Trial VoIP account - free or dirt cheap

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cjmack

167 posts

Master Geek

#63244 23-Jun-2010 12:22

Hi,

I will be porting my number to a VoIP provider in a few weeks, but before I do that, I want to make sure I have got all of my ATA and router settings correct. (I know some of the settings are specific to the VoIP provider, but I will just have to deal with that when it comes time).

What I am looking for is a free or dirt cheap account so as I can test my hardware before I do the port. Preferably I want to make and receive calls in the Franklin area, or Auckland.

Any suggestions?

AndrewTD

292 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#344511 23-Jun-2010 12:27

You could try 2Talk and their 028 number option. Just sign up for a new pre-pay account with them, load up a small amount of credit, and try it out. There are no ongoing fixed monthly charges when you use one of their 028 numbers - just per minute call costs. And there are no fixed term or termination charges.

kind regards Andrew TD

old3eyes

9119 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#344512 23-Jun-2010 12:30

Just be aware of the inbound calls to the 028 number are charged as mobile calls so don't get too many of your friends to make test calls to you. But the above suggestion is a good one. That's how I got into it. Now have a 2Talk local number + $15 / month with 500 minutes.

Regards,

Old3eyes

cjmack

167 posts

Master Geek

#344515 23-Jun-2010 12:41

Ok thanks guys. I just had a look at their plans. The 500 plan is much the same as the iTalk 500 plan, but costs $5 more. Would there be any advantages/disadvantages between the 2 providers?

AndrewTD

292 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#344531 23-Jun-2010 13:20

My personal preference is for WorldxChange's VFX service. It costs a bit more, is more restrictive and harder to set up (in some respects), but they have a superior VoIP technical support offering. They have really good people that absolutely know their stuff, and they are responsive. They even help people out on the forums here at GZ.

My 2nd choice is 2Talk. Cheap & cheerful. Easy to set-up, and usually works well. Just don't ever expect a technical response from them if you have any difficulties.

I don't recommend ITalk. I used them years ago when they were pretty much the only publicly available SIP offering in NZ. Ended up with several bouts of rubbish call quality (this was ages ago though). I also had a problem where a number that had been ported from iTalk some months later suddenly became "un-ported". It turns out iTalk had "accidentally" undone the port. Very annoying.

kind regards Andrew TD

farcus

1554 posts

Uber Geek

#344545 23-Jun-2010 13:56

I use italk and it works very well. The only problem with it is that if you have a problem the support from the helpdesk can be a bit hit and miss.

I did get very clear set-up instructions from them though. And adding sbiddles config settings to my pap2t everything works and sounds great.

nate

6473 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#344554 23-Jun-2010 14:40

AndrewTD: My personal preference is for WorldxChange's VFX service. It costs a bit more, is more restrictive and harder to set up (in some respects), but they have a superior VoIP technical support offering. They have really good people that absolutely know their stuff, and they are responsive. They even help people out on the forums here at GZ.

My 2nd choice is 2Talk. Cheap & cheerful. Easy to set-up, and usually works well. Just don't ever expect a technical response from them if you have any difficulties.

I don't recommend ITalk. I used them years ago when they were pretty much the only publicly available SIP offering in NZ. Ended up with several bouts of rubbish call quality (this was ages ago though). I also had a problem where a number that had been ported from iTalk some months later suddenly became "un-ported". It turns out iTalk had "accidentally" undone the port. Very annoying.

+1 to all of Andrew's points.

My suggestion - pick a provider now, signup and you'll get a number in your LCA. Once you're happy your device is setup correctly, get them to do the port - this will replace the number you've been assigned with your old POTS number.