# What is VOIP exactly?



## Elphaba (22 Feb 2007)

I want to set this up at home. I have always on broadband with imagine. I'm using a wired router on my mac. Can you only phone people that also have VOIP set up, or can you call anyone and can they call you?

I am thinking of getting rid of our landline phone altogether as we all have mobile phones. I dont see the point in paying monthly tel. line rental about 20 euro)as well as 19.99 broadband charge. I have a horrendous bill at the mo. with teenager calling mobiles from landline. Is their a company that sells broadband only and VOIP hardware and I suppose I'd need software. Any advice would be appreciated.


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## askalot (22 Feb 2007)

Elphaba said:


> I want to set this up at home. I have always on broadband with imagine. I'm using a wired router on my mac. Can you only phone people that also have VOIP set up, or can you call anyone and can they call you?
> 
> I am thinking of getting rid of our landline phone altogether as we all have mobile phones. I dont see the point in paying monthly tel. line rental about 20 euro)as well as 19.99 broadband charge. I have a horrendous bill at the mo. with teenager calling mobiles from landline. Is their a company that sells broadband only and VOIP hardware and I suppose I'd need software. Any advice would be appreciated.



Blueface is a company that offers VOIP.

http://www.blueface.ie/

The person you are calling doesn't need VOIP. I tried Blueface for about six months and was glad that I kept the landline while I tried it out as I found the call quality very hit and miss. You might have better luck.

If NTL broadband is available in your area then they are starting to roll out a VOIP service. No idea what the quality is like but I'll probably be giving it a try.

There is a VOIP forum over on boards.ie

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=542


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## Elphaba (22 Feb 2007)

Thank you, I will check it out. Crazy set up in our house, one tv with sky, another with Chorus (cable) phone with imagine, one mac, one pc, 4 mobile phones, gmail, email, msn messenger, a microwave? and a dog that's afraid of the playstation, just thought I'd throw him into it...
Sometimes technology is all too much.....


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## ClubMan (22 Feb 2007)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voip


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## Wexfordman (22 Feb 2007)

VOIP is great as long as you have a good BB connection. I have voip for the last 18 months, and ditchec my landline in place of it, and ported my old eircom phone number over to it.
As far as usage, it is exactly the same as using a landline, quailty is in the main excellent, with some slight problems every now and then. I would compare it to similar quality to regular users of mobile phones. 98% of the time it works fine, with the odd problem here and there, definately worth the saving on line rental.

I have recommended and had a number of firends port over to it also, and they are delighted. My voip provider is blueface (which was mentioned above), and in general they seem to have the best reputation amongs irish voip providers. I find them excellent, and the support they offer is second to none.

If you have a good BB connection then its the way to go, if you can get this bb connection via cable or wireless (as I have) then even better as you should be able to get rid of landline altogether.

The blueface service also has a pay as you go type payment option if you want to manage your bills more effectivley.

Free trial can be downloaded from the site using a soft phone, but if you are serious about doing it you wnat to go the hardware route and get an ATA (Analog telephone adapter) which basically plugs into your broadband, and allows you to use a normal phone on your voip service without having to have a pc turned on.

Wexfordman


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## Elphaba (24 Feb 2007)

Thank you Wexfordman. I have to disentangle myself from our current phone/broadband provider. Dont know if I can just ditch the landline with them and keep the always on broadband. I'll have to make a few calls
to them and blueface.


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## ClubMan (24 Feb 2007)

You can only ditch the landline if you can get non landline/_DSL _broadband (e.g. wireless, cable, satellite) and then use that for internet access and _VOIP_.


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## Ethan 1 (25 Feb 2007)

Sorry for hijacking the thread but I don't want to start a new 1 when my query is related.....I think...... Is it possible to use a VOIP service on a 3G network ?


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## bankrupt (25 Feb 2007)

Ethan 1 said:


> Sorry for hijacking the thread but I don't want to start a new 1 when my query is related.....I think...... Is it possible to use a VOIP service on a 3G network ?


 
Yes.


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## Ethan 1 (27 Feb 2007)

bankrupt said:


> Yes.



Thanks for the response bankrupt. Any chance you could elaborate a little further, eg which network is best for this and which VOIP service would you recommend....


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## bankrupt (27 Feb 2007)

Ethan 1 said:


> Thanks for the response bankrupt. Any chance you could elaborate a little further, eg which network is best for this and which VOIP service would you recommend....


