[kwlug-disc] VoIP replacement for land line

[Khalid Baheyeldin]

I am reviving an old thread, since I am in the market for replacing my land
line.

Currently Bell charges ~ $34 a month with no features at all. The only
thing that is stopping me is that we have a monitored alarm system that
requires a land line. Some people tried to connect the alarm system to the
pseudo land line coming into the VoIP device, and it worked with some
systems. Most reported it does not work though. My current company requires
something like $600 to upgrade the keypad to add a cellular option instead
of the land line, and add $10 a month for that.

I use a lot of minutes to the USA, and others in the house us a lot of
local minutes, so pure voip.ms may not cut it. Even with a DID and $4.95 a
month (Kitchener Waterloo) for incoming, there is still a $0.01 per minute
outgoing.

MagicJack seems iffy if you transfer your current number to them, so don't
want to risk that with a company that does not have phone support.

Currently considering Ooma. It is a hardware VoiP device that offers almost
free calls to Canada (almost because you pay $4 a month in taxes and
government fees, and you get 911).

If you want unlimited US calling, then you do it for $10 a month.

And they have a 30 day trial, after which you can return it, or switch your
current number to it.

It is sold at Costco (online only) with a WiFi adapers
http://www.costco.ca/.product.576100.html

Or at BestBuy/Futureshop retail with a Bluetooth adapter (for those who
don't have handsets)
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/ooma-ooma-telo-voip-internet-phone-system-with-bluetooth-adapter-telo-canadabt/10216459.aspx

Any one tried that?
Anyone has voip.ms with many family members talking locally and to the USA?
Anyone has a monitored alarm with a VoiP system or cellular? Which company?


On Fri, Sep 13, 2013 at 11:27 AM, Colin Mackay <zixiekat at gmail.com> wrote:

> I currently use voip.ms.  It's not free, but it is pay as you go.
> Currently I spend about $25 every three-four months for my 519 number.
> They charge $5.95 / month for the phone number and in US/Can it's something
> like $0.0052 per minute.  (0.52 cents)
>
> Example:  In April I spent 04h 41m 39s on the phone.  It cost $1.58875 for
> that time.
>
> I've never found a reliable 'free' solution that doesn't cost some amount
> of money initially.  For a while, you could pay Fongo $50 for plain old SIP
> access and use whatever device you wanted, but that changed.  Now it's an
> ATA you purchase and I can't comment on their reliability.
>
> I just use a small PC as an asterisk server and a Linksys ATA to let my
> old fashioned phones work, but you could just use a free SIP softphone to
> talk directly to voip.ms...
>
> --
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
Fast Reliable Drupal
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and
wrong." -- H.L. Mencken
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://kwlug.org/pipermail/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org/attachments/20131024/c3203464/attachment.htm>