There doesn't appear to be a FAQ for this group. We have been using
Skype to contact my wife's relations in Bogota, Colombia and Denver, USA
, New York, USA together. Also more infrequently New Mexico and St
Louis, Missouri. Reading messages in this group, one gets the impression
that Skype, although better known may not be the cheapest
of these VOIP services? It is difficult to get facts here as every one
seems to have a different agenda. Any guidance would be appreciated.
--
Terry Halligan

Terry Halligan wrote:
There doesn't appear to be a FAQ for this group. We have been using
Skype to contact my wife's relations in Bogota, Colombia and Denver, USA
, New York, USA together. Also more infrequently New Mexico and St
Louis, Missouri. Reading messages in this group, one gets the impression
that Skype, although better known may not be the cheapest
of these VOIP services? It is difficult to get facts here as every one
seems to have a different agenda. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Voipcheap is free to the USA (landlines and mobiles), though you have to
deposit £5 with them. You also have to have to bear in mind that this
credit only lasts 120 days. Voipcheap allows you to use a softphone like
the Skype software to make calls through your PC.

http://www.voipcheap.co.uk/en/rates.html#u

Max

On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 12:19:35 +0000, Terry Halligan
wrote:

Reading messages in this group, one gets the impression
that Skype, although better known may not be the cheapest
of these VOIP services?

Skype is free for Skype to Skype calls and most VOIP systems are free
for VOIP to VOIP calls (for this, Skype is not VOIP because it uses a
different standard)

If you are making calls from Skype or VOIP to landline phones, there
are cheaper alternatives to Skype, and in the future that will be
increasingly true.

Because Skype is proprietary, users will be in a position where have
no easy alternative. When eBay start trying to get back the ridiculous
price they paid for Skype, it will be a matter of paying more and more
or switching to a SIP VOIP system.

If you start with proper SIP VOIP, there is a lot of competition, so
prices will stay low.

If using Skype to contact other Skype users in the USA or South America
is free why is that not VOIP. What is SIP VOIP?



In message ,
writes
On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 12:19:35 +0000, Terry Halligan
wrote:

Reading messages in this group, one gets the impression
that Skype, although better known may not be the cheapest
of these VOIP services?

Skype is free for Skype to Skype calls and most VOIP systems are free
for VOIP to VOIP calls (for this, Skype is not VOIP because it uses a
different standard)

If you are making calls from Skype or VOIP to landline phones, there
are cheaper alternatives to Skype, and in the future that will be
increasingly true.

Because Skype is proprietary, users will be in a position where have
no easy alternative. When eBay start trying to get back the ridiculous
price they paid for Skype, it will be a matter of paying more and more
or switching to a SIP VOIP system.

If you start with proper SIP VOIP, there is a lot of competition, so
prices will stay low.

--
Terry Halligan

"Terry Halligan" wrote in message
...
In message ,
writes
On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 12:19:35 +0000, Terry Halligan
wrote:

Reading messages in this group, one gets the impression
that Skype, although better known may not be the cheapest
of these VOIP services?

Skype is free for Skype to Skype calls and most VOIP systems are free
for VOIP to VOIP calls (for this, Skype is not VOIP because it uses a
different standard)

If you are making calls from Skype or VOIP to landline phones, there
are cheaper alternatives to Skype, and in the future that will be
increasingly true.

Because Skype is proprietary, users will be in a position where have
no easy alternative. When eBay start trying to get back the ridiculous
price they paid for Skype, it will be a matter of paying more and more
or switching to a SIP VOIP system.

If you start with proper SIP VOIP, there is a lot of competition, so
prices will stay low.

--
Terry Halligan

If using Skype to contact other Skype users in the USA or South America is
free why is that not VOIP. What is SIP VOIP?


I think he meant Skype is not SIP, not Skype is not VoIP, as it clearly is
VoIP.

A couple of disadvantages that come with Skype are
1. Other VoIP services cannot interconnect with it
2. Skype requires a PC to be on to use it.

What is a good example of a VOIP that is interactive with other VOIP not
necessarily the same company and doesn't require a PC but presumably
some specific handset .


In message , Jono
writes

"Terry Halligan" wrote in message
...
In message ,
writes
On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 12:19:35 +0000, Terry Halligan
wrote:

Reading messages in this group, one gets the impression
that Skype, although better known may not be the cheapest
of these VOIP services?

Skype is free for Skype to Skype calls and most VOIP systems are free
for VOIP to VOIP calls (for this, Skype is not VOIP because it uses a
different standard)

If you are making calls from Skype or VOIP to landline phones, there
are cheaper alternatives to Skype, and in the future that will be
increasingly true.

Because Skype is proprietary, users will be in a position where have
no easy alternative. When eBay start trying to get back the ridiculous
price they paid for Skype, it will be a matter of paying more and more
or switching to a SIP VOIP system.

If you start with proper SIP VOIP, there is a lot of competition, so
prices will stay low.

--
Terry Halligan

If using Skype to contact other Skype users in the USA or South America is
free why is that not VOIP. What is SIP VOIP?


I think he meant Skype is not SIP, not Skype is not VoIP, as it clearly is
VoIP.