 
No.


(Sorry, don't have any recommendations for either, I can just tell you that VoIP will most definitely work on 3G connections. )


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## F.B.I (28 Feb 2007)

VOIP stands for voice over internet protocal (for those who would like to know). While there are several voip providers, I would say voip stunt would be the best for computer to landline connections. Although voip can be used on 3g networks, the bandwidth is not sufficient to handle this type of connection (for the time being) and a major lag time would be the drawback of such a connection (about 3 - 5 seconds from the time one spoke to the time the reciving party heard). A broadband connection would be best. With voip stunt all national calls are free to a landline, but a credit card is needed for account setup.


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## dam099 (28 Feb 2007)

bankrupt said:


> No.
> 
> 
> (Sorry, don't have any recommendations for either, I can just tell you that VoIP will most definitely work on 3G connections. )


 
It may work at present but is strictly speaking not allowed on Vodafone (don't know about 02/3G) so who knows when they might decide to try blocking it.





> 8. Use of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is not permitted within the Unlimited Data Roaming tariff offer and Vodafone reserves the right to impose technological or other constraints on this or related types of application.


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## bankrupt (28 Feb 2007)

F.B.I said:


> VOIP stands for voice over internet protocal (for those who would like to know). While there are several voip providers, I would say voip stunt would be the best for computer to landline connections. Although voip can be used on 3g networks, the bandwidth is not sufficient to handle this type of connection (for the time being) and a major lag time would be the drawback of such a connection (about 3 - 5 seconds from the time one spoke to the time the reciving party heard). A broadband connection would be best. With voip stunt all national calls are free to a landline, but a credit card is needed for account setup.


 
Not true, 3G has more than enough bandwidth to handle a simple VoIP call.  In general the latency (or "lag") will not be sufficient to be noticable and should certainly not be enough to make the call unintelligible.  Are you thinking of GPRS or "2G?"


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## MonsieurBond (1 Mar 2007)

dam099 said:


> It may work at present but is strictly speaking not allowed on Vodafone (don't know about 02/3G) so who knows when they might decide to try blocking it.




No wonder Vodafone don't allow it - they would lose tons of money if too many people used VOIP over their network.


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## bankrupt (1 Mar 2007)

MonsieurBond said:


> No wonder Vodafone don't allow it - they would lose tons of money if too many people used VOIP over their network.


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## askalot (1 Mar 2007)

MonsieurBond said:


> No wonder Vodafone don't allow it - they would lose tons of money if too many people used VOIP over their network.



Vodafone may not like it but the 3 network in the UK offer around 300 mins a month 'free' VOIP calls via Skype as part of their mobile phone packages. I'm sure it will arrive on these shores eventually!


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## paddyd (1 Mar 2007)

askalot said:


> Vodafone may not like it but the 3 network in the UK offer around 300 mins a month 'free' VOIP calls via Skype as part of their mobile phone packages. I'm sure it will arrive on these shores eventually!


 
FMC - Fixed Mobile Convergence

Its the hot topic of the Mobile telecoms world these days. Using a dual-mode handset (WiFi and GSM) you can make and receive phone calls using your mobile number (This is as opposed to using your Skype ID which cannot be dialled by current handsets). Your calls are routed using GSM while out-doors and routed over VoIP while in a WiFi hotspot, or wireless broadband in your house, or the WLAN in your office.
The handset requires a SIP Client to handle the routing and dialling. You can also move between Wireless and GSM while a call is in progress, and the call will not be dropped. VCC - Voice Call Continuity

The Operators have danced around the topic for the past 18 months, but now know there is a real threat from the VoIP providers (Vonage, Skype etc).

the Operator has a few huge advantages over Skype:
1. Single number: using your mobile numer, rather than some Skype username that no-one knows, and cannot dial (yet).
2. Its your mobile phone, not a laptop or PC with a headset, which you need for Vonage, Skype etc, so they are not mobile. Skype have handsets, but they are not GSM enabled, so your call is drpped as soon as you leave your house.
3. Its not just about voice; how about using your mobile for IP-TV while in a hotspot (thousands of them in Dublin), or some other sort of content streaming

p.s. don't expect that the Operator will allow free VoIP calls. They may not even be much cheaper than 'normal' GSM minutes


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