Voip

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Lourens

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I was thinking while reading the article "VOIP Wars - Skype Hits Africa And Telkom Kenya Disconnects Sema Cards" - This VOIP thing is not my forte but I just want to know if there is an alternative to Skype or are we turning the knight in shining armour into our future tyrant.
 
No danger of that, methinx. Skype is popular because it's free and runs on Windows. There are alternatives, both free and commercial, both closed and open. See OpenVoIP...
 
I'll have a look at OpenVoIP.

What de heck does SIP mean? I can not access these sites now but will have a look later.

I take it a Skype user can not communicate with a user that make use of another brand of voip software or is the some sort of exchange (sever software) available so that they can communicate?

If not get a South African to do one and be the next Mark Shuttleworth!
 
Hi all - I have 10 years support experience, but am new to VoIP. I guess I could do some reading on the web, but I don't have the time right now... Who can give me some insight into this VoIP thing...
Where do I register a number
How do people call my VoIP phone from a landline...
If I use ADSL with router, which ports should I forward to receive calls...
Just need to know some practicals if anyone has the time...
THANKS!
 
I think your 1st stop on your VoIP journey should be www.skype.com, download the Skype software, install it, register in the installed application, this gives you a username rather than an actual telephone number people can call.

There will be little movement on VoIP-based telephone numbers until Number Portability is available to the SNO & Cellular Network Operators, and all that depends on the DoC & ICASA, so don't hold your breath.

In the meantime try out the various software apps (like Skype) that allow you to make calls between computers with the same VoIP software installed, and with Skype you can purchase credit (SkypeOut) to make calls from Skype on your PC to an actual telephone number where the recipient of your call does not have Skype installed.
 
I'm currently trying out SipPhone (http://www.sipphone.com/) and Free World Dialup (http://www.pulver.com/fwd/) using the X-Lite soft phone. For SIP, you normally have to forward port 5060 UDP as well as the media ports (RTP) which are 8000 - 8005 UDP for SipPhone. On X-Lite you can change the default SIP and RTP ports. This is especially important when you run more than one SIP client behind a NAT firewall.

If you sign up with most of the SIP service providers, then you can send and receive calls from other SIP service providers for free as they have gateways to each other. You can also normally making calls to "normal" phones by opening an account. Skype is currently using proprietary protocols (not SIP) and can't interconnect with the major SIP service providers. I guess they will eventually sort out some type of interoperability. I didn't want to use Skype as I don't like the idea that my machine might be used to route other people's Skype voice comms or service directory enquiries:

http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~library/TR-repository/reports/reports-2004/cucs-039-04.pdf
http://www.voipdaily.com/archives/2004/03/why_skype_is_no.php

The biggest issue I've found is sorting out the firewall and NAT problems. I'm also using MSN Messenger 6.2 which is also a SIP client but which only supports Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) routers. I've actually replaced my Cisco ADSL router with a Netgear DG834 which does support UPnP. My understanding is that it would also be possible to use MSN Messenger 6.2 to connect to other SIP service providers instead of just MSN. Apparently MS changed MSN Messenger around version 4 or 5 to use SIP instead of H.323 which is the older video conferencing protocol.

Another SIP provider I'm considering is http://www.sipgate.de as we make a lot of calls to Germany. For 9Euro a month, you get 1000 minutes to landlines in Germany. You also get a phone number in an area code of your choice in Germany. So people in Germany can potentially call you from a normal phone by making a local call.

The other thing you should consider is which voice codec you're using. On X-Lite you can set the priority order for which codec to use. ILBC (http://www.ilbcfreeware.org/) seems to be quite a good codec for packetized networks (ie not circuit switched) where bandwidth is limited.

I have so far been unsuccessfull in buying minutes from SipPhone using a Mastercard. From their support forums, it seems quite a few other people are having the same problem. That's why I'm considering other SIP service providers.
 
That's what I'm looking for - thanks Mystic. I've been using Skype for over a year now, but want to do something more practical in the office - especially for the non techs. IP phones are not too bad price-wise and I am looking at connecting a least cost routing goodie to my PABX. Mainly for outgoing calls, but incomming would be great too. We do NAT here, so those ports are a great help. I downloaded X-lite yesterday and am currently looking at it. I agree with the Skype thing - I am all for cutting out T31k0m, but IMHO p2p programmers aren't into full disclosure with regards traffic, so i am a little sceptical. We often call Washington, and have had little problems with Skype, but I prefer the open source route... Thanks again!
 
Skype is apparently bringing out a new service called SkypeIn to complement SkypeOut. Basically it allows Skype users to have an actual telephone number so people from regular phone networks will be able to call in to the Skype network. Pretty good idea. Don't ask me about costs and whether we'll get it here. Its not released yet as far as I know.

Also, Motorola has signed a deal with Skype and they're the first cellular company to bring out a cell phone that runs skype. There's also another company that makes a phone handset that doubles as a skype handset so you can use it for regular or skype calls. Can't remember their name though.
 
Mobiles and Skype

I have skype on my Imate - I use it when docked - mainly to test... can u imagine the cost of a skype call using GPRS at R30 odd per meg!!!

I guess it's not feasable here yet, other than on 3g and even then, being p2p... how much bandwidth to maintain a login?

hmmm....
 
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