BYOD and VoIP Alternatives

NOTE: To take advantage of any of the following VoIP phone service options, you will have to have reliable high-speed Internet service -- usually DSL or Cable. When you sign up for Cable or DSL your provider will often attempt to pressure you into bundling VoIP phone service. Although the price will seem good -- often much cheaper than your landline phone -- you can do better.

For several years there have been home VoIP services offered by companies such as Vonage, BroadVoice, Phone Power and several others. The advantage of these services is that they offer a "one stop" solution. But that can come with a price. Many times there is a significant upfront "join up" charge (which includes the equipment), or some will ask you to pay for one, two or even three years in advance. What you lose is control and flexibility. If you get poor service, that equipment is "locked" to a particular VoIP provider -- so you have to start from scratch to move to someone else. These outfits are not always a bad deal, but you can do better.

BYOD (bring your own equipment) is the key. Think of it as PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) in the mobile phone world. You buy your own equipment, then use whatever service provider you prefer. You retain control, flexibility and you can usually find a better deal, especially if your usage is lighter than the norm. Most BYOD providers also provide the option to pay for only what you use, by the minute. But the choice is yours.

There are many BYOD VoIP providers but CallCentric consistently gets high grades for quality and reliability. Since this is the service our family uses, I'll concentrate on it for now -- though I intend to put up an exhaustive list of other providers on this blog's sister web page when it's up and running.

How does it work?

First, let me stress, you need a solid high-speed Internet connection. It doesn't have to be particularly fast, but it has to be "solid" -- with consistent upload and download speeds.
If you plan on using a traditional phone, you'll also need a device called an "ATA" (analog telephone adapter). This device converts data packets into voice and vice versa (incoming and outgoing). 

You'll need some kind of router. Many modems now are multi-purpose -- modem, router and switch built-in. If you don't have one of those, you'll need an ATA device that has a built-in router so you "pass through" your network through the ATA to your computer. You can also you use a traditional router or router/switch behind the modem. But, somehow, you need to route traffic to the ATA.

And you'll need an account with a VoIP "service provider." That's where CallCentric comes in. This service connects you to outside world, exactly like CO phone switches do on traditional POTS lines. 

That's it. 

Let's walk through installing CallCentric service. Let's assume that you have high-speed Internet and a router/switch installed. You have an extra port and you've bought an unlocked ATA on eBay (a used, unlocked Linksys SPA1001 can be bought for $21.49, including shipping, on eBay).  You've set up a free (IP Freedom) account on CallCentric (www.callcentric.com). All that remains is to plug in your ATA, plug the phone into it, program the ATA and start making calls.

The free CallCentric service gives you access to other CallCentric customers and anyone with a SIP address. It won't get you on ... (more later, if anyone is reading this ...)

Introduction

Many people, especially non-"power users," are paying too much for their home phone service. Most are unaware of the inexpensive alternatives, and are continuing to pay for expensive cellular or home ("landline") service. The purpose of this blog is to make folks aware of their options -- and, especially, the options that my family and I have chosen.

For the purpose of this blog, home phones are split into two main categories, cellular and "landline." Landline is in quotes because I now consider home VoIP phones "landline" in that they are not cellular, even though "landline" has traditionally referred to POTS (plain old telephone service) that comes over the wire or "land line."

As POTS service is replaced by cell phones and VoIP phones, higher and higher usage fees and taxes are added to the bill. In this area, local-only POTS phone service costs over $30 (with fees and taxes). No long distance is included. No features, not even Caller ID is included in that price. VoIP phone service can be bundled with Cable or DSL, but runs about $30 to $40 a month, plus over $14 in fees and taxes -- but at least this usually includes unlimited long distance. But you have to buy either cable or high-speed Internet (or both) to get these prices.

There are cheaper alternatives. In my next blog I will go over the process our family used in finding cheaper (much cheaper) landline service -- later blogs will go into alternative cellular services. Feel free to send questions, but there are better sources on this subject -- the VoIP forum at DSLReports, for example, has many qualified techs who quickly answer questions.

Next blog soon.