VOIP??

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Lampwick

Well-Known Member
Looking for some technical advice for a dummy please.

Currently we have talktalk broadband, tv and phone calls. I’m getting rid of them and switching to Trooli fibre broadband but they don’t offer the landline (my wife still uses it and still wants it 😩)

Can I simply buy a suitable phone and plug it into the router to make voip calls or is there a very simple process to carry out?

Ps as hinted at I’m not at all IT gifted so please answer in “dummy”
 
Unfortunately B.t which owns all the landlines switch them all off next year.
And if you read any online newspaper you see the horror stories for the new " broadband " posts.
20m high coming to block a driveway near you.
Don't know about Voip calls but this is the reason youl struggle to get a " landline ."
 

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For VOIP (Voice over IP), you would need some sort of backend service to route your calls. Having a suitable phone is only half of the solution. You may need a service like Skype or similar to connect the calls. One service I have used in the past is Vonage which offers £6.99+VAT per month for 1000 minutes of UK landline calls and £9.99+VAT for landlines and mobiles.

Here is a comparison of some of the VOIP providers in the UK.

Personally considering the cost, I would stick to WhatsApp overwifi or normal mobile calls as these seems to be unlimited for most contracts. Once BT gets rid of landlines, there may not be many with landline numbers. Even having an old smartphone for home use (by using only wifi) even without a sim with WhatsApp configured might be a lot easier. Do keep in mind that once the internet is down, all of these would not work and its still better to transition to using the mobile phone and the free services while there's still time.
 
I am on a broadband phone - service provider BT via superfast broadband. The copper here (ver rural) was rubbish, hardly able to hear incoming calls so with that and the 2025 deadline, we swopped. If the electricity goes off (sometimes ) we will be bereft of phones but keeping copper is not an option. I would make sure you have a good mobile signal in case of emergencies and the power is out and choose your mobile provider wisely (see above) when we changed only BT offered internet phones - actually not too bad so no real complaints as its cheaper and works - so far. Unlike copper, local phone calls require the full dialling code over fibre ?
Our package, including unlimited calls, 150mb/sec Broadband, 4 phone hand sets 3 BT wifi disks is £50 per month. The service within the house is good (partially stone built and 3-4 feet thick) not too bad considering no line charge. I am however sure you could do better. BT have however been good on system upgrades, will respond to calls about thew service and are generally satisfactory to good.
You pays your money and takes your choice - in this case with internet handsets that choice was limited to one provider.
 
You can obviously get the VoIP service from whichever provider you like, but most ISPs will offer a bundle that includes VoIP service with their broadband, which is the easiest option.

The main reason why you might want to choose your own VoIP provider is if you make phone calls abroad, and want to be able to select the provider that has the best price plan for your call destinations- this may be important to some, especially if you do not want a mobile app for internation calls for whatever reason.

That been said, one of the main reasons to keep a 'landline' used to be as backup for in case the mobile phone network does not work, but given that the landline will no longer be an option, there's little point in opting for VoIP as backup for the mobile phone. Then, some may want to retain their old landline number for incoming calls - if the provider allows you to do that - and although there are divert services that will divert your old landline number to your mobile, this can work out quite dear because you need to keep the original number AND pay for the incoming diverted calls.
 
Sampo said:
For VOIP (Voice over IP), you would need some sort of backend service to route your calls. Having a suitable phone is only half of the solution. You may need a service like Skype or similar to connect the calls. One service I have used in the past is Vonage which offers £6.99+VAT per month for 1000 minutes of UK landline calls and £9.99+VAT for landlines and mobiles.

Here is a comparison of some of the VOIP providers in the UK.

Personally considering the cost, I would stick to WhatsApp overwifi or normal mobile calls as these seems to be unlimited for most contracts. Once BT gets rid of landlines, there may not be many with landline numbers. Even having an old smartphone for home use (by using only wifi) even without a sim with WhatsApp configured might be a lot easier. Do keep in mind that once the internet is down, all of these would not work and its still better to transition to using the mobile phone and the free services while there's still time.
Click to expand...

Virgin Media etc are providing this as standard now that they have done away with landlines. My 'landline' no longer exists, but I can use a VOIP phone, using their internet service.
 
