Getting setup with voip

[wiz569]

Ok guys need some input,probably alot lol,

I want to ditch my telephone provider which costs me approx. 40euro a month,
Now I could take the easy route (UPC are offering on their phone service-18 euro a month for unlimited local,national and international landline calls) and maybe I will but just want to see what else is out there.

So what I need from you guys is a idiots guide to setting up voip here in Ireland,
including what ATA's to get etc,
How to get an out going number and an incoming one that are charged as a local number if thats possible or even makes sense,
I think I can use my DECT phones through an ATA so that should be the easy bit I think,

Sorry for the noob questions but I have read through the complete VOIP section and am still sitting here scratching my head

TIA guys.

[renwich]

I'm sure Mike, Al or SS will be able to help you out on this m8

[Satsearching]

Wiz

Start off having a look at this and decide first the best deal for you for outgoing.

betamax price comparison

Hopefully, Mike will be here soon to explain as he is the voip guru....

SS

[mike557]

Hi wiz

I think the biggest problem for you would be getting an Eire telephone number (for free) on voip.

We use sipgate.co.uk and choose a UK number for any UK exchange and Sipgate provides this free of charge. I am not certain of your 'cross border' charges - if it costs the same to call Belfast (as it would to call Dublin), then you could get a free Belfast number.

As you have said, you probably want an ATA.

In the FAQ, I suggest a PAP2 which allows you to plugin a POT (Plain Old Telephone) which could be a dect device. The PAP2 actually has two sockets and can have seperate voip connections on each.

The alternative (and probably better) is an SPA-3000, this looks very similar to a PAP2 and again allows a POT to be connected. It also allows you to plug in your analogue telephone line. Now you can use your POT to receive analogue calls and make voip calls out (or vice versa).

As you are thinking of dropping your analogue line then a PAP2 would probably be more use (and easier to configure).

SS has already given you the Betamax comparison adddress so find out which company offers the best rates for your calling pattern.

In the forum I mention about Getting a landline for 1 euro - you may be a ble to get a landline number via this route which simplifies everything. If Betamax can provide the landline number then either a PAP2 or spa-3000 will both work.

You can get the spa or pap2 on ebay for about £25 (inc delivery from HK/China).

[wiz569]

Had a feeling getting the local number would be the problem mike,

Does this plan look ok mike? or is there something I'm missing there,
apparently I can port my existing number over to them as well.

Then I just need to get the PAP2 and I would be good to go?

Cheers for the advice.

[mike557]

Sorry wiz - bit confused - not sure what plan you mean - UPC?
If you are asking if

18 euro a month for unlimited local,national and international landline calls

is reasonable, I would say only if it included the line rental (assuming this is an analogue line).
In the UK we can get broadband, line rental and free calls for that price.

The problem with voip is that you need broadband and this is supplied via adsl or cable. If adsl then you need to pay for a telephone line

[wiz569]

Sorry mike the link would have helped lol

Blueface Call Plans - Freedom Basic

EDIT:The UPC plan is broadband based,no line required same as the Blueface one.

[mike557]

Ok

Freedom Basic provides 300 minutes of calls per month to Irish landlines and 20 other international destinations.
These destinations are: Canada, Singapore, Sweden, USA, Norway, Ireland, UK, Spain, Germany, Australia, Chile, Taiwan, Netherlands, Austria, France, Hong Kong, New Zealand, China, Denmark, Italy and Portugal.
€9.99 monthly or €99 yearly.

Interesting figure 300 minutes as this equates to Betamax fair usage, however theirs is over a 7 day period.

I can not tell from the above if this is voip or analogue?

300 minutes / 5 hours is not a lot over a month, but you may not chat very often
The best value for calls is one of the betamax companies. They may provide a local telephone number in Ireland?

To use a betamax provider you will need an ATA, and you will need broadband. If betamax do not provide a local number then there are companies that can provide numbers in Ireland but I could not find any free (cost about 3.50 euros/month).

If you prefer to chat about this, happy to landline or just use the SB.

------

Do UPC supply any hardware, or is this just a voip account?
If just voip, you will need a PAP2, I would suggest reprogramming it so that you can have two voip accounts on 1 POT connection. By doing this you can receive your calls via UPC and make your 300 minutes per month over them. The other account could be Betamax and use that for all other calls.

[wiz569]

Its VOIP mike,
I dont talk much to be honest,our last bill was 85 euro of which only 15 euro are call charges for two months,
I seen the virtual numbers idea for 3.50 a month but not sure how that works,
I suppose I could go with bluefaces pay as you go plan with an 076 number as this is charged as a local or national call for incoming calls,

Think I might just get a pap2 first then play around and see what happens,are there any specific things I need to watch out for when buying one?

Cheers,
Dave.

[Satsearching]

Wiz, I don't use the phone much, but the wife does all the frigging time and she isn't technical!

So if your looking for a phone like this with waf (wife acceptance factor), have a look at the Siemens gigaset post I did, it also doubles as an analogue phone.

VOIP and Siemens Gigaset, first impression.

SS