Domestic VOIP solution maintaining landline number

[Ditto]

Moving back to Sky (puck stream version) has been a nightmare, mainly due to there destruction of viewability of TV programs due to ads handling. I've now just discovered my phone bill has rocketed. To be fair, it switched from BT anytime to evenings and weekends, but just a few calls and the bills has rocketed.

 

As it's all over fibre on a Gigabit service, there must be a better way without the expense.

 

What I would really appreciate advice on is the best way to implement a domestic VOIP solution that will allow me to retain my landline number. I want to break the insane dependency on the likes of BT and Sky who are billing for a phone service that's modelled on copper connections, when in fact there's plenty of bandwidth to run it on the fibre installation.

[PotNoodleTech]

Most home broadband offers don't allow VOIP might be possible to force it with some tunneling vpn stuff?

 

I aint had a land line for 8+ years.

[speakercon]

I use a SIPGate account and a cisco spa112 adapter to plug a normal analogue phone into. You can port your existing number to them. Edited April 15, 2024 by speakercon

[Ditto]

Most home broadband offers don't allow VOIP might be possible to force it with some tunneling vpn stuff?

I aint had a land line for 8+ years.

Given I'm FTTP, am I not using VOIP effectively already? To block me using a third party feels anti-competitive.

 

On checking T&C's, the only mention of VOIP is:

"Delays and jitters in the transmission of data or packet loss can result in your broadband running slowly, web pages not loading or you having problems with services like VOIP and VPNs", so I don't see a contractual breach.

 

That's in the section that is about 'You might not get the performance we market' - not relevant in my case with FTTP.

[Davit2005]

I'd check with the SIP trunk if they need a static IP. I'd also check with Sky whether this would work, potentially the forums. Been running 3cx at home for 5+ years. Unfortunately free 3cx self hosted it not a thing anymore and the cloud hosted free version is limited i.e. on trunks.

[Ditto]

I use a SIPGate account and a cisco spa112 adapter to plug a normal analogue phone into. You can port your existing number to them.

Thanks. I did see this name come up in other forums. It appears if you were an early adopter, it was/is a great deal. Now at £12.95 per user per month, minimum 2 users, that's more expensive than an 'anytime' deal. Sipgate starter seemed to launch in 2022 but is closed to new customers now. What's showing on the website is marketed as a business offer - so perhaps not aiming for me and an increasing numbers of 'me's' that will be wanting this solution. The other name I see crop up is

Andrews and Arnold - anyone thought on their offerings?

[speakercon]

Thanks. I did see this name come up in other forums. It appears if you were an early adopter, it was/is a great deal. Now at £12.95 per user per month, minimum 2 users, that's more expensive than an 'anytime' deal. Sipgate starter seemed to launch in 2022 but is closed to new customers now. What's showing on the website is marketed as a business offer - so perhaps not aiming for me and an increasing numbers of 'me's' that will be wanting this solution. The other name I see crop up is

Andrews and Arnold - anyone thought on their offerings?

 

Oh that's a shame they have got rid of Sipgate Basic - but as you say probably due to a high recent uptake, I've had my account for about 10 years but I only use it for incoming calls anyway so don't actually pay anything. Hopefully they won't kick existing users off or I'll have to find something else! I've never used anything else domestically so can't make any recommendations.

[mrcrazy04]

I’ve got VOIP from Andrews and Arnold. I don’t use it very often (I mainly use my mobile for calls); but when I have, the calls have always been clear.

I got a new phone number when I signed up, rather than porting my old number across. I pay about £1.50 per month, and most outbound calls are about 1p per minute. Payment is via direct debit.

 

I went full nerd, and setup an Asterisk server as well; but they had configuration instructions available for a range of VOIP phones/ATAs, etc. for free (without needing to sign up) on their website.

I then have a Gigaset VOIP DECT base station connect my cordless handsets to the Asterisk server.

 

I have a static IP address, so configured it so they just send any inbound calls straight to me, rather than me having to poll for them. That seems a bit more reliable; but requires a static IP address and extra firewall rules, etc. to work.

 

They also offer IP allow listing, so you can set it to only allow calls from your home IP address, to guard against credential theft. They also use a randomly generated password for the VOIP calls.

 

I don’t think they have a minimum sign up period, so it might be worth signing up for a new phone number and having a play around to see if it will work for you.

[mikes]

I could have sworn I'd replied to this saying aren't ISP's doing this automatically due to the PSTN shutoff, ours wanted to charge £5 a month if that for a phone that plugged into our router using VOIP for calls due to PSTN shutoff. We declined, didn't need it. Did my post get deleted or did I forget to press send?

[free780]

On the flip side. I’m paying for a landline I do not use and cannot cancel. With Vodafone FTTP it’s voip. I wish I could cancel as Vodafone keeps increasing their monthly cost. Zen seems to honour the cost over the contract length.

[Ditto]

I could have sworn I'd replied to this saying aren't ISP's doing this automatically due to the PSTN shutoff, ours wanted to charge £5 a month if that for a phone that plugged into our router using VOIP for calls due to PSTN shutoff. We declined, didn't need it. Did my post get deleted or did I forget to press send?

I'm guessing forgot send button. But exactly this. With the switch off, I'd imagine a lot more people will start to realise this old style charging for phones and calls isn't justified and just a way to keep overall broadband prices higher. The other point, is with FTTP, I can see their is a bit more to it to keep your landline, but already BT and Sky have done it for me. How are they doing that, do they need a static IP address?Just like the router, other software, we all should be allowed to use third party alternatives and keep the market competitive.

[Ditto]

On the flip side. I’m paying for a landline I do not use and cannot cancel. With Vodafone FTTP it’s voip. I wish I could cancel as Vodafone keeps increasing their monthly cost. Zen seems to honour the cost over the contract length.

I think ISPs historically regarded them as bundled. I'm sure many offer truly BB only without landline nowadays, but not such savings. Have you checked what deals you can get lately?

[mikes]

I'm guessing forgot send button. But exactly this. With the switch off, I'd imagine a lot more people will start to realise this old style charging for phones and calls isn't justified and just a way to keep overall broadband prices higher. The other point, is with FTTP, I can see their is a bit more to it to keep your landline, but already BT and Sky have done it for me. How are they doing that, do they need a static IP address?Just like the router, other software, we all should be allowed to use third party alternatives and keep the market competitive.

 

yeah all I know is we were paying a lot for our broadband landline and TV because we were on an old package, we were paying £10+ a month for a landline that only ever annoyed us with spam. They said with renewal this was no longer an option but they would replace it with a VOIP system that plugged into our router, kept our same number and worked in the same way. We declined it to save the cash but the cost for this landline option was something minute like £5 a month or it might even have been free but with usage rates if I remember. This was about 6 months ago now

[fiendishlyclever]

One of the things I did was to get a number that goes straight to voicemail - and emails the message. Great for giving to anyone who might want to sell you things.

 

My solution to the voip was Sipgate basic as we dropped the landline years ago (easier on Virgin) We do have a BT number but can't use it as I don't use their router on our FTTP line (and the charges are extortionate)