A couple of disadvantages that come with Skype are
1. Other VoIP services cannot interconnect with it
2. Skype requires a PC to be on to use it.



--
Terry Halligan

On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 20:28:59 +0000, Terry Halligan
wrote:

What is a good example of a VOIP that is interactive with other VOIP not
necessarily the same company and doesn't require a PC

All of them except Skype!

There are literally hundreds to choose from.

but presumably
some specific handset

Although you can get special VOIP phones, most people use a little box
called an ATA which has a socket for a network cable to connect to the
internet through broadband, and a telephone socket that you plug an
ordinary telephone into.

That's what I use.

It's not necessary to include the preceding discussion and add your
response/question at the top. I find it inconvenient to read that way.

Terry Halligan wrote:

||
|| In message , Jono
|| writes
|||
||| "Terry Halligan" wrote in
||| message ...
|||| In message ,
|||| writes
||||| On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 12:19:35 +0000, Terry Halligan
||||| wrote:
|||||
|||||| Reading messages in this group, one gets the impression
|||||| that Skype, although better known may not be the cheapest
|||||| of these VOIP services?
|||||
||||| Skype is free for Skype to Skype calls and most VOIP systems are
||||| free for VOIP to VOIP calls (for this, Skype is not VOIP because
||||| it uses a different standard)
|||||
||||| If you are making calls from Skype or VOIP to landline phones,
||||| there are cheaper alternatives to Skype, and in the future that
||||| will be increasingly true.
|||||
||||| Because Skype is proprietary, users will be in a position where
||||| have no easy alternative. When eBay start trying to get back the
||||| ridiculous price they paid for Skype, it will be a matter of
||||| paying more and more or switching to a SIP VOIP system.
|||||
||||| If you start with proper SIP VOIP, there is a lot of competition,
||||| so prices will stay low.
||||
|||| --
|||| Terry Halligan
|||
|||| If using Skype to contact other Skype users in the USA or South
|||| America is free why is that not VOIP. What is SIP VOIP?
||||
|||
||| I think he meant Skype is not SIP, not Skype is not VoIP, as it
||| clearly is VoIP.
|||
||| A couple of disadvantages that come with Skype are
||| 1. Other VoIP services cannot interconnect with it
||| 2. Skype requires a PC to be on to use it.
|||
|| What is a good example of a VOIP that is interactive with other VOIP
|| not necessarily the same company and doesn't require a PC but
|| presumably some specific handset .
||
|| Terry Halligan

Sipgate
Gradwell

to name but two.

If you look on the Sipgate.co.uk site, they have a list of other providers
they have peering agreements with.

"Terry Halligan" wrote in message
...
There doesn't appear to be a FAQ for this group. We have been using Skype
to contact my wife's relations in Bogota, Colombia and Denver, USA , New
York, USA together. Also more infrequently New Mexico and St Louis,
Missouri. Reading messages in this group, one gets the impression that
Skype, although better known may not be the cheapest
of these VOIP services? It is difficult to get facts here as every one
seems to have a different agenda. Any guidance would be appreciated.
--
Terry Halligan

The rate to Bogota is quite good at about 3.3p per minute - assuming you are
using Skypeout!?

Paul

"Terry Halligan" wrote in message
...
There doesn't appear to be a FAQ for this group. We have been using Skype
to contact my wife's relations in Bogota, Colombia and Denver, USA , New
York, USA together. Also more infrequently New Mexico and St Louis,
Missouri. Reading messages in this group, one gets the impression that
Skype, although better known may not be the cheapest
of these VOIP services? It is difficult to get facts here as every one
seems to have a different agenda. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Hi,

Facts are thin on the ground because everything is new and developing
rapidly.

Basically, Skype uses a proprietory system for transferring voice across the
internet. Skype is pretty well "plug-and-play" since it is good at
circumventing firewall and router issues. If you are happy with
computer-to-computer/landline conversations then it works very well. It is
true that landline calls may not be the cheapest but you are paying for the
convenience of the software and the user interface.

The "other" form of VoIP is based upon SIP, an open standard system. Open
standards means that any number of players can enter the market and develop
whatever market offerings they can think up around that them. You do need
SIP-enabled VoIP software or hardware in order to use it however there are a
number of advantages: You can have multiple suppliers according to your
needs and can route calls to the cheapest supplier according to destination.
Calls are free between SIP suppliers that have peering arrangements. I use
voipfone.co.uk and they peer as follows [from their FAQ
http://www.voipfone.co.uk/FAQ.php]:
*878 Voiptalk
*488 Intervivo
*393 FWD
*747 SipPhone
*333 Deltathree
*467 Gossiptel
*472 Gradwell
*687 Musimi
*856 Telio
*483 Gratissip

If you have a network router controlling your internet connection then you
can purchase an ATA [I use Sipura] and plug a regular phone into that [we
have a DECT base station with handsets in the kitchen, living room,
bedroom]. This means that you can make and receive calls without the
computer being switched on. You may sometimes have configuration issues
with getting the VoIP signal through some routers/firewalls to the ATA but
once figured out they should not recurr.

As regards your choice of supplier, just find the one(s) with cheapest calls
to USA and Columbia. You may have to do some research.

Hope this helps.

L