Ditching the homeline, going naked

✨ Quic broadband | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | GoodSync | Free white papers

Welcome Guest.

You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.

Forums › VoIP › Ditching the homeline, going naked

turb

881 posts

Ultimate Geek

#148496 21-Jun-2014 05:42

Send private message

I'd like to save $20 per month by switching to naked broadband. I don't have any monitored alarms or SkyTV. We all have smart phones.

I have elderly relatives in the UK that can't cope with Skype, so I need a NZ number.

I'm looking at getting a Skype number for them/others to call. These are 10 GBP for 3 months or 30 GBP for a year. (A NZ number, because a UK one would reaaalllly confuse them!)

Can anyone see any pitfalls in doing this? Any WAF issues?

or better/cheaper ways of doing the same thing?

Interests: HTPC, Web App authoring.

1 | 2

oxnsox

1923 posts

Uber Geek

#1071415 21-Jun-2014 08:16

Send private message

If you look a a local provider like 2talk you can get a local (NZ) number which you access on your smart fone thru their app.
Give the number to relatives and it solves that side of your issue. You use it to call them for a few cents per min.
A bit of Google time should show you a few options

kiwiharry

1030 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Subscriber

#1071449 21-Jun-2014 09:37

Send private message

I have switched to naked broadband about 1 month ago but ported my home number to 2Talk on their $10 VOIP plan.

Calls to the UK are included in the plan which gives you 250 minutes national and international calling.

If you can't laugh at yourself then you probably shouldn't laugh at others.

turb

881 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1071459 21-Jun-2014 09:52

Send private message

kiwiharry: I have switched to naked broadband about 1 month ago but ported my home number to 2Talk on their $10 VOIP plan.

Calls to the UK are included in the plan which gives you 250 minutes national and international calling.

Thanks for the info.

I was reading the number-porting process on the 2talk website just now. It's not entirely straightforward - did it run smoothly for you?

Interests: HTPC, Web App authoring.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79314 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#1071460 21-Jun-2014 09:58

Send private message

If you don't need a smartphone app you can port the number to WxC VFX - I have a VFX number on my Vodafone cable and my parents-in-law use a VFX number on their WXC DSL.

The advantage here is that you can use one of their pre-configured adapter or router, plug a standard phone set (cordless or not) and you have the same functionality as a landline without the cost.

Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSync

fishb8

85 posts

Master Geek

#1074926 26-Jun-2014 12:13

Send private message

I have changed ISP - gone from Xnet to Wireless nation and also ditched my Telecom line and gone naked. Changed to VDSL.

Some things I never knew beforehand - that I would have to add local dialling code(07) for local calls ans also need another cordless phone for upstairs - got the base set + 1 other..mmmm...takes a bit of cash to get going...modem, porting!!

My 20 GB + line rental will cost $110.
Previously with Telecom = $58/month and Xnet - $67/month for 30 GB and 7.8 Mbps/128 now get 39mbps on LAN and 9 up
Even on upstairs desktop (modem downstairs) get 20 Mbps down!

I upgraded the firmware on my previous ADSL modem (DSL-2870B) to get the VDSL service but ended up buying the modem off W Nation - an Innbox V-50U - at least it's fibre ready when fibre geto to us next year.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1074932 26-Jun-2014 12:26

Send private message

Whether you would need to dial an area code would depend entirely on the VoIP provider and how well they have their network configured.

That's not a particularly cheap price for residential though, it would have been cheaper to stay on Telecom VDSL2 with a landline.

Coil

6614 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1074933 26-Jun-2014 12:28

Send private message

Get a UK number on skype so they can dial it toll free. Its cheap too

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

turb

881 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1074984 26-Jun-2014 13:22

Send private message

TimA: Get a UK number on skype so they can dial it toll free. Its cheap too

Yea I looked at that but by the time we have an NZ number too it starts to add up. Much as I love them, I don't want to totally subsidise them!

Interests: HTPC, Web App authoring.

turb

881 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1074985 26-Jun-2014 13:23

Send private message

freitasm: If you don't need a smartphone app you can port the number to WxC VFX - I have a VFX number on my Vodafone cable and my parents-in-law use a VFX number on their WXC DSL.

The advantage here is that you can use one of their pre-configured adapter or router, plug a standard phone set (cordless or not) and you have the same functionality as a landline without the cost.

Not sure what hardware I'd need but it all seemed quite pricey upfront if I'm doing it to save money.

Interests: HTPC, Web App authoring.

timmmay

20591 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1074990 26-Jun-2014 13:31

Send private message

Snap included VoIP free with their packages, it works fine. Don't forget some kind of UPS if you want a phone during a power cut or emergency - I'm going to make a DC UPS when I get around to it, probably always charging but manually switched on so it doesn't drain when not required.

networkn

Networkn
32364 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1075062 26-Jun-2014 15:18

Send private message

freitasm: If you don't need a smartphone app you can port the number to WxC VFX - I have a VFX number on my Vodafone cable and my parents-in-law use a VFX number on their WXC DSL.

