What are the total costs for customers switching to VOIP service

[#1]

Interested to know, what is the total costings for moving to VOIP ( Obviously varies with provider, but an average would do)

e.g. cost of equipment..... Phone.... adapter ... and any other hardware.

Cost of VOIP service per month

Cost of calls per minute or whatever.

Does the service include Broadband internet connection.

What is the cost of the Broadband part per month.

Is there any limit to how much FREE (?) DATA you have per month

Can you change providers, as with current broadband/phone providers

Do the costs rise each April with the usual rip-off CPI plus a Percentage

Any other "unforseen" costs involved ?

Thanks

[#2]

@shutter I can only quote the figures/costs from Zen but :The router has a built in ATA, they supply a phone adapter for free. If you intend to use the phone for chargeable calls, £6.00/month gives you 1,000 minutes, with any calls over that at 20p/minute.

The service is dependant on you having a broadband account with them, which is obviously another cost.

My 'Digital Voice' service is free as I only use the 'landline' phone for incoming calls - all outgoing are via the 'all you can eat' £5.00/mo mobile.

My contract - when the new 18 month one starts next Monday - has no mid-term increase, and I shall renegotiate come September 2026 - if I'm still here.😀

If you are talking about a service from a VoIP-only provider though - ignore all the above.

[#3]

@jab1 ok... Thanks for the info.  trying to find out all the variables, to see what is involved and costings.

cheers

[#4]

@shutter 

How long is a piece of string?

On a budget consider for VoIP:

Grandstream HT801 VoIp Adapter

RJ15 to BT  adapter with bell capacitor (if you have a spare microfilter and RJ15 to RJ15 cqble from an old phone you can use that.

Use your existing analogue phone

Account with say A&A look them up for costs.

The HT801 can be connected to any Ethernet network regardless on who provides the data service.

'Broadband' service: Take your pick.

[#5]

@shutter  my advice would be to avoid "Digital Voice" and use a third party VoIP provider.

"Digital Voice" can be VERY expensive compared to VoIP, restricts you to your ISP's hardware, and is limited on features.

Typical pricing for A&A VoIP is as follows -

[#6]

@Anonymous  & @Baldrick1  Thanks for the input...  all about collecting the information at the moment.

[#7]

@shutter 

Are you considering VoIP using your LTE/4G broadband or getting SOGEA  or Full Fibre connected to your property?

Thought you could already use your landline phone connected to your TP-Link 4G router?

Dan.

[#8]

@shutter 

Can you give an estimate of how many minutes each month your landline phone gets used to call -

• UK landlines - peak time (daytime)
• UK landlines - off peak (evening)
• mobile phones
• international landlines

Knowing that will give a better starting point to figure out whether it would be more cost effective for you to pay as you go (typically 1.5p/minute), or whether you should consider a monthly prepaid call plan with inclusive minutes.

[#9]

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@shutter wrote:

Does the service include Broadband internet connection.

What is the cost of the Broadband part per month.

You don't have to have VoIP tied to any particular broadband service.

It is like how you might use a web browser on any device to look things up on the internet, the connection the 'device' has doesn't matter (could be a typical home router, or mobile data, or as @Dan_the_Van suggests your LTE/4G kit).

VoIP is just an application (like the web browser), so you can make it work wherever you can get internet.

For example you could use your VoIP service to connect to your home telephone handsets via your LTE/4G, and simultaneously work with a VoIP app on a smart phone - so that your mobile phone works like an additional handset of your home phone (which might be useful when you're away from home).

[#10]

@Dan_the_Van  No,... Not for me... doing research for a neighbour,  ( OAP ) who is not very savvy with the internet and all this stuff about voip... ( me neither....but I get asked these things from time to time !).  I said I would ask a few questions from my friendly forum friends.

I`m very happy with my setup and the tplink with my "landline" DECT phone plugged in. Internet & calls & texts costs me £12 per month. ( 120GB DATA  well enough for my useage) ...and no annual price increases.  ( calls and texts are free) .

@Anonymous  As mentioned above... not for me...  but I suspect that the quantitiy of calls would be a max of 5 per day. or even less... so a monthly plan would probably prove expensive pro rata.  She does have a mobile phone ( again, does not like to use it ) ...  probably worried, that the removal of the landline phone will somehow remove her "security" .. and also her safety.

What I don`t understand is, How will the VOIP service connect calls, when BT shuts down the copper wire service to an area?   Are they (BT) assuming that everyone will be on FIBRE connections  ( with them or another provider ) for their internet, and the VOIP service.   I`m not sure but I think this neighbour is on Fibre.... but it could be a problem for those on ADSL for internet.

@Anonymous  Regarding your last paragraph. and in particular your last line (in brackets)

Last Christmas, we went to a remote (ish) cottage for two weeks, In mid Wales.. I took my 4g LTE router with me, and continued to use it there, to connect to the internet and to make calls through it.

The Three mobile signal was very good there and internet speed was a little better than at home here !.

[#11]

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@shutter wrote:

What I don`t understand is, How will the VOIP service connect calls, when BT shuts down the copper wire service to an area?   Are they (BT) assuming that everyone will be on FIBRE connections  ( with them or another provider ) for their internet, and the VOIP service.   I`m not sure but I think this neighbour is on Fibre.... but it could be a problem for those on ADSL for internet.

The copper wire service isn't being shut down or removed until the early 2030s.

All that is happening is that the ability to make calls using an analogue telephone via the telephone exchange is ending.

Going forwards, all phone calls will be done digitally, typically using any existing internet connection.

In most cases it should be possible to connect any existing home phone into a broadband router via an adaptor, instead of the BT wall socket.  Alternative, they could buy a new VoIP phone, and plug that into any ethernet socket without the need of an adaptor.

.

[#12]

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@shutter wrote:

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What I don`t understand is, How will the VOIP service connect calls, when BT shuts down the copper wire service to an area?   Are they (BT) assuming that everyone will be on FIBRE connections  ( with them or another provider ) for their internet, and the VOIP service.   I`m not sure but I think this neighbour is on Fibre.... but it could be a problem for those on ADSL for internet.

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https://community.plus.net/t5/Tech-Help-Software-Hardware-etc/Phone-line/m-p/1823689/highlight/true#...

[#13]

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@shutter wrote:

... Not for me... doing research for a neighbour,  ( OAP ) who is not very savvy with the internet

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Which provider supplies your neighbour's existing telephone landline rental and calls ?

Do they use the same provider for their broadband connection as well ?

I ask, because some providers already have additional assistance available for OAPs, vulnerable people, those who use a fall/health alarm, or worried about a lack of alternative mobile signals, etc.  Often all that is needed is for the customer to register their need for special consideration, to then ensure that any difficulties in transitioning them from analogue to digital phones is done in a safe way that doesn't leave them isolated in an emergency.

[#14]

@Anonymous Ah yes... I have seen mention of this on the Moneysaving expert website... Maybe that would be a better/easier route for them to take...

Thanks for the reminder.

[#15]

And remember, many people just want a simple life. If their broadband supplier gives them a socket to plug their phone into and it's the same number as always and just works at a similar price, that's all they want.