«

On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 15:53:39 +0000 (UTC), Brian <>
wrote:


>Yes, I understand that but I originally pointed out that one of the
>considerations when taking the VOIP route is not having to acquire
>another line.
But acquiring another line( VOIP ) is a requirement to getting huge
savings compared to sticking with a BT or TW line and paying line
rentals on same .For people who are not in a cabled area then the
savings are not so great but there are still some cost savings to be
had by going VOIP .One can always reduce BT line rental by having
your BT line taken over by Talk Talk a reduction of about 50 p a month
or ITPLC which offers a saving of around 2.00 a month compared with
BT's line rental charges .
> Now I did mention BT but could have written 'BT/cable'.
>In either case the cost saving has to be balanced against expenditure on
>other items.
The savings from VOIP have got to be considered over the long term not
the short a decent ATA will cost around 80.00 an all Geo calls package
will cost anything from a fiver a month to 10.00 a month.
I am not particularly bothered about call cost but my two vonage lines
are costing just under 20.00 a month but for that I have the piece of
mind knowing I can make calls to any UK or Irish Geo number without
having to count the cost of each call or checking any web site to
check how much credit I have left .

On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 17:17:23 +0100, "Ivor Jones"
<> wrote:


>Well I agree with you to a certain extent but at the end of the day it's
>how it works that is the important thing, isn't it.
And that is why we have two Linksys here Ivor , sorry Ivor I just
would not give your all singing and dancing vontrollop house room for
the reasons stated no matter how good it may be ))))))))) .

On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 17:16:09 +0100, "Ivor Jones"
<> wrote:


>Nice kit, shame about the price..!
Which was what put me of them years ago .

"Me" <> wrote in message
news

[snip]

> Personally, I think you cannot go wrong with the
> Speedtouch 716 WL
>
> http://www.speedtouch.co.uk/prod716WL.asp?menuCurrPos=2.
>
> It is a modem / router/ wireless with 2 VOIP ports - so
> you just plug in an ordinary phone put in the name of
> your VOIP provider and your username and password and you
> are away. It also has QOS of required.
>
> It costs around £90

Doesn't look too bad at all. Don't need (or like/want) wireless though, do
they do a non-wireless version..?

Ivor

On 2005-08-20, Andrew Hodgson <> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I am thinking of going with a VOIP service to use as an extra line,
> for cheaper phone calls. This is primarily for when my sister calls
> friends in the UK for longer periods, tying up the regular phone line.
>
> There are two possible ways to do this: Get an ATA, give it an IP
> address on the LAN (using a public address). Or, I could get a router
> with VOIP capability, and it can use the IP of the router to make the
> calls. Also, I have seen some routers give automatic prioritisation
> to VOIP calls, whereas if it was on the LAN side, I would have to
> manually set this up through the firebrick.
>
> Any suggestions? Am I better off sticking with BT 6p a minute option
> for evening calls that last for a lengthy period?
>
> Thanks.
> Andrew.


I know very little about ATA or routers, but I kind of like my devices
to normally do one thing - that way, when it goes wrong, you only lose
that one service. By bundling up more services in one box, you increase
your chance of losing more services. Just my 2p.

Adam
--
PGP key: 7111B833

"adamc" <> wrote in message
news:de7o5k$hjp$

[snip]

> I know very little about ATA or routers, but I kind of
> like my devices to normally do one thing - that way, when
> it goes wrong, you only lose that one service. By
> bundling up more services in one box, you increase your
> chance of losing more services. Just my 2p.

With most things I'd agree with you, but in this particular instance each
device is hard enough to get working on its own, never mind trying to get
three boxes all doing different things and probably from different
manufacturers, all to co-exist..! With a combined modem/router/ATA there
is only one box to configure and less physically *to* go wrong..!

Ivor

On 20.08.2005, wrote:

> On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 15:53:39 +0000 (UTC), Brian <>
> wrote:
>
>>Yes, I understand that but I originally pointed out that one of the
>>considerations when taking the VOIP route is not having to acquire
>>another line.
>
> But acquiring another line( VOIP ) is a requirement to getting huge
> savings compared to sticking with a BT or TW line and paying line
> rentals on same .For people who are not in a cabled area then the
> savings are not so great but there are still some cost savings to be
> had by going VOIP .One can always reduce BT line rental by having
> your BT line taken over by Talk Talk a reduction of about 50 p a month
> or ITPLC which offers a saving of around 2.00 a month compared with
> BT's line rental charges .

The OP may very well want to these points into account when making his
mind up on how to get a second phone line.

>> Now I did mention BT but could have written 'BT/cable'.
>>In either case the cost saving has to be balanced against expenditure on
>>other items.
>
> The savings from VOIP have got to be considered over the long term not
> the short a decent ATA will cost around 80.00 an all Geo calls package
> will cost anything from a fiver a month to 10.00 a month.
> I am not particularly bothered about call cost but my two vonage lines
> are costing just under 20.00 a month but for that I have the piece of
> mind knowing I can make calls to any UK or Irish Geo number without
> having to count the cost of each call or checking any web site to
> check how much credit I have left .

Using your figures (80 + 3x60) that is about 85 GBP per year over three
years. 85 GBP will buy a lot of UK geographical calls from 18866 at
their present rate. At an average of five calls per day we are looking
at a cost of about 36 GBP per year.

Brian.

"Ivor Jones" <> wrote in message
news:...

> > Or one of these:
> > http://www.aaisp.net.uk/aa/firebrick/
>
> Nice kit, shame about the price..!

One could say the same about AAISP themselves, but those who pay the price
seem to appreciate the difference.

On 2005-08-20, Ivor Jones <> wrote:
>
>
> "adamc" <> wrote in message
> news:de7o5k$hjp$
>
> [snip]
>
>> I know very little about ATA or routers, but I kind of
>> like my devices to normally do one thing - that way, when
>> it goes wrong, you only lose that one service. By
>> bundling up more services in one box, you increase your
>> chance of losing more services. Just my 2p.
>
> With most things I'd agree with you, but in this particular instance each
> device is hard enough to get working on its own, never mind trying to get
> three boxes all doing different things and probably from different
> manufacturers, all to co-exist..! With a combined modem/router/ATA there
> is only one box to configure and less physically *to* go wrong..!
>
> Ivor
>
>

When everything is bundled into one box, diagnosis is easier - you just
know it's the box and you either try and repair it or throw it out and
buy a new one.

However, I prefer the challenge of tracking a fault down, over several
days, or even weeks, to a particular device, through trial and error
("well, x works, but y doesn't so it must be device z). Kind of masochistic,
but I learn out of it.

Adam

--
PGP key: 7111B833

"adamc" <> wrote in message
news:de82n4$jfe$

[snip]

> When everything is bundled into one box, diagnosis is
> easier - you just know it's the box and you either try
> and repair it or throw it out and
> buy a new one.
>
> However, I prefer the challenge of tracking a fault down,
> over several days, or even weeks, to a particular device,
> through trial and error ("well, x works, but y doesn't so
> it must be device z). Kind of masochistic, but I learn
> out of it.

I'd rather do without the fault

Ivor