The advantage here is that you can use one of their pre-configured adapter or router, plug a standard phone set (cordless or not) and you have the same functionality as a landline without the cost.

I don't get the thing about the cost:

Naked Internet Connections cost $15-25 more than bundled, $10-15 for a Voip Connection, then you miss out on all the big telcos $2 capped calling and other such benefits like being with 1 provider for everything and calls being zero rated to cellphones.

Switching at home saved us MAYBE a few dollars a month and with the time spent and costs of buying ATA's and mucking around when the voip stuff doesn't work, we would have been better on pots.

SumnerBoy

2076 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1075067 26-Jun-2014 15:28

Send private message

I tend to agree with networkn. The cost savings are pretty minimal. The 250 national and UK/OZ minutes with 2Talk is great, but to be honest we hardly ever call overseas.

The big positive for me in switching to Naked + VOIP is all the cool stuff you can do with home automation! Using Freeswitch as my VOIP switch I can do all sorts of clever stuff;

* Pause XBMC when an incoming call arrives and display the caller on the TV, and resume XBMC when the call ends
* Silence my phones when I am not at home - so people snooping around outside don't hear an unanswered phone ringing out (read this on a site with a list of tips to prevent breakins)
* Incoming calls ring my mobile as well as the house phone. Since I always have my mobile on me I can answer calls to the home phone anywhere in the house without having to rush to the nearest phone
* I have a SIP client on my work PC (I work from home). This means I can easily make/receive calls using my USB headset for hands free calling etc.
* Receive an email with an MP3 of any voice mails

There are a few things on my todo list as well, like have a different voicemail message for work hours. So calls between 8am - 5pm get a business message and anything else gets our personal greeting. Should be pretty easy with Freeswitch - just haven't gotten around to it.

Very cool stuff and simply not possible with a standard POTS.

Regs

4066 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Snowflake

#1075303 26-Jun-2014 22:52

Send private message

I switched to naked, and paid extra $20 per month to have the home number on my wife's mobile phone. me not having to take phone calls anymore is a win no matter how much or little the savings are :-)

Sales Engineer
Snowflake
www.snowflake.com

about.me/nzregs
Twitter: @nzregs

networkn

Networkn
32364 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1075311 26-Jun-2014 23:01

Send private message

SumnerBoy: I tend to agree with networkn. The cost savings are pretty minimal. The 250 national and UK/OZ minutes with 2Talk is great, but to be honest we hardly ever call overseas.

The big positive for me in switching to Naked + VOIP is all the cool stuff you can do with home automation! Using Freeswitch as my VOIP switch I can do all sorts of clever stuff;

* Pause XBMC when an incoming call arrives and display the caller on the TV, and resume XBMC when the call ends
* Silence my phones when I am not at home - so people snooping around outside don't hear an unanswered phone ringing out (read this on a site with a list of tips to prevent breakins)
* Incoming calls ring my mobile as well as the house phone. Since I always have my mobile on me I can answer calls to the home phone anywhere in the house without having to rush to the nearest phone
* I have a SIP client on my work PC (I work from home). This means I can easily make/receive calls using my USB headset for hands free calling etc.
* Receive an email with an MP3 of any voice mails

There are a few things on my todo list as well, like have a different voicemail message for work hours. So calls between 8am - 5pm get a business message and anything else gets our personal greeting. Should be pretty easy with Freeswitch - just haven't gotten around to it.

Very cool stuff and simply not possible with a standard POTS.

Very few of these things would appeal to me quite honestly and given the downsides, I wish I hadn't made the change. Never mind, spilt milk and all that.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1075359 27-Jun-2014 07:23

Send private message

With the competition in the residential space driven primarily by Telecom there aren't necessarily any real cost savings using VoIP at the low end of the market than there are with a fixed line. It's more that you can do a lot more with VoIP.

1 | 2

News and reviews »

Gen Threat Report Reveals Rise in Crypto, Sextortion and Tech Support Scams
Posted 7-Aug-2025 13:09

Logitech G and McLaren Racing Sign New, Expanded Multi-Year Partnership
Posted 7-Aug-2025 13:00

A Third of New Zealanders Fall for Online Scams Says Trend Micro
Posted 7-Aug-2025 12:43

OPPO Releases Its Most Stylish and Compact Smartwatch Yet, the Watch X2 Mini.
Posted 7-Aug-2025 12:37

Epson Launches New High-End EH-LS9000B Home Theatre Laser Projector
Posted 7-Aug-2025 12:34

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00

eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07

BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21

eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01

WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32

RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26

Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24

Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01

Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.

Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.

RSS feeds: Main feed; Forums feed
Copyright: ©2002-2025 Geekzone®

Site features: Geekzone BI dashboard; Geekzone Badges; Geekzone Status Page

Affiliate links: Samsung; AliExpress; Wise; Sharesies; GoodSync

Site Information: Subscribe to Geekzone; Privacy Statement; Forum Usage Guidelines (FUG); Advertising; Trademark and copyright