VoIP newbie enquiry

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fran1942

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#64898 25-Jul-2010 08:01

Hello, I am considering ditching my standard telecom landline and moving to a VOIP system to save money.
Having never used VOIP before, I want to ask some basic questions.

I want people without voip to be able to call me eg (skypeIn or similar).

Which voip company/plan do you guys recommend. ? (we dont make many calls per month)
Will I be saving money each month compared to a telecom landline account. ?
Will the call quality be good ?

Is there any reason why VOIP would not be a good move ?

Thanks kindly for any advice.

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#355981 25-Jul-2010 08:17

A true VoIP services is transparent to users.

There are a few VoIP consumer services in New Zealand including WorldxChange VFX, 2talk and others.

Those services work as actual telcos, following New Zealand rules. For example you can "port" your existing number to one of these services and people will be able to continue calling you like nothing changed.

I personally use WorldxChange VFX. To use their service you basically need to have Internet at home, port the number to them, and buy a small box called ATA.

This box plugs into the Internet router and you plug your existing telephone to the box. That's pretty much it. People will be able to call you exactly like before, and nothing changes for you when you pick up the phone to make a call.

You can see your bill online, and download a program to manage your phone settings (voice mail, call diversion, call log, etc).

You do need Internet, and depending on what IPS you are using you will need a phone line - unless you get a naked DSL service or TelstraClear cable modem (which I use).

SkypeIn doesn't allow you to port numbers, and you have to run the program in your PC - which means if your PC is off, you don't have a phone. Unless you get a Skype phone (not the USB ones, but ones that plug directly into your router). It seems those are not available in New Zealand anymore.

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old3eyes

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#356066 25-Jul-2010 14:02

What about QOS in the WWW?? Any?? When I was living in Papatoetoe some times my 2Talk line was imposable to use due to the backbone to the cabinet being overloaded.. Hasn't been so bad here in Pt Chev..

Regards,

Old3eyes

freitasm

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#356100 25-Jul-2010 16:03

By WWW you mean the Internet?

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sbiddle

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#356104 25-Jul-2010 16:11

old3eyes: What about QOS in the WWW?? Any?? When I was living in Papatoetoe some times my 2Talk line was imposable to use due to the backbone to the cabinet being overloaded.. Hasn't been so bad here in Pt Chev..

EUBA solves that by using QinQ and a dedicated CIR for VoIP traffic. The only problem is most ISP's don't yet offer the service because they don't have their own VoIP products.

ChillingSilence

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#356325 26-Jul-2010 08:07

Adding to what sbiddle said, basically if you're on an overloaded exchange, you're essentially up the creek without a paddle anyway.

You can check http://www.telecomwholesale.co.nz/maps and see if your exchange has been upgraded to ADSL2+, and also when a roadside cabinet near you will be installed. Basically, if you can get ADSL2+, you ought to be OK.

A few quick words of advice to add to what freitasm said:
1) If your internets off, so's your phone, so you need a good router. Just because you got your current router from your ISP doesn't make it "good" for VoIP
2) If you have an ATA Adapter, you can use your existing phone, and it won't matter if you turn off your PC as opposed to using a softphone in the same way you use Skype.
3) Call quality has the potential to be superb, but also to be terrible. Think about this: if you're on your VoIP call, and you start a YouTube video, it's going to try and stream down as quickly as it can, with no regard for your VoIP call. You need a way of managing the traffic on your ADSL Line so that you give priority to VoIP.

That said, don't let that put you off, I absolutely love VoIP and can't stand going back to a regular landline. The likes of free Caller ID + Call waiting + 3-way calling etc are always a nice bonus.

Hope this helps

Chill.

laneel

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#356767 26-Jul-2010 21:05

My set up at the moment is Orcon silver adsl2+ plan using a D-Link G DIR-300 wireless 4 port router
er and a provided Dynalink modem. Would there be any issues if I went with Orcons naked dsl
plan and use Xnet VFX as my Voip provider.
I would like to keep the above hardware and use a LINKSYS SPA2102 ATA. Could i also use a
Panasonic KX-FP85 fax machine using the above setup.

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ChillingSilence

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#356785 26-Jul-2010 21:25

No issues at all with using different providers for VoIP / ADSL.
The modem *may* not be the most suitable, I've not used that specific model, but I'm not personally a fan of D-Links...

jtbthatsme

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#356840 26-Jul-2010 23:46

Although Mauricio and I use the same provider in Worldexchange VFX service he has omitted that you don't necessarily need to get a ATA adaptor you can bypass this by buying the recommended modem. Which is a linksys one which has 2 phone ports built in to it so potentially you could have a second phone line in to your house using this.

I have never really found any issues regarding using VOIP type phones. Only time i notice any degradation in quality is when i am phoning someone else who is using a cordless phone too but you generally have those problems on a normal type phone too.

Other than that and the no power means no phone issue VOIP is great. Cheap calls (local and international), free addon services (eg call waiting, three way calling, voice messaging etc.

I can't remember the exact model of the modem i use but i think it's a linksys WAG54GP2v2 or they have actually got a newer model out now the WAG310G.

ChillingSilence

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#356845 27-Jul-2010 00:03

Do you know what the WAG310G has been superceded by? Nobody has them anymore..

jtbthatsme

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#356847 27-Jul-2010 00:06

No idea i just grabbed the info directly off the xnet/worldexchange website. I have the older one wag54gp2v2 and have really had no problems with the modem quality or the voip either. (When i say no problems i mean not counting things like power cuts or network outages which effect everyone).

ChillingSilence

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#356848 27-Jul-2010 00:15

I enquired a few weeks ago. WxC basically refer you to their resellers (preferred), who are all out of stock, and none can advise on Linksys replacement models for the WAG310G. There are other non Linksys devices like the Draytek 2700 series but they're significantly more expensive :-/

Personally I stick with AM300's or DV120's in halfbridge to a Tomato or Gargoyle device for QoS with all ATAs, Phones and Asterisk boxes behind it ;)

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jtbthatsme

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#356851 27-Jul-2010 00:24

I originally had a pap2 ata convertor setup like the one Mauricio uses (based on what he said above) but then when i saw a opportunity to get the wag54gp2v2 for just over $100 i took it (second hand off Trademe) this was at least 2yrs back.

Well a quick search of pricespy showed only one retailer with the wag310 and it's not cheap but they too have no stock. I suppose you could always enquire with them or possibly ebay one.

jtbthatsme

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#356856 27-Jul-2010 00:51

they list the same one i have here but state no stock but can ship within a day or two of requesting it so assuming they're not full of it then if this could be the way to go. Realistically i couldn't see why you could not use this with any voip provider. Just most have their preferred devices.

http://www.mobileitpro.co.nz/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_new.tpl&product_id=...

maverick

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WorldxChange

#356868 27-Jul-2010 06:30

The new models coming online are the cisco SRP527 / 521, these are a step up from the older models as they are a small business grade model , pricing is still being confirmed and there are a few suppliers out there at present, we fully support these devices and they should be up on our web pages shortly.

The wag310 (SKU) is currently not being shipped to New Zealand any more, seems to be a commercial decison by Cisco as it is still available in europe. In saying that the SRP5xx series is a much better device as it has multiple VLAN, Mulitiple SSID, IPSEC as well as wirlesss N support. Overall a very nice unit.

Chief Bean (Mauricio) and Biddlecorp have had one of the versions for a few weeks to trial, so hopefully you will hear some unbiased comments from them shortly.

Yes I am a employee of WxC (My Profile) ... but I do have my own opinions as well