Skype Replace Landline?

IamtheWalrus · 02-10-2013 10:39pm #1

I pay about £15 per month on my house phone. This is the line rental + £5 for free international calls.

I am considering cancelling the landline and paying for Skype premium (£3.44 per month). Has anyone tried this? Is it worth doing? Is the call quality reliable?

maringo · 02-10-2013 10:52pm

I put E10 into Skype last year and still have E6 credit. I find the quality of calls ok much improved since i joined it couple of years ago but mostly use the free skype to skype - I'd email or ring to ask person to sign into skype so can use the free skype.

IamtheWalrus · 02-10-2013 11:04pm

maringo wrote: »

I put E10 into Skype last year and still have E6 credit. I find the quality of calls ok much improved since i joined it couple of years ago but mostly use the free skype to skype - I'd email or ring to ask person to sign into skype so can use the free skype.

The call is to a person who doesn't have broadband so Skype to Landline is my only real option. They use a dongle to dial to the web but that's cumbersome.

IamtheWalrus · 03-10-2013 8:16am

Is a Skype phone worth buying?

Khannie · 03-10-2013 8:28am

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Has anyone tried this? Is it worth doing? Is the call quality reliable?

The call quality is good if your connection is good. I use it to call landlines whenever I'm travelling. I've had occasional disconnects but that's mostly using hotel wifi which is unreliable. If you're on e-fibre, or a UPC package with a decent upload speed I'd say it should be spot on.

Give it a whirl for a month and see if you want to ditch the land line then maybe?

AnCatDubh · 03-10-2013 9:03am

I remember enquiring about it previously and I think Eircom at the time didn't allow you not to have a landline rental while retaining just your broadband connection. that was a few years back. Other providers may provide it anyway.

I've used a skype phone device thingy (you plug your normal eircom phone into it, prefix your calls with a dial number and it calls via skype on your pc/laptop. It was ok but a little cumbersome (pc had to be on, code had to be entered, meh....)

Also used just a phone handset which plugs into the mic and headphones socket. That was actually not too bad for a €2 purchase in the euro store but I know you can spend quite a bit of money on stand alone skype phones too which I've not used. But I believe they are wifi enabled so will operate without the need for a pc or laptop.

IamtheWalrus · 03-10-2013 9:33pm

I have Sky line rental and Sky Broadband. I want to keep the broadband and replace the landline with Skype but Sky tell me I cannot have broadband without line rental. Is there a way round this?

Thoie · 03-10-2013 9:36pm

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

I have Sky line rental and Sky Broadband. I want to keep the broadband and replace the landline with Skype but Sky tell me I cannot have broadband without line rental. Is there a way round this?

Does your Sky router connect to a phone line? If so, you need a phone line.

IamtheWalrus · 03-10-2013 10:29pm

Thoie wrote: »

Does your Sky router connect to a phone line? If so, you need a phone line.

Yes. They have me by the nuts then. Do other companies do it differently?

Mr. G · 04-10-2013 5:47am

There are a good few VoIP providers that allow you to port your landline to skype. Usually you can use a SIP based ATA (allowing you to use any standard phone) or ip phone to make calls. For broadband, you can't have it on the same line as the line your going to port, as it will be cancelled in the process.

Goldfish.ie or Blueface would be a great example.

Mr. G · 04-10-2013 5:50am

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

I have Sky line rental and Sky Broadband. I want to keep the broadband and replace the landline with Skype but Sky tell me I cannot have broadband without line rental. Is there a way round this?

No. Sky broadband uses a phone line for broadband. Vodafone do a broadband only service which might be suitable (I think its called simply broadband or something)

You cannot port your landline to skype. The give you a new number. In terms of speeds, a 1Mb up and down connection would be more than enough. You'd need to setup QoS on your router to give priority over other traffic

yoyo · 04-10-2013 7:29am

Moved from Comp & Tech.

Johnboy1951 · 04-10-2013 9:20am

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

The call is to a person who doesn't have broadband so Skype to Landline is my only real option. They use a dongle to dial to the web but that's cumbersome.

You can use a SIP provider rather than Skype and get (usually) much cheaper rates for calls.

Check out the Betamax group of providers for different call prices & plans to compare.

For calls-out I am happily using FreeVOIPDeal presently ...... 1c/min (+vat) calls to Irish mobiles, and 3 months free calls to landlines for lots of destinations after paying €10 (+vat). It takes quite a while to use up that €10.

This is just an example ..... there are lots of other 'packages' available.

Only pointing out that Skype is not the only option

Mylow · 06-10-2013 7:01am

Agree with Johnboy1951

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

You can use a SIP provider rather than Skype and get (usually) much cheaper rates for calls.
<snip>
Only pointing out that Skype is not the only option

Skype Replace Landline?

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