I would like to do away with my landline

Hi all,

I am new on this site, so I apologise in advance if this topic has been tackled before. I had a look at the previous threads, but nobody seem to have talked about it explicitly.

I am about to move and in my new house I was thinking of getting Telewest broadband and give up the BT line, mostly because I don't use the land line a great deal and since I started using VoipStunt about 6 months ago I think I have made 2 phone calls using my normal phone (one by mistake and one because i was in bed and too lazy to get up), although people still phone me on it. I have been asking around and the amount of info I get is next to nil. Been to computer shops and they don't know anything. Went once to a high street shop and they didn't know what VoIP was..... Has anybody a story to share? Is the technology reliable enough? For my work I need broadband and a mobile, so the "landline" would only be used for private phone calls. I am quite satisfied with Voipstunt, but they have given me a number with a Coventry code (I am in Dundee), so the next obvious question is whether I can get a proper geografical number from some provider. I have found a post where someone mentions, I think, voip.co.uk, but I have not looked it up yet.
Last question: cordless VoIP phones (WiFi?). What I have been able to find on the internet so far is only a Skype phone which cost megabucks and that I couldn't understand whether it would work with a different provider. Any insights?

Also, I wouldn't mind the option of being able to phone with the PC off (like the option that Skype advertises).

One more question, I have been trying to ask the same questions to VoIPStunt, but there is no e-mail address, nor any address to write to. There used to be something, but it was no good anyway because I never got a reply

Thanks in advance

Andrea (fae Dundee)

andrea

[andrea]

One other quick question, I have been having a look at the sipgate website and they seem to tick all the boxes: cheap, full of info, helpline an e-mail away, free phone number, a shop where to buy stuff etc. Can someone tell me if they have been around for a while and they are actually trustworthy?

Sorry if I keep spamming the list with these trivialities.

Update:

I have just found the thread Sipgate Vs. Voip. Please, do not fight here, I am only a clueless individual trying to gather info.

Update 2:

OK, I have installed Sipgate and so far so good. I have a Dundee number, which was free, and the number seems to work. It has to be said that I don't have all the proper bits and bobs to make it work without a PC, but for now it seems able to receive and make (to another VoIP user) phone calls.

[andrea]

Hi again,

I was about to go and buy the FritzBox as advertised on SipGate, when I realized that it has an ADSL modem included. Gosh, just in time...... does anybody know if it is compatible with Telewest??? Am I supposed not to use the modem Telewest will send me???? If the FritzBox doesn't work, is there a router with adapter I can get? Otherwise I can get an adapter AND a router. I am sure that someone here must be using Telewest and can give me some advice.

Thanks,

Andrea

[kpanchev]

Originally Posted by andrea

Hi again,

I was about to go and buy the FritzBox as advertised on SipGate, when I realized that it has an ADSL modem included. Gosh, just in time...... does anybody know if it is compatible with Telewest??? Am I supposed not to use the modem Telewest will send me???? If the FritzBox doesn't work, is there a router with adapter I can get? Otherwise I can get an adapter AND a router. I am sure that someone here must be using Telewest and can give me some advice.

Thanks,

Andrea

Hi Andrea,
Good intentions to ditch the BTline, I have done it with mine 9 months ago. I'm using sipgate for incoming calls and various Finarea/Betamax services for outgoing calls. My internet is with NTL, so a similar case. I started with one Sipura 2100 ATA/router, but found out that it can take only two lines, and as I have 2 sipgate accounts, one orbtalk account and a couple of US incoming accounts, plus the 3 or four Finarea accounts, two lines is merely not enough. Also this particular adapter does not support call forwarding between the two ports. So I ended up configuring an Asterisk machine, which is great. The Sipura adapter is used now as a means to connect two normal telephones to it, so I can use my DECT handset to make calls.

Adapters, that can do the job for you are all of the Sipura/Linksys range, if you can afford one of the 3000 series, they have the most capabilities. But if you don't have a router to connect your cable modem to, stick to 2100, as it has a build-in one. If you visit www.broadbandstuff.co.uk, they have a good range of them, and the prices are nice.

Krasimir