VOIP for home use

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Vikki Sixx

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Hi Everyone,

I tried a VOIP call this weekend at a friend of a friend's house and was amazed as to how simple it is. Also, the costs seem to be pretty good.

What I am unsure fo are the costs ... do you need a VOIP phone? Routers? etc ....

Please assist ... also please can you point me in the direction of where to get this stuff from.

Thanks
Vic
 
1.) You need internet bandwidth with low latency, depending on where the VOIP server you are connecting to that is.
2.) Hardware option you need either a VOIP phone or you need a VOIP ATA (analog telephone adapter) and good old analog phone
or Softphone option there are lots a soft phones that you can run on your PC: Zoiper, X-lite
3.) VOIP account on a good quality server, cheapest is from www.fnbconnect.co.za however if you would like a good inbound number on your VOIP phone then I recommend www.switchtel.co.za you can get a regional number ie 011xxxxxxx or 021xxxxxxxx etc their service is excellent and always willing to help.
4.) Configure and go.

With regards to the hardware option, there are some Billion ADSL modems that include a VOIP ATA in them.
 
You can get a VOIP account from MWEB & are only charged for calls. If you have a Billion 7401 DSl router it will do the VOIP connection for you; you can also connect analogue phones such as DECT to the router and use those or use an MWEB softphone on your PC or a VPOIP phone. The router can be set up to route calls via VOIP or analogue depending on number dial or by using a prefix code.
 
Easiest option is to get a network up and running in your home. Either wired or wireless (wireless being easier obviously) which allows access to the server (via internet shared on a router or whatever).

Then get a phone that supports SIP, Miro has quite a few and I recently bought their two cheapest models (both cost around R500 each), we got a Atcom and Grandstream for testing. Both are leagues better than any PSTN (normal phone line) phone. The Grandstream is much better tho IMHO.

Both need wired networking however, so for wireless you'll most likely pay more.

Thereafter you simply need to configure your SIP account on the phone and you can make and receive calls. For you to receive calls you'll need an incoming DID. Also realize that some VoIP providers will simply show private number when you call people.

Quality wise, it depends on the provider but we use VoIP at our company and the quality is better than when we used PRI (Primary Rate Interface) which is essentially 30 Telkom ISDN lines bundled together (ISDN is already far better than your plain old telephone service).
 
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Reqs

Good to hear I've been interested by this tech for a while now, but still know very little.

Does everyone using it run dedicated dsl line or 10mb or 1mb? {sorry for hijack}
 
I'm running a 1MB, works great, I can monitor my internet speed my SIP adapter is using (ATA) and I still have spare capacity...
 
sidai said:
I'm running a 1MB, works great, I can monitor my internet speed my SIP adapter is using (ATA) and I still have spare capacity...
Click to expand...

And data intensity? say a 1minute call = x mb?
 
You must have ADSL
We recommend / supply Siemens Gigaset A580 IP +- R 800. Cordless phone + base , takes both analogue and LAN connections.

http://gigaset.com/hq/en/product/GIGASETA580IP.html

Set up a VoIP account with a service provider , VoIP-SA ... http://www.voip-sa.co.za/
You can choose an incoming number for your area ..eg. 011-xxxxxxxx for an additional monthly fee. ( Not necessary if only making outgoing calls )
You should save +- 25% -- > 33% of your Telkom charges.
You should have NO CONTRACTS , NO MONTHLY COSTS ,ONLY PAY FOR AIRTIME
 
mrmrrza said:
And data intensity? say a 1minute call = x mb?
Click to expand...

Update: Just check a QOS rule, It used 5.0MB on a 09:37 call.
I use the G.729 codec, which uses less bandwidth than GSM codec, but sounds better (for me)

I don't know how much it use, can only check the speeds. VOIP doesn't use a lot. It mostly depends what codecs you use.
Check here the speeds they use: http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Codecs
You can then work out the amount with the amount time spend on call.
 
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mrmrrza said:
Good to hear I've been interested by this tech for a while now, but still know very little.

Does everyone using it run dedicated dsl line or 10mb or 1mb? {sorry for hijack}
Click to expand...

POTS is dedicated 64kbps circuits. With some good QoS in place, your VoIP calls should be totally bullet proof on any DSL line...
 
I'm wondering if this is feasible on 3G/HSPA - Anyone know what minimum latency is acceptable?
I'm a complete noob at this so feel free to elaborate
 
mrmrrza said:
Doubt 384 will work LOL or am I wrong?
Click to expand...
Should work, I know I even used to skype on a dial up line. But currently I am using voip (vox only because I got a good deal on the siemens sip phone through makro plus R500,00 airtime and a international provider called voipbuster) on a wimax line which is only 512.)

i find the quality of voipbuster better as the vox, but you will have no incoming number as with vox)
 
mrmrrza said:
Doubt 384 will work LOL or am I wrong?
Click to expand...

My suggestion:
  1. Get a Linksys SAP-3102
  2. Change to a Waya Waya line from Telkom for incoming (cheaper call costs for inbound calls, compared to 087)
  3. Setup Rynga for outgoing calls.

Been running this config for ages now, costs hardly anything. The calls do work on 384 - provided nothing else is using the line.
We're on a 10MB line at the moment, though.
 
I'm using voip on Mweb 384 uncapped and so far it's worked just fine. Obviously one is going to be prone to bandwidth overload, so don't expect a good result if you have a heavy torrents download running too.
 
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ColinR said:
My suggestion:
  1. Get a Linksys SAP-3102
  2. Change to a Waya Waya line from Telkom for incoming (cheaper call costs for inbound calls, compared to 087)
  3. Setup Rynga for outgoing calls.

Been running this config for ages now, costs hardly anything. The calls do work on 384 - provided nothing else is using the line.
We're on a 10MB line at the moment, though.
Click to expand...

But can you get ADSL on Waya Waya?
 
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moklet said:
But can you get ADSL on Waya Waya?
Click to expand...

Nope, tried! also you cannot get Waya Waya for business premises!

For incoming the caller pays,,,, they wont even know the difference unless they take a magnfying glass to their bill!
So you've connected a normal phone to the SPA-3102? and it's set up to a SIP account for outgoing?
 
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384kbps ADSL line will work for home use.
Check if your ADSL Router supports QoS. The Billion or Telkom's VoIp routers (likely to be also Billion) do support QoS.

Ensure that all data going to your providers IP and ports 5050-5060 are setup on Premium QoS.
You will not have much quality issues then.
 
Are you guys using shaped or unshaped?
I'm currently with mweb uncapped and am weighing up my options?
 
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