All about VOIP - FAQ's, how-to's, etc.

[Mussels]

Voice over IP (internet protocol). Using a data network to carry digitised telephone calls

There are a few variants of VOIP - the most common one people know of is skype, as well as other programs doing similar to that such as Gtalk, and some chat programs having the feature to call regular phones. I shall refer to these as 'closed' VOIP systems.


The other (superior) option is what i shall call 'open' VOIP networks. a brief summary of the difference is outlined below:

Closed VOIP: Often very simple to setup, just start a PC program, pay for credit and away you go. simple to use and setup, assuming you already have a headset on your PC.

Open voip: instead of being tied to any one program, you are given a set of details much like the ones your ISP would give you for putting into your modem/router. You can connect this up with software like eyebeam, or into hardware devices - in my case i use my nokia N95 8GB, Open 812L and linksys PAP2T.

While the first is obviously my mobile phone, the latter two may confuse some people. They're called ATA's, and their purpose is simple: it converts a regular phone (corded or cordless) to work with VOIP via your broadband connection.

In order to explain this better, i took a picture.

Modem/Router on the left connects to the voip ATA with an inexpensive ethernet cable, which then connects to the phone of your choice. Making calls is exactly the same as if you were on a regular landline - just dial and enjoy.




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cost benefits
massively cheap awesomesauce rates.

Mynetfone (my VOIP provider) offers some hidden away plans

for a quick comparison between a regular phone rate and the MNF rates, i have the following:

Telstra:
39 cent flagfall - even if you hang up upon reaching voicemail, you STILL get charged this.
30 cent flat rate, untimed
STD rate (anywhere but your hometown): $3 for 2 hours
mobile phones: 39c flagfall, 21c per 30 seconds (if your call is 31 seconds long, you get charged for 1 minute. total cost of 81 cents)


MNF:
no flagfall
10C untimed
no STD - all landlines at same rate
mobiles: 15 cent per minute, billed per second - 31 second call costs you under 8 cents

you can see there that a brief mobile call can cost you 1/10th the rate of a regular landline phone, local calls are 1/3 the cost and STD rates are 1/300th the rate. This doesnt even cover the fact that the plans i covered are $20.95 a month for telstra, and $0 a month for MNF.

Voip is a metric crapton cheaper than regular phone rates - at least in australia.

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there are some other bonuses as well, to VOIP. Even if you live in america, if you used mynetfone you would still have the same rates as living here - that means you'd get the untimed/dirt cheap calls to australian landline phones from anywhere in the world, so long as you have broadband.

You can of course apply this to whatever country you want - VOIP is beneficial here so long as the internet costs are less than the cost of the phone call through any other means.
(read: if you use 3G/nextG roaming broadband, it may cost you too much on the data rates to bother)



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The downsides to voip are fairly simple.

Closed voip:
requires broadband
Requires a PC
requires specific software (which you may not like, or have compatibility issues with)
not as cheap as open voip

open voip:
requires broadband
requires either software or hardware devices to use it
some setup may be required.

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Incoming calls:
It should be noted that VOIP can be tricky for incoming calls. the following are notes i've made over time, regarding this.

• incoming calls often cost an extra charge from the provider, so that your VOIP phone has an incoming number for people to dial.
• Port forwards may be required to your ATA device or PC (port 5060) from your routers settings, for incoming calls to connect
• Without a SIP proxy (in your router), you can only have one VOIP device accepting incoming calls on your network at any given time.

In summary, i reccomend the following for most users:

Get an open VOIP plan and a cheap hardware ATA device. use it for outgoing calls, and have other people call you on your landline or mobile phone numbers. You will save tons of money, and as you brag about it you may convert them as well.

 

[Mussels]

This post reserved for later use (most likely a setup guide with the linksys PAP2T)

 

[remixedcat]

I use Skype-->8USD for 3 months-->"Unlimited" talk time (it really is 10,000 mins/mo on a "fair use policy")-->Incoming number is 30USD/yr can pick any area you want. I'm using a wireless GE skype USB phone so I can take it to other areas of the house and not be tied down.

+
*software to manage calls and calling people with VOIP on a pc is easy and cheapest, no phone hardware required. just a headset
*FF and IE extentions make initiating calls easy when they convert a phone number into a calling link for skype.
*you can easily block people from contacting you and you can limit who can call you easily

-
*requires software to be installed and running to make and recieve calls
*software is required to be running if you decide to use a skype usb phone
*skype phones are expensive (mine was 60 bucks at wal-mart and it is a mid tier model) and lack many cell phone like features
*takes up a usb port when using skype phones
*If power goes out you cant make/receive calls, however using a dedicated skype phone that plugs into the router (expensive@170USD for most models) and having the router and cable/dsl modem on a UPS would allow you to make a recieve calls for a decent amount of time if the power is out for extended periods if your pc cannot be on since they use less juice. a laptop would be most preferable in this situation. I just have a tracfone as a backup.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Very informative thank you, I use Skype but only to video call my youngest daughter each week at university...... just so I can see her and make sure she is eating!

 

[Mussels]

RC: the open voip stuff doesnt require hardware either, you can use free VOIP/SIP software to achieve the same ends as skype, a ton cheaper.

the downside of course, is that they lack skypes text chat and webcam interface.