Skype or Blueface?

Traffic

Im thinking of moving over to an ip phone and wondering which service to join up to.

I will be mainly using the service to phone uk landlines i notice a big difference between the two companies pre-pay packages:
blueface: €129 (uk and ireland)
skype: €40 (uk only) do you need your pc/laptop to use this service??

Anyone got any feedback/recommendations on what to go for?

Cabaal

Blueface can use a pc/mac or ATA and as such does not require a PC/Mac to be on when using an ATA

Skype requires eitrher a skype enabled mobile phone or a USB phone connected to pc/mac, I believe there may be other skype phones that will connect directly to a router from the likes of Netgear but never looked into them.

Benefit of blueface is you get an actual phone number at no extra cost also the 129e is a early fee for unlimited calls to UK & Ireland landlines

DO0GLE

Blueface are based in Dublin and will follow up with customer support if needed.

I use Blueface and have my pnone connected directly to my Netgear router.

bonoman66

I'm new to the whole VoIP thing & have been using Blueface over the last 3 weeks. I find the service they've provided absolutely excellent - from their website layout, initial order placement & the quality of the service & communication. I was a little nervous about the prospect of moving from Eircom landline to voip but BlueFace (& I guess it also depends on how solid & reliable a BB connection you have underneath - I have UPC 20Meg via cable) has far exceeded my expectations in terms of ease of setup, ease of use & reliability/quality of calls. Just my 2 cents worth at this early stage. If all goes well over the next month or so, I'll just port my old PSTN landline number to Blueface & I'll be rid of that line rental scam Eircom have had going for years!

IsaBrown

Blueface, without a doubt.

I switched from an eircom landline last year and the service has been excellent.

I even ported my eircom/landline number to bluface.

Pete67

Another vote for Blueface - using it nearly 3 years on the unlimited UK/Ireland package. Absolutely no complaints. I bought the netgear ATA/router from them too, and it arrived preconfigured and ready to go.

AV - TEC

Me too - Use Blueface and only blueface, Have a local geographic number and virtual fax number. Service is great never any problems.

aoidan

Ive been a customer of blueface for over 3 years, and the service is excellent and the support if first class.

DublinDilbert

Yep another one for blue face... service is very good... call quality is excellent, price is very reasonable...

You also get more features than you'd ever get with a land line, like having your voice mails emailed to you etc...

If your going to use it a lot get an ATA setup and away you go.

Dellas

Blueface is good . Reliable service and no real issues. I use all my calls through them.

Cabaal

Seems the amount of happy blueface customers has only increased with time, not even sure if I've ever seen more then one or two negative comments about them...their certainly doing something right

drBill

Have been with Blueface for about 8 months, and got rid of my Eircom line a few months ago. I also had the option of keeping (porting) my existing Eircom phone number, but since the new local one that Blueface gave me was easier to remember I didn't bother.
It's been virtually trouble free and their tech support has been outstanding in dealing with any queries I've had. The best I've seen in fact. No hesitation in recommending them.
Only thing to watch out for is that some devices such as Sky boxes sometimes don't work well on voip, but for voice calls it works great.

Type 17

My wife's been running her own business on Blueface for the last few years, on the UK/Irl Business Package, and she has nothing but praise as a user, and the same applies for me as her IT administrator...

workaccount

Any skype users at all?

Blueface is much more expensive than Skype.

I've only started looking into it voip today though and it seems that all the current skype wifi phones are poor though. Netgear and Belkin being the two main manufacturers.

bhickey

workaccount wrote: »

Blueface is much more expensive than Skype

How do you make that out? If you're only talking about Skype-Skype calls then yes free is excellent value. However if you want to ring the real world then I'd have thought Blueface would work out cheaper for the average mix of Irish landlines & mobiles called?

workaccount

Skype is very cheap. You can go the subscription route. 2.95 euro a month will cover you for all national calls. 3.95 for unlimited europe calls including national and 8.95 to call any country in the world unlimited including national.

I suppose it would depend on how much you use it but with a peak call to an Irish landline with blueface you would get about 60mins for a euro. So basically if you talk on the phone for less than 3 hours a month you will save with blueface - not much though.

Skypes fair usage says up to 10000mins a month.

I haven't actually looked into mobile costs for skype though but blueface's cheapest mobiles are 086 and 087 - 18c a minute at peak times. Skype are probably the same for mobiles.

ve

I am on the look out for a good VOIP option for a business. I currently use skype for domestic purposes, with one of those wireless Netgear SPH101 handsets. All in all I am not happy with it. The handsets are absolutely useless. The firmware is terrible (using latest firmware too). The battery is not very good, and if I relied upon it I would never receive calls. The amount of times I have been working away and got a call on my mobile to say that they had to call my mobile because the skype phone didn't work. Upon inspection I notice that the phone had run out of power without warning.

So to be honest, the wireless factor is no longer imporatant to me, because reliability is much more important than convenience, especially for business. The only problem is that with skype, I've got a really nice SkypeOut local number which I would love to keep.

Also for the business I would like to use Asterisk to divert/transfer calls, voicemail, etc. Cant' use that with Skype, but would lose the number if I switched to blueface.