Mike L said:
The thread is about voip, not loss of power, shall we mention bomb blasts, arms falling off, terrorist hijack stopping calls also? 😞
Click to expand...
If you lose your power you lose wifi .A BT line carries it's own power ,no BT line no phone calls , mobile only if you are near a tower ,I'm miles away from one I normally just scrape by ,if it's raining misty or snowing ---- nowt !
 
VOIP can work well. But we get perhaps a dozen powercuts a year. Most are pretty short, but we had one a couple of months ago which lasted for seven hours. That's a problem because our borehole pumps were off, but we don't have mobile reception, so I had walk up a nearby hill to get in touch with the electricity provider. (We used to be able to use the landline, of course; they work in powercuts because of residual current from the exchange). The power co seem to rely on phoned-in or emailed reports, and won't take rapid action unless they get a reasonable number of such reports - yet this can be a problem in sparsely-populated areas. When I got through to them, they said I should check progress on their website!

There are other issues: one of my relatives lives in a village and he had to pay £600 to redo his burglar alarm system after he was forced to give up his landline-based sytem. There are similar problems with elderly people using home alert systems.

Like many IT things, when it works, it is great; but when it goes down...
 
SC3 said:
Virgin Media etc are providing this as standard now that they have done away with landlines. My 'landline' no longer exists, but I can use a VOIP phone, using their internet service.
Click to expand...
How much do they charge for their VOIP service? Is it reliable or how do you find it?
 
Sampo said:
How much do they charge for their VOIP service? Is it reliable or how do you find it?
Click to expand...

It costs no more, I was paying £29 a month and still am - they've just replaced the land line with the VOIP, I guess it makes it all easier for them to just provide one thing, all shoved down fibre lines - that way they'll need nothing other than fibre.

It's no different to the land line in actual use, it feels the same, dial the number you want and away you go.
 
Mike L said:
I haven’t had a ‘plug in’ phone for 20 odd years.
Click to expand...
IMG_4392.webp

Still working atm. Frankly it’s a miracle the exchanges are still working at all, there’s been zero investment for 20 years, the technology is from the 70’s and the buildings are failing. WiFi calling on your mobile is the way forward.
 
Lampwick said:
Looking for some technical advice for a dummy please.

Currently we have talktalk broadband, tv and phone calls. I’m getting rid of them and switching to Trooli fibre broadband but they don’t offer the landline (my wife still uses it and still wants it 😩)
Can I simply buy a suitable phone and plug it into the router to make voip calls or is there a very simple process to carry out?
Click to expand...

You jneed a special phone.
Inside is the electronics to convert your voice into IP and IP into a voice in the earpiece,

In addition to a phone you need a VOIP contract with a VOIP supplier.

Here's an example of a phone (there are hundreds of different styles)

30s Telephone | 30s Phones | 1930s Phones | 1930s Telephone

1930s Telephone compatible with modern banking technology. Available in SIP also, with 1 Year warraty
www.gporetro.com www.gporetro.com

Here's a VOIP providor (there are several others. All will help you set-up your 'phone).
www.voipfone.co.uk

VoIP phone services for business, home and home-workers.

Award-winning VoIP for UK business & home. Flexible plans, free trials, keep your number. High-quality calls & features. Join today for seamless communication!
www.voipfone.co.uk www.voipfone.co.uk

Yes, they just plug into your router too and it will work on your mobile, and your laptop and your PC :thumb:
 
This thread reminded me that I'd had an email from EE, my Broadband and Phone provider, a few days ago. I have unlimited download at 36 Mb, landline rental and anytime UK landline calls. Price was rising from £34.25 to £42.34 or I could "upgrade" to the same service for £35.24:-|:-|
I looked at comparison sites and no company offers landline with anytime calls!
I called EE and said yes, the £35.24 update would be fine. Nice lady said she thought she could do a better deal for same service that we're on. Came back with £32.52 on 24 month contract. I said thank you very much, sign me up :lol:
 
I got Trooli and stopped landline. Even my 86 year old mother in law gets on with just a mobile. Once the landline has gone you don’t miss it.
 
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