# VOIP Smartphones



## high octane (Jul 21, 2009)

I've been meaning to make a thread about how great I think VOIP is. Ever since high speed internet has been readily available, phone lines have been a pure rip off

Back in the day it was a struggle to convince telcos in Canada to give you dry dsl (no phone plan) and it was blatantly only to force people to pay for a voice plan

Now the same thing is happening with Smartphones

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/02/04/skype-iphone-voip-3g.html

Cell phones have been blocking VOIP over 3G, and Canadian telcos are still blocking data-only-plans

I think I've found a way to use VOIP over 3G (without hacking a smartphone) and to get a data-only-plan for half the price of standard voice + data plans


It reminds me of the days of arguing for dry dsl. The infrastructure is now ready for VOIP on Smartphones, they're just not advertising it

Paying for text messages/voice/caller display etc is obscene when you have 3G data imo. Just like paying for it in your house is obscene when you have high speed internet


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## high octane (Jul 21, 2009)

Over a 3 year period, I figure I will save at least $1000 by buying a smartphone used (unopened) and using VOIP vs a 3 year contract/subsidized smartphone

Not to mention the flexibility to switch plans or phones at any moment. This means I easily can up my data plan when I travel, and cancel it when I move or have no access to 3G


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

There was an article in the NY Times the other day about this in the US -- see http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com...alls-on-3g-data-network/?scp=1&sq=voip&st=cse

With WiFi you can do VOIP on a smartphone now, and I've done it a few times myself; my smartphone allows you to select whether you make any given connection via 3G or WiFi. The constraints are, of course, that 1) you need to be in a WiFi hotspot and 2) that hotspot should be free, otherwise you're not saving much money by using VOIP. But until/unless VOIP becomes unblocked over 3G, it's not going to be very practical.

I've been using VOIP at home (Vonage) for the past few years and it has indeed saved me a bundle, although I lose my connection three or four times a day and people often tell me they have trouble hearing me. I'm not sure if it's my DSL line or the Vonage device that connects to my router, but it's gotten much worse recently.

One great thing about Vonage (Skype offers this too) is that you can have a local number in an area where you call frequently, so your relatives, clients, whatever, can call you for the price of a local call even if you live in another country. All my clients and colleagues are in Washington, DC, but they can call me in Montreal for the price of a local call (free for them) by using my Vonage virtual number in DC.


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## high octane (Jul 21, 2009)

There are many benefits to VOIP. Besides it being dirt cheap, the customization is endless and there's the portability

I hate Vonage actually. I pay like $2 a month per Canadian number and 1/2 cent/min for airtime. I'll admit it is not as rock solid as a land line but it's never bothered me

Heck most of the time I talk to friends over PS3, and there are many other free methods

VOIP is now available over 3G (from what I am reading) as of very recently! If not it is only blocked by your cell and can be hacked, but hacking will no longer be required


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## high octane (Jul 21, 2009)

voip.ms is far cheaper than Vonage

You can use a softphone for free or buy an adapter for normal phones. You can also get an App to use voip.ms (or any SIP) on your smartphone


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## high octane (Jul 21, 2009)

So apparently only AT&T in the US is allowing VoIP. If Rogers doesn't follow suit I'll just have to hack or unlock a phone

They're only blocking it to protect their voice plans

http://sipthat.com/2009/10/23/will-rogers-follow-atts-lead-and-allow-voip-over-3g-yes/


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## shanti263 (Jan 24, 2010)

brad said:


> One great thing about Vonage (Skype offers this too) is that you can have a local number in an area where you call frequently, so your relatives, clients, whatever, can call you for the price of a local call even if you live in another country. All my clients and colleagues are in Washington, DC, but they can call me in Montreal for the price of a local call (free for them) by using my Vonage virtual number in DC.


I've been using skype and using a local number in another country which I visit on a regular basis but for a Canadian number, I am using a PVN service. Why don't they offer a Canadian number?


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

shanti263 said:


> I've been using skype and using a local number in another country which I visit on a regular basis but for a Canadian number, I am using a PVN service. Why don't they offer a Canadian number?


I believe the telecoms are blocking it. It took a while, for example, for the Skype iPhone app to become available in Canada, and when it finally did the Canadian number feature was turned off.


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## high octane (Jul 21, 2009)

I wish Skype had Cdn numbers

You can, however, get Cdn numbers from voip.ms and then use one of many Softphone Apps http://www.voip-sol.com/iphone-voip-apps-the-top-softphones-for-iphone/

The problem is the phones are disabled to do VoIP on 3G in Canada

I confirmed today I can get a 1GB data-only-plan for $30/month without paying for voice with Rogers

I would be happy to pay for voice if it wasn't such a rip off for voice mail, caller ID, restricted airtime etc etc

1GB can easily cover a lot of VoIP airtime and internet browsing. VoIP also includes caller ID, voice mail, text msging etc

A decent voice/data plan would cost me more than double


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## high octane (Jul 21, 2009)

There seems to be more recent progress with VoIP on 3G

Verizon and AT&T now allow it in the US

This article predicts the death of regular phone calls "seriously, why would you ever make another cellular call again?"

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/nokia-adds-skype-to-ovi-store-foreshadows-death-of-regular-phon/

I had a hard time convincing Rogers to give me a data only plan. The store rep and the person she called never heard of such a crazy idea. The CSR I called couldn't understand why I wouldn't want a voice and text plan for my cell

I got it though. $30 + $2.52 per month for 1 gb (and no contact, even though they tried to slip one into the deal)


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