Skype users - general impressions

[iant]

I'm seriously considering ditching my home phone no (with Virgin at the moment) and switching to using Skype including the SkypeIn service (which means you'd have a number which people can ring you on from ordinary landlines).

Has anyone have any experiences with skype particularly regarding the quality of the calls. I generally use my mobile most of the time as I'm on the 300mins+300 texts for a tenner, so I wasn't planning heavy use of the calls on skype - it's really just to provide a point of contact.

I was also considering the use of one of the wi-fi phones so my computer doesn't have to be left on - does anyone have experience of these

Cheers all

 

[TheWakeUpCall]

You would need reliable internet for this. You will still have to pay line rental, just not for a phone package. You would have to buy one of those £100 skype phones that don't need to be plugged into a PC.

I think it's cheaper having landline isn't it?

I'm on tiscali, I get line rental, free uk and some international anytime calls, 8Mb broadband (really at about 5.5Mb) all this for i think around £21 a month with the 1571 service.

But if you really do wanna go for it, then quality of calls, then it's alright yeah That's my experience from using it on the PC.

 

[iant]

You would need reliable internet for this. You will still have to pay line rental, just not for a phone package. You would have to buy one of those £100 skype phones that don't need to be plugged into a PC.

I think it's cheaper having landline isn't it?

I'm on tiscali, I get line rental, free uk and some international anytime calls, 8Mb broadband (really at about 5.5Mb) all this for i think around £21 a month with the 1571 service.

But if you really do wanna go for it, then quality of calls, then it's alright yeah That's my experience from using it on the PC.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't need to pay line rental with virgin broadband. The line rental is listed independently from the broadband and doesn't enter the house using the same cable. In this case (and the assumption I'm working on) £100 doesn't seem so bad when put against the £13 line rental (including caller id and call forwarding) saved each month

 

[biffo1]

ive been using skpe now for a while its great , its very clear , and u can have a 3 way conversation without any lag , i use a mic and ear head set

 

[TheWakeUpCall]

Ok, well as long as you can turn off your phone and keep your broadband, and it works out cheaper to create a number of skype than pay for a landline phone, then go for it.

 

[iant]

I think I'll give it a go. The difference in cost is quite staggering.

I currently pay Virgin close to £180 a year for a phone line (with called id and call forwarding) - this is before making any calls.

To pay for a permanent number on skype costs £40.25 for 12 months. So if the call quality is bearable thats £140 saved over a year - more than enough to pay for a wi-fi phone for connection.

My main incentive was the fact two porn lines calls appeared on my bill a couple of months back - both of them when no-one was in the house (and both for 5 seconds each so hardly time for ... well you know!). After a discussion with Virgin (which of course took the best part of an hour after sitting in a 50 min queue), the result was they would send somebody out to check for a fault - but it would cost £50 if they didn't find anything. And of course I was to take their word.

So this seems an ideal way to tell them to stick it!!

 

[conorc]

I think I'll give it a go. The difference in cost is quite staggering.

I currently pay Virgin close to £180 a year for a phone line (with called id and call forwarding) - this is before making any calls.

To pay for a permanent number on skype costs £40.25 for 12 months. So if the call quality is bearable thats £140 saved over a year - more than enough to pay for a wi-fi phone for connection.

My main incentive was the fact two porn lines calls appeared on my bill a couple of months back - both of them when no-one was in the house (and both for 5 seconds each so hardly time for ... well you know!). After a discussion with Virgin (which of course took the best part of an hour after sitting in a 50 min queue), the result was they would send somebody out to check for a fault - but it would cost £50 if they didn't find anything. And of course I was to take their word.

So this seems an ideal way to tell them to stick it!!

I don't know UK any more (since I moved back to Ireland some years ago) but I use a SIP phone service here that's great! I get "normal" telephony using an ATA plugged into my broadband connection, the same number that we've always used, using normal DECT handsets, caller ID voicemail, some really neat features (like having serveral phone rining, including mobile or landlines, when my home number is dialled: the first to pickup answers the call, and being able to use my 'home' phone anywhere worldwide when I plug the laptop into a broadband connection) and cheap calls for EUR5.00 /mth (GBP3.50).
My broadband is over a radio link so I don't need a telco for adsl.

Check out SIP providers in UK, they're the way to go!

Skype is too based on PC (even with skype-in, etc)

Check out http://www.blueface.ie for the type of services available (and the rates). Try their free trial with a softphone (even from the UK) http://www.blueface.ie/freetrial.aspx

 

[mcknigma]

there are plenty of other VOIP providers - even Tesco have one that costs about £15 and is free for calls between other Tesco phones - this also includes £5 credit from memory.

May be worth checking them out as it also means you can use your phone on the move- all you need is a BB connection.

I would be a bit concerned you may loose your phone if the BB goes down but then again you probably have a mobile for back up.