[Shop-talk] Off topic VOIP phones and services

[Peter Murray]

Moose-

First, like others have said, thanks so much for your service. It is
most appreciated!

In a former job, I did a good amount of travel, and I eventually
started dragging a very simple Uniden 5.8GHz cordless and a Vonage ATA
around with me. Initally I used the Motorola ATA I received from them
in 2004 when I first started service, but then I bought on eBay the
Linksys WRTP54G (so I could also have wireless in my hotel room and
beyond).

With sufficient bandwidth, calls just worked, both on islands in the
middle of the ocean and in Europe. I have never really noticed much
difference in call quality when changing bandwidth settings (via the
Vonage website) down to 50Kbps or 30Kbps from the full 90Kbps.

Is your bandwidth there in Afghanistan delivered via satellite, or is
it terrestrial? If via satellite, I suspect your call quality will
suffer (because of the satellite-hop latency).

Regarding the speakerphone, one can buy Polycom Soundstation EX
systems (with two external microphones) for about $300:
(example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310176473357).
This example is designed to connect to POTS (an analog/FXO port), like
that on a Vonage ATA.

The advantage of Skype over Vonage is voice quality (with
Skype-to-Skype calls). Vonage is simpler to use (plug in, dial number
as if in USA) and supports standard POTS telephone equipment.

-Peter

--
Peter Murray (N3IXY)
Oak Hill, VA

On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 8:12 AM,  <eric at megageek.com> wrote:
> As you know, I'm stuck here in Afghanistan.  I have been tasked with
> finding a VOIP provider and phone to use.
>
> Since I have no friends back home that want to talk to me, I haven't used
> any of these services to any extent.  I do have a free "Voxalot" account
> to call an IP phone in my house to talk to the housesitter, but it's a
> pain to use and maintain.
>
> So my first questions is, can anyone tell me which is better Vontage or
> Skype?  (and why?)
>
> I have a pretty good internet connection here finally (1mb down and 512
> Up), but we need a REALLY good speaker phone for calls back the US.
>
> Which company is better and which speakerphone works the best with them? I
> know that "magic jack" lets you use any standard phone, but it has
> advertising built into its paid service.
>
> So if you can recommend a speakerphone as well, that is cool.
>
> Price really isn't a big deal as I would image the phone and service
> shouldn't be more than $500.
>
> (BTW, I'm looking into getting a Polycom system as well, is there one of
> those that works on VOIP?)
>
> Thanks.
>
> Moose (Who still has no idea how long I'll be stuck here.  I even started
> to take Dari language lessons!)
>
> "Be as beneficent as the sun or the sea, but if your rights as a rational
> being are trenched on, die on the first inch of your territory." Ralph
> Waldo Emerson
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