#1006722 16-Mar-2014 14:17

The fact you have to ask what device to buy makes me think you may not know too much about VoIP settings.

This is why getting a device that can be auto-provisioned by a VoIP provider would be a very good idea for you. Otherwise your next thread will be 'Can't get my line to register on Device X with Provider Y'.

If you like the Netcomm NF4V thing I would still suggest getting the Cisco SPA112 to ensure your VoIP experience is the best possible.

coffeebaron

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#1006725 16-Mar-2014 14:23

The AudioCode router from WXC Communications could be a good option. That would lock you to their VoIP service only, but if you are new to VoIP, not a bad idea.

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chevrolux

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#1006757 16-Mar-2014 16:11

coffeebaron: The AudioCode router from WXC Communications could be a good option. That would lock you to their VoIP service only, but if you are new to VoIP, not a bad idea.

^^Excellent option!!

Seriously good router.