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UK VOIP - cheapest simplest voip with a phone? |
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#1 |
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I simply want to be able to make and receive calls using voip
using my current telephone handset, to and from pstn as well as voip connections - in other words a simple replacement for my current phone service. Other features are a bonus but not essential. What is the cheapest and simplest hardware adaptor that I should get? I plan to have an account with a SIP-based provider that offers a UK phone number. Any recommendations very welcome. Syd Norwich Syd Hancock |
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#2 |
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Syd Hancock wrote:
> I simply want to be able to make and receive calls using voip > using my current telephone handset, to and from pstn as well as > voip connections - in other words a simple replacement for my > current phone service. Other features are a bonus but not > essential. What is the cheapest and simplest hardware adaptor > that I should get? > > I plan to have an account with a SIP-based provider that offers > a UK phone number. Any recommendations very welcome. I should add that I have a router (netgear DG834) already so only need an adaptor unless there are good reasons to change the router as well. Syd |
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#3 |
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"Syd Hancock" <> wrote in message news:d6b0go$5ir$... > Syd Hancock wrote: > >> I simply want to be able to make and receive calls using voip >> using my current telephone handset, to and from pstn as well as >> voip connections - in other words a simple replacement for my >> current phone service. Other features are a bonus but not >> essential. What is the cheapest and simplest hardware adaptor >> that I should get? >> >> I plan to have an account with a SIP-based provider that offers >> a UK phone number. Any recommendations very welcome. > > > I should add that I have a router (netgear DG834) already so only > need an adaptor unless there are good reasons to change the > router as well. > > Syd Sipgate (www.sipgate.co.uk) offer free geographic phone numbers, all calls to other SIP users on several networks are free also, you only pay for calls to the PSTN. The system has had more than its fair share of problems recently, so you may well find others warning you off them, but IMHO for a totally free service it's very good and the call quality is excellent. There is a free voicemail service also, this however is having the irritating problem of lapsing into German every so often, but on the plus side I'm learning a new language (well at least as far as knowing if I have a new message or not <g>) The adaptor I use is the Sipura SPA-2000 (www.sipura.com) but there are others from the same and different manufacturers that all have their plus and minus points. I'm very happy with my Sipura and would recommend it to anyone, I wouldn't recommend the Grandstream products though. If you need any more info, ask. Ivor |
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#4 |
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On Mon, 16 May 2005 22:10:33 +0100, "Ivor Jones"
<> wrote: > I'm very happy with my Sipura and would recommend it to >anyone, I wouldn't recommend the Grandstream products though. > >If you need any more info, ask. can you expand on the Grandstream non-recommendation ? Phil |
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#5 |
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"Phil Thompson" <> wrote in message news:... > On Mon, 16 May 2005 22:10:33 +0100, "Ivor Jones" > <> wrote: > >> I'm very happy with my Sipura and would recommend it to >>anyone, I wouldn't recommend the Grandstream products though. >> >>If you need any more info, ask. > > can you expand on the Grandstream non-recommendation ? > > Phil Firmware can be somewhat flaky and build quality isn't the best. The Sipura range excels on build and the latest firmware on my SPA-2000 hasn't got any bugs that I've found so far, and I'm the world expert at finding things wrong with systems <g> Ivor |
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#6 |
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On Mon, 16 May 2005 22:20:11 +0100, "Ivor Jones"
<> wrote: > The >Sipura range excels on build and the latest firmware on my SPA-2000 hasn't >got any bugs that I've found so far, and I'm the world expert at finding >things wrong with systems <g> Couldn't agree more with what you are saying here Ivor I haven't upgraded the firmware in my two and both are working perfectly it is only Sipgate that hasn't been working a great believer in the old saying " If it ain't broken don't fix it" |
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#7 |
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Phil Thompson <> wrote:
> can you expand on the Grandstream non-recommendation ? I started off with the Grandstream ATA-486. I used it in router configuration and it worked "OK". I didn't have the lock-up/crash problems that some people have reported, but the browser interface would go to sleep after a day or so and could only be restarted by rebooting the ATA (didn't seem to affect calls though...). I now use a Sipura 1001 (perfect for what I need but YMMV) running in client config (it can't be used as a router) and once I got over the shock of how many pages of options there were I'm more than happy with it. And it doesn't need a regular reboot to keep it going. -- The From address is a spam-trap, so all replies to the newsgroup please. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Be Alert, Your Country Needs More Lerts! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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#8 |
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You ask for the cheapest, that, AFAIK Linksys PAP2 ATA.
Anyone has tried it ? Zyxel has some too, haven't found a vendor yet. Regards, Martin |
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#9 |
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Many thanks for the replies. Looks like Sipura is the way to go -
can't stand flaky hardware. life's too short. Am I right in thinking that the only differenee between the 1001 and the 2000 is that the latter has two phone sockets? Anyone any experience of using Gradwell? Any other recommendations? Thanks Syd |
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#10 |
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Syd Hancock <> wrote:
> Am I right in thinking that the only differenee between the 1001 > and the 2000 is that the latter has two phone sockets? Sort of. The 1001 copes with two incoming lines, but both use the same phone. The 2000 copes with two incoming lines, but each line has its own phone socket - it isn't able to route both lines to one socket. > Anyone any experience of using Gradwell? Any other > recommendations? Gradwell's set-up is aimed primarily at business users, with lots of features for extentions etc, but it is reliable. For an individual user it costs £4/month +VAT (after the 3 month free trial), with no inclusive minutes, which is a bit pricy compared to some of the others (Sipgate = free, JustDialVoip = £1.99). On the plus side, it works and, unlike some of the other VoIP providers around at the moment, I expect them to stick around for a while... -- The From address is a spam-trap, so all replies to the newsgroup please. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Be Alert, Your Country Needs More Lerts! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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