On 11/12/17 01:53 AM, Per Jessen wrote:
Hi Ken
you don't need a Fritzbox or similar to do VoIP, but you do need a provider to connect you to the regular phone network.
Correct. My local phonecos, Bell and Roges who took over from Sprint some while ago, rovided this service but I found it was comparatively expensive. Other intrernet providers that lease cable capacity from Rogers offer a voip service. But the independents who specialise can probably give you the ebst rates. I use VOIP.MS https://voip.ms/en/rates/international Depending on your location and local legislation you may have number mobility. It applies where I am and I kept the same number in all my dealings with Bell,. Sprint, Rogers and now voip.ms. When I signed up I also decided to take a new business line number. They asked me where I would like it to be "local" to, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles or London, Paris, Berlin? Same price. They have nodes all across north America and western Europe
To hook up a plain analogue phone for VoIP, all you really need is a little converter (often called "ATA") box a la Linksys SPA112 or the Grandstream ATA-486.
I have the Linksys at home. I also have a voip app on my cell phone and tablet. And voip.ms has nodes, as I said, all across north America and western Europe. Heck, If I'm in rural Wales visiting a relative there and visit a coffee shop that has internet service I _could_ make use of the Toronto node, if I forgot the London numbers, using my Android tablet and Zoiper, but there would be a bit of delay/echo from crossing the Atlantic back and forth!
If you going to talk to the rest of the world, you pick a provider and they'll give you your SIP credentials to configure the box with.
I was astounded to find that the rate with voip.ms for calling my relatives in the UK/landlines[1] was the same as calling locally. Forget LD plans! Heck, it's the Internet for ${DEITY}'s sake! [1] Trying to call UK cell pones is a mess! But then compared to the North American system the UK phone system is and always has been a bit of a mess. -- A: Yes. > Q: Are you sure? >> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation. >>> Q: Why is top posting frowned upon? -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org