Packet8 telephone

[sscotty727]

A co-worker was showing me this and I am seriously considering it. Has anyone here heard of or used this? I was wondering pros/cons of this option (how is the quality, etc).

Also, for those that make alot of long distance/international calls, this might be a great way to save some money (assuming it works well enough).

http://www.packet8.net/

Thanks,

Scotty

[heelsRus]

A co-worker was showing me this and I am seriously considering it. Has anyone here heard of or used this? I was wondering pros/cons of this option (how is the quality, etc).

Also, for those that make alot of long distance/international calls, this might be a great way to save some money (assuming it works well enough).

http://www.packet8.net/

Thanks,

Scotty

Check out Skype (www.skype.com). You can do internet to internet calls for free and internet to POTS calls for 0.17Euro per minute (well, that was the price last I looked). The quality is quite good too.

[asdf174]

I've heard of skype. I don't use it though. I hate telephones to be honest.

[J-Nation]

Check out Skype (www.skype.com). You can do internet to internet calls for free and internet to POTS calls for 0.17Euro per minute (well, that was the price last I looked). The quality is quite good too.

Actually, it's 0.017 Euro (1.7 Euro cents) per minute - even better!

Emma

[sscotty727]

Skype sounds interesting, however, it is just a program that runs on your computer (you need to have your computer on to run it). Packet8 replaces your telephone. You get a box that you plug into your router which has telephone jacks on it. You then plug a conventional telephone into it and get a dial tone and make/receive phone calls just as you would with a normal telephone. From the website, you even get caller id, voicemail, etc. My main question is if anyone has experience using this. $20 a month for unlimited local/long distance sounds great, but: 1) How good is the quality? 2) If you lose your internet connection or electricity, you also lose your phone. Was thinking maybe I could get the packet8 service and then get a basic no frills land line in case of emergencies or even just use my cell phone if internet/power drops. Anyway, just thought I would pass it on incase anyone else was interested. Scotty

[heelsRus]

Skype sounds interesting, however, it is just a program that runs on your computer (you need to have your computer on to run it).

Packet8 replaces your telephone. You get a box that you plug into your router which has telephone jacks on it. You then plug a conventional telephone into it and get a dial tone and make/receive phone calls just as you would with a normal telephone. From the website, you even get caller id, voicemail, etc.

My main question is if anyone has experience using this. $20 a month for unlimited local/long distance sounds great, but:

1) How good is the quality?

2) If you lose your internet connection or electricity, you also lose your phone.

Was thinking maybe I could get the packet8 service and then get a basic no frills land line in case of emergencies or even just use my cell phone if internet/power drops.

Anyway, just thought I would pass it on incase anyone else was interested.

Scotty

My computer is always on and I'm usually closer to it than any telephone, so it all works out :-)

The quality is very good because it sets up a point-to-point connection between you and the destination. No going through a middle-man like with Yahoo and other services.

I find it kinda funny that a VOIP solution costs as much as a regular POTS line. It should be super cheap - $5/mo at the top end. It's pure profit once the gear is paid for, and the telecom companies (Bell, for example) have the same costs as the VOIP people, so .....

We have Bell long distance and because we also have ExpressVu (satellite) and their internet high speed service, long distance is 1000minutes/month in North America for $5. So dirt cheap.

I like VOIP but not at the prices they're charging. It's too much of a rip-off. 911 service is a big deal unless you also carry a cell phone.

[Dr. Shoe]

I'm waiting until september when BT launch their new service. In essence you use a broadband hub like a mini cell phone mast and then if you're away from your hub you use the normal masts. Moreover, if you happen to be within a few feet of another hub (at a friend's home say,) then you can use that and get the cheap calls. One interesting bonus is the fact that if you're talking on a hub and the other person is also on a hub then the call is free anywhere in the world. The hub will come free and the service will cost £17.99 per month including 100 free mobile cross-network minutes, extra handsets will be £9.99.

[ShockQueen]

We got our new Digital Phone service installed recently, and I for one am LOVING it. They basically swap your cable modem for a new combo cable modem/MTA device that you plug into your computer as well as your phone. You don't have to have the cable modem service to have the digital phone, but you can if you want. The nice thing is....it's one flat rate across the US and Canada, and international calls are done at really low rates. Calls to the UK are $.06/minute too, so that's wonderful as well! Now to just get in touch with some of my HH friends here and do some REAL long-distance testing! Francis...can ya hear me? :-) Off to get a nap before work. Love working the Zombie Death Squad shift! :drinking:

[hoverfly]

I use http://www.vonage.com

Pros:

Sound quality can be adjusted from great to not so great if your connection slows down to much when in use.

It's cheaper and you can purchase limited or unlimited minutest plans.

With Vonage You get all the frills, call waiting, call forwarding, three way calling, ect………. Other providers may/may not do this

You don't have to have the computer on.

You can take the router any where in the U.S. and people still can reach you at the same number as long you are conected to a broad band line.

Cons:

If your power goes out your phone is no longer powered by the phone company's phone line. Your router is plugged in to your wall outlet for power, your phone is plugged into the router. But with Vonage you can set it up to automatically forward it to another phone like your (if you have one) cell phone when it can not reach the router do to a problem with the connection or lack of power to the router. I suggest you make sure you have this with other providers.

If you use DSL and you are not using the DSL provider who owns the phone line, internet service, or it's VoIp, for instance, Verizon owns my phone line. But I use GWI for my internet provider and Vonage for my phone. In order to be able to keep using Vonage you still have to pay who ever owns the phone line in this case Verizon I pay them $14 a month so now I have two phones "lines" in the house. I can still use the phone for incoming call (there is no additional charge) but I pay as I go if I use it for out going calls. So you should look to see if you phone line provider offers VoIp for the same price. It's still cheaper for me because I use the limited minuets plan and Verizon does not offer a 5Mbps plan for the same price as there 3Mbps plan from GWI .

When you have DSL you may not be able to use your traditional phone number you may have to get a new one and it may not be in the same town.

VoIp is not as secure as a traditional phone line, it can be hacked but only at the router just make sure you use a antivirus and firewall program on your computer.

[Pam]

Skype works really well and it is very cheap. If you can get your friends to join, it is free... (Comment NOT sponsored by Skype ... )