so I ditched my telstra phone habits in favour for VOIP... god - why didn't I do 'that' years ago. After sussing-out the various VOIP providers here in Aus, I've settled for a basic Skype setup. 2.7cents a minute pretty much sealed the deal on that one. Simply put, I need to keep in contact with the family in NZ/Canberra/Sydney/Perth and the farm back in Tas, while still keeping up basic contact the rest of the family internationally. Speaking to someone is far better than exchanging emails - especially when you can just ring their mobile or home phone.


Basically, I'm looking for feedback regarding current wireless/bluetooth solutions from people who regularly use VOIP. ((I need to be able to move from one room to another in a double-story 5-bedroom house)) It'd be good to hear some practical opinions here guys.. especially from those that already tap into the Skype network with minimum fuss. It'd also be good to hear about successful modem/pda opinions.


Right now I'm looking at a Linksys wireless ADSL router with a couple of Netgear Skype_WIFI units.


Thoughts and opinions apreciated...

Go with faktortel koopz, then get a linksys DID and use a standard cordless phone :)

If not, you can actually purchase cordless skype phones off the net.

my boy operator voips

he said

i brought a linksys pap2 phone adaptor and a normal telephone with www.freshtel.com.au the normal phone adaptors dont work with skype.

appart from not being able to dial into work over VOIP, hes pretty happy i think

Go with faktortel koopz, then get a linksys DID and use a standard cordless phone :)

This is exactly what I'm doing when I move into my new house on Monday. I'm going Optus cable (not DSL) so I don't have to pay the $20 / month Telstra line rental charge...

Can anyone recommend a decent cordless phone? :)

There is 802.11b wireless SIP phones available but you need to plug that into something like Asterisk or connect it to your VSP. I'd recommend an ATA with a normal cordless phone as the alternatives can be pretty expensive.

And if your planning on doing VoIP seriously and have some spare hardware, check out Asterisk (or TrixBox which is the all-in-one installation CD). I've been using it for a while and we're deploying it at work and it seriously rocks.

Probably one of the best features for home users would be having multiple VSPs for different phone types, ie: use provider 1 for mobile and provider 2 for local and provider 3 for international, etc .. based on what their call rates are.

I think having an asterisk server at home is a little over the top, but thats just me. I have 2 incoming numbers on the same account for the same price with faktortel. the only thing that is different is one phone uses a different port.

for a cordless phone, probably the Panasonic 5.8Ghz series would be the best. Sexah as anything :)

Asterisk is definately worth doing - if not just to know how she all goes together.


That said, right now I just need extras so I can walk outside and have a smoke while on the phone/go into the car and find a cd/misc walking around without having to worry about how far away I'm walking from the AP.


I really can't see myself moving away from Skype unless they lift the cost. More of the family are getting upto date with pc-based voip so that won't be an issue in the long run. I just need wireless peripheral options...

Get a skype cordless phone then. they are ubur expensive, like $200 but it would do what you want.

The problem with skype is that its a a proprietry codec i think, where as Asterisk and voip company's etc use SIP and IAX.

If you install asterisk, get two lines. If you dont know a lot about PBX and dont have an overly huge amount of time to screw around then your better off having your play line and your ordinary line.

Get a skype cordless phone then. they are ubur expensive

nothing in our biz is uber expensive - if you choose the right thing the first time

Asterisk and voip company's etc use SIP and IAX

most current PDA's can be worked to be compatable with Asterix ((given a fixed IP)) - but not Skype, which leads me away from standard VOIP right now. That said - Telstra #3 is well and away... there's no way I'm going with current VOIP offerings until the dust settles