VoIP advice please!

[TheMoneyMachine]

I would like to integrate VoIP telephone communication into my trading environment. After carrying out some research i have some questions that i hope someone who has already implemented this technology can assist me with.

Basically i want the VoIP to function independently of my computer system i.e. i do not want a USB handset that uses Skype or similar. As part of my broadband package my ISP provides my VoIP account, so my questions are,

1. Will my current ADSL router (standard spec) interface with a VoIP LAN telephone?
2. If the above is not the case what additional specification does a router require to interface with a VoIP LAN telephone?
3. Assuming a router with the correct functionality is available are the IP & account details the input to the telephone?

Finally how are residential users of VoIP finding it?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Kind regards

TMM

 

[Directional]

Skype and Netgear are releasing a WiFi phone that will plug straight into your broadband router and operate independantly of the PC. Out sometime soon and should be a nice development in the world of free VoIP telecoms.

The main alternative to Skype in the UK is Vonage, but its expensive compared to Skype and has a monthly subscription cost unlike skype which is free. Apparently the Vonage SIP phone plugs straight into the router with minimal configuration - I beleive you can use a SIP phone anywhere there is a BB connection - so you could take your Vonage phone from home to the office and plug in and away you go for inbound and outbound calls.

I personally use skype for all my non-mobile communications - I got rid of my landline when they launched inbound PSTN calls and have saved myself a fortune in phone call costs & subscriptions.

 

[rossored]

T2W actually use VOIP for all our comms.

I have a 1/2 meg connection out here in the sticks which comes through a BT Voyager 2100 ADSL router, via Ethernet cable to my main PC.

I then have a 'normal' phone plugged into this, which is in turn plugged directly into the router, and handles all my incoming business calls, independant of the PC (the router of course needs to be switched on to handle calls). Obviously there is some additional technical setup with our ISP and what that is I don't know (Sharky would do) but I don't think that side of it is terribly complicated.

The only downside to this (no doubt due to my low bandwidth) is that if I'm involved in heavy use of the line (ie downloading large files) when a call comes in, the call quality is noticeably reduced, so I tend to switch off downloading whilst I'm using the phone. Otherwise, its fine for both national and international calls.

 

[TheMoneyMachine]

Thanks for the info guys, it's much appreciated.

Arbitrageur do you experience any deterioration in quality when using lots of bandwidth? What connection speed do you have? What is the quality like in comparison to your redundant PSTN line?

Kind regards

TMM

 

[Directional]

I'm on a 4mb cable - but I have found some sound detriment when using heavy bandwidth - I think unfortunately the same will hold true for any IP telephony - the bottleneck is the I/O connection and if any inbound or outbound Voice packets are delayed even slightly due to the traffic loading on your router then thats when you start getting choppy sound.

As a general rule of thumb I avoid any seriously large downloads till outside of the hours i require good quality sound.

That said, sound quality for UK, US, European and Australian SkypeOut calls is always extremely good - certainly comparable or better than my previous landline.

I used to find my landline would give me a terrible echo and lag when phoning some more exotic destinations like Lebanon - aside from costing over £1 a minute, which although on Skype the results are a little more variable than the above destinations are generally equal or better quality than I had before.

I do find about 1 call in 20 to destinations like Middle East and Far East (Thai, Indonesia, Malaysia) end up being dodgy quality, but I guess the problems with these places lie in the local telephone service rather than Skype since I've had problem calls on landline too.

 

[toro168]

Hi Guys,

A bit of the subject I think but you can get free landline calls here (300mins per mth) if anyone is interested.

http://www.voipcheap.co.uk/en/index.html

Question - does it matter which provider you have ? can I call a skype or netgear number from voipcheap or any voip for free?