Why is VOIP not more popular?

[RayB]

Can someone suggest where to look for information on how this all works? I've got a VOIP line included with my BT Broadband and I gave the number out to people in order to avoid either clogging up the home number or keeping it to family/friends only.

A large proportion of those that have tried to call it tell me that either they can't from their office (it seems the PBX admins have not got round to opening "0560n" on their switches), or that the prefix is not included in their bundles and the costs are not inconsiderable.

I'm happy to spend some time (and money) researching and implementing this, but knowing where to start is a bit of a problem. Using a web-search is a bit of a scatter gun approach, so some direct pointers would be appreciated.

[mike557]

I have written a full FAQ at ukcvs.org voip section
Because of my low post count I cannot embed the link
Happy to re upload to TW when I get some time.
To answer your questions.
Do you really need to know how voip works? Most of us dont know how cable or sat tv really works but we use it
Voip is done by boxes or software and we plug in either a phone or headset.
The basic configuration necessary are the 3 fields that I have already mentioned.
As for people calling you, 0560 is just a numbering range (which BT are using), however you can get a telephone number from other providers for anywhere in the UK. I have an 01483 number for friends and an 0207 number for business.
Your BT broadband is voip but only running on BT's broadband

[TDF]

Originally Posted by mike557

@TDF - recognise the name.

I was a regular Shack/Cave user until the Ogame craziness of 2008

I'm hoping HD voice will be the thing to really push it over the edge, Orange announced last year that they will be rolling out HD this year, 3 have just finished trials with a announcement expected this month. I expect the rest of the mobile operators to follow very quickly. People were willing to accept a shitty connection on a mobile because it was portable, I think once they get HD on their mobile they will wonder why their home phone sounds so poor.

4g too, once that gets here VoIP should explode on mobiles, driving more to VoIP at home.

The change is coming, it seems like a long wait for some of us but hopefully it will reach critical mass soon.

[waqasahmed]

Let me tell you why I do not use VOIP(Well I suppose calling access numbers are, but I rarely use them)

Most people in my house are on contract, so will use a mobile in order to call people. I will not use the landline except to make 0845 numbers(via 18185.co.uk) as it is considerably cheaper than a mobile

I dont know many people out of the UK, who can use VOIP by free means eg: Skype etc...

Heres the big one
If you purchase broadband, a landline is effectively forced on to you-otherwise you pay an extra £11 a month for nothing at all. Id rather that £11 being used for something than nothing

If landlines are not forced on to us, as they are now, Id switch straight away to VOIP instead of using a landline

Once mobile BB kicks off and is better value for money than current BB, Id probably switch over(you can get a free number at sipgate.com)

Normally, our bills for the landline is 0.00+£11(for line rental), but its still useful if people call in or if I(very rarely) need to make a call to a premium rate number that doesnt have a free number at saynoto0870.com

[sad11]

If Voip was a bit more stable then it would be worth having and saving the money.I mean I'm on virgin 10mb and use freecall as my voip but sometimes the call gets stuck and there is a long delay before hearing the other side.Also other side complains of having a huge echo coming back and the general line being bad.

[TDF]

Originally Posted by waqasahmed

If landlines are not forced on to us, as they are now, Id switch straight away to VOIP instead of using a landline

I hear you, its a hard sell when people get excited about saving money then find out they're stuck with a land line still. Things arn't likely to change until theres a sizeable number of us no longer wanting a phone line, chicken and egg.

Originally Posted by sad11

If Voip was a bit more stable then it would be worth having and saving the money.I mean I'm on virgin 10mb and use freecall as my voip but sometimes the call gets stuck and there is a long delay before hearing the other side.Also other side complains of having a huge echo coming back and the general line being bad.

What setup are you using there ? I wouldn't be surprised to find its easily resolvable. Sure there is potential for problems, once its on the internet it can suffer, maybe I've been lucky, I remember occasional bad calls before using voip, none since switching (none that weren't my own doing anyway).

[sad11]

Originally Posted by TDF

What setup are you using there ? I wouldn't be surprised to find its easily resolvable. Sure there is potential for problems, once its on the internet it can suffer, maybe I've been lucky, I remember occasional bad calls before using voip, none since switching (none that weren't my own doing anyway).

I'm using the normal freecall software that you have to D/load from the freecall website and I have a logitech headphones with mic which works fine with skype as I use it to make skype to skype calls.

Please advise further if you have any ideas

[mike557]

Totally agree about landlines being forced upon us (that is something that should be stopped). However having a landline is still no reason for not using voip and likewise not having a contract on the mobile.
Switching to voip means that you have a portable UK landline telephone number. If and when you get rid of the real landline you still have your voip line.
You voip number becomes your number for life.....
Even though you currently have a landline, voip calls are still cheaper and you dont pay line rental (or monthly charges).
My co-director is based in Malaysia and she calls me free using ordinary phones (connected to voip ata boxes). Anyone can ring her on a uk voip number without any international charges :-)

[waqasahmed]

The thing is, if you dont call internationally much, or if the receiving country doesnt have internet(ie: skype)(calling cards are cheap), and if landlines are (effectively) forced on us, Id see no need for a VOIP phone, as most of us have mobile phones as truly portable devices, as opposed to a VOIP phone

There is also the cost of a VOIP phone that makes it less popular

[Dellxps600]

Hi there every 1, It seems intereting thing to use, I have used skype but its not very usefull as you have to have other person login if not than you can't use it.

Now, my problem is I m compeletly new to this thing called VoIP, Please let me know, in step by step guied how to use this service and which 1 is cheaper or free to ring Pakistan, India or Srilanka etc. etc.

I'll be very thankful to you.