In reply to a post by mikejp:

Woody - you don't need to buy anything to check VOIP out - don't start paying for high-falluting stuff you may not need, and using your computer means no need for '4-port hubs' or the like at this stage.

Voiphone or any 'Soft Phone' programme for your computer will do fine - and these are free. As said, they have 'test' numbers you can dial for free.

I assume you probably can rustle up a headset and mic which will plug into your sound card input so you can test the system? If not, a few quid will buy one, or borrow one.

I use Sipgate for my VOIP - they are fine and I also endorse Gigaset products if you want to proceed.

A soft-phone will be a 10 minute wonder on a PC and is no substitute for a true 2nd line or even as your only 'landline' to the world. It is however a bargain basement solution requiring minimal equipment costing under £20. But who wants to leave their PC running 24/7 to enable calls to be received? Or be interrupted with a computing activity that could cause work to be lost?

Unfortunately the OP only has a single LAN port on his router so unless that is replaced with the more common 4 port variety, then a hub is required. If we knew the maximum budget the OP was prepared to spend on this project then a very tailored/bespoke solution could be suggested. Today it would be pretty unusual not to have a voice service in the home that didn't have two or more extensions and so a Gigaset Wireless VoIP solution would suit a lot of people. With two or more handsets, simultaneous calls via VoIP and POTS are possible either on one handset or independently using two handsets. Selecting the route you want your outgoing call to use may be difficult or even impossible with some hardware.

Personally my view is that there is a lot to be said for routers that incorporate VoIP functionally because you can then use the very cheaper POTS wireless phones sold very competitively in supermarkets. However to get the best out of that setup may require you to set up a UK dial plane which is not easy to do.

Most hosted VoIP providers operate as an island with no inter-connectivity with other VoIP providers systems. Even where gateways do exist they ten to be unreliable.There will always be a gateway to the POTS which is access to the public telephone system. Some hosted VoIP services do not provide incoming facilities. VoIP doesn't normally come with call package options but they do exisit and can be an umbrella across several SIP numbers.

Security of your setup is important, otherwise you may find your PAYG credit stolen or many hundreds of pounds added to your credit account. Discuss this issue with your selected provider before using their service. As a general rule the hardware you have will work with any SIP provider with the possible exception of BT.

Embrace VoIP because running costs are ultra low and you have all the features which are normally chargeable for free. As such you will be surprised how often, for example, Conference calling, you will be using. Porting live POTS numbers into VoIP is normally not a problem.

Trollybus, the poster was not suggesting I use a softphone as a solution, meerly a way to experiment and test my setup (as per his earlier post). My budget really will be as low as I can afford to go otherwise there is no saving to be mad, ie if I spend £200, I might as continue paying line rental for another12 months.

Having looked around, there are now call packeges available, but I need to determin if they would be worth it for us,as the phone generally gets very low outgoing use, so payg may be a better option

Whilst two phones would ceftainly be benficial, we currently only have one, so its not essential, but certainly not to be overlooked especially for the future.

Fair point on security issue!
Woody

I have that equipment, so I agree. AAISP don't let you use your phone to get voicemails, you just get an email.

With Voipfone and Sipgate you can dial 1571 / 50000.

Voipfone have very good support and you can port a number to them.

In reply to a post by ukwoody:

WISP is a local one called Bluewave Internet. They do offer their own VOIP, but for various reasons I do not wish to take that

I would still ask them if there is anything they can do for you, to ensure that VOIP traffic is given priority. IME Voip calls don't always work as well as I would like.

My internet connection is a fixed wireless service, through a ubiquity powerbeam dish.

The dish connection goes into a TPlink router on the WAN port, the home network is on the LAN side of the router. FYI the router cost me around £40 from Amazon, so not a huge outlay for that.

I use a Gigaset N300A with two separate SipGate basic accounts with an 01 number each. The service works great!! We have opted to go for the £9.99 monthly service with SipGate which gets you unlimited UK calls. either way the service works really well. The gigset package came with the N300A and four handsets, again it was a good bundle from Amazon, though if i recall correctly it was around £120....but have a look online.

The main thing I had to do was ensure the router was set to forward the correct ports to the N300A and that recommended settings were as shown on SipGate's web pages.

I highly recommend this approach if using a WISP for you internet connection.

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

In reply to a post by ukwoody:

WISP is a local one called Bluewave Internet. They do offer their own VOIP, but for various reasons I do not wish to take that

I would still ask them if there is anything they can do for you, to ensure that VOIP traffic is given priority. IME Voip calls don't always work as well as I would like.
[/quote,

ok I will check once link has settled down ta.

In reply to a post by mrvanx:

My internet connection is a fixed wireless service, through a ubiquity powerbeam dish.

The dish connection goes into a TPlink router on the WAN port, the home network is on the LAN side of the router. FYI the router cost me around £40 from Amazon, so not a huge outlay for that.

I use a Gigaset N300A with two separate SipGate basic accounts with an 01 number each. The service works great!! We have opted to go for the £9.99 monthly service with SipGate which gets you unlimited UK calls. either way the service works really well. The gigset package came with the N300A and four handsets, again it was a good bundle from Amazon, though if i recall correctly it was around £120....but have a look online.


good idea about the tplink router... I just happen to have 3xactly one of those laying about! Thank you


The main thing I had to do was ensure the router was set to forward the correct ports to the N300A and that recommended settings were as shown on SipGate's web pages.

I highly recommend this approach if using a WISP for you internet connection.