Anyone recommend a good route for me to take for a business. A wired phone (with speakerphone) would be ideal. Something we can just leave plugged in, that would always ring if someone called it (just like a traditional landline phone). My only real concern with VOIP is that I call quite a few free phone and 1890 numbers, which I haven't been able to call from skype. This is a must for whatever route I take next.

steve-o

ve wrote: »

My only real concern with VOIP is that I call quite a few free phone and 1890 numbers, which I haven't been able to call from skype. This is a must for whatever route I take next.

I'm a happy Blueface PAYG customer. Their rates are here... http://www.blueface.ie/rates/rates.aspx - Ireland, UK and US freephone numbers are accessible and free. Irish special numbers like 1850 and 1890 are all accessible.

Ricky91t

I'm on/have used skype and to be honest calling my dad in the uk with it is very noticeable,on the other hand i used a sip client not blueface and he thought i was ringing him off the landline he only noticed when my trial call time was up and it disconnected...Recommend blueface far abouve skype

RangeR

ve wrote: »

I am on the look out for a good VOIP option for a business. I currently use skype for domestic purposes, with one of those wireless Netgear SPH101 handsets. All in all I am not happy with it. The handsets are absolutely useless. The firmware is terrible (using latest firmware too). The battery is not very good, and if I relied upon it I would never receive calls. The amount of times I have been working away and got a call on my mobile to say that they had to call my mobile because the skype phone didn't work. Upon inspection I notice that the phone had run out of power without warning.

So to be honest, the wireless factor is no longer imporatant to me, because reliability is much more important than convenience, especially for business. The only problem is that with skype, I've got a really nice SkypeOut local number which I would love to keep.

Also for the business I would like to use Asterisk to divert/transfer calls, voicemail, etc. Cant' use that with Skype, but would lose the number if I switched to blueface.

Anyone recommend a good route for me to take for a business. A wired phone (with speakerphone) would be ideal. Something we can just leave plugged in, that would always ring if someone called it (just like a traditional landline phone). My only real concern with VOIP is that I call quite a few free phone and 1890 numbers, which I haven't been able to call from skype. This is a must for whatever route I take next.

I've been using Blueface for my company for the past 3 years with almost no issues [internet/power outages etc]. Very happy with it.

We have a PSP2 ATA with two DECT phones hooked up so we can walk around without issue. The battery can run out on the phones but it takes says for it to fully drain. We just make sure we put them back in their chargers every night.

timmy69

Localphone.com, better rates and same if not better voice quality than Blueface. You also get a free UK number. I was looking for something cheap to call international and bf and skype were both pricey.

Johnboy1951

I think the main decision, especially for a business, should be between SIP and Skype.

Skype is a closed community type setup, which is not IMO ideal for businesses. It does not communicate with other protocols -- I hear there are options coming in for that, at a cost.

SIP on the other hand is very common worldwide for businesses ..... being somewhat of a standard in that respect.
Regardless of SIP provider you have the capability to call other SIP users for no cost => VOIP to VOIP.
This makes great sense for a business with people in different locations as well as for calls to other businesses using VOIP.

I also use Blueface and have found it to be much more consistent with regard to call quality, than Skype. Call quality in my experience far exceeds the landline quality and is often remarked upon.

Not disregarding the extras that Skype have available, I still look upon it as a personal mode of communication and not a business one.

Of course I also do not like the fact that they have kept their protocol closed to discourage other VOIP users from speaking to Skype users, and vice versa. It is akin to Eircom giving you a landline and not letting you phone anyone who is not also using an Eircom line.

I do have a Skype ATA attached to my PC which is available while the PC is switched on ...... to receive calls from those who might only have a Skype PC setup. Most of those have now installed on their PCs a SIP client and use that to call me. I guess the Skype thing is hardly used once a day now. I am glad to be free of it to be honest.

Regards.

gabbo is coming

Blueface for 8 months. 1 issue for 1/2 a day and it was sorted. Otherwise excellent. My parents are with Eircom, they had an issue and it took 3 weeks to get service back. So no comparison.

Two other family members gone to Blueface, happy out.

Big plus for me is using SIP account when in a WIFI area abroad. CLass.

malachy47

ve wrote: »

The only problem is that with skype, I've got a really nice SkypeOut local number which I would love to keep.

Blueface have a program (whose name eludes me) but it allows you chose "catchy" numbers for a given area code. I was able to get the one I wanted for a one-off payment of €40. Just fyi ! As I mentioned before in another post, this info is not up on their website, it pays to lift the phone and talk to them, otherwise I would never have found out.

candyman

does anybody know of a good voip cordless phone that will plug into my router and allow me to use either skype or blueface on it?

Gibs

candyman wrote: »

does anybody know of a good voip cordless phone that will plug into my router and allow me to use either skype or blueface on it?

Don't forget you could also use a mobile phone. Many mobile handsets either already have Skype or SIP software on them, which might enable you to do without a voip cordless phone.

I use an iphone with Siphon (a free SIP program for jailbroken iphones) software on it and have it connected to blueface. I can make and receive SIP calls on the go wherever I happen to be. When I'm at home (or in a wifi zone) the iphone uses the wifi connection and when I'm out and about it uses a 3G connection.

roryq

Kinda a bit late coming to this but just in case you haven't made up you mind. I would be 100% behind blueface. We are in the process of migrating our PRA and FRA to Blueface. And they are excellent. And pricing wise they are excellent if your business does a lot of overseas...

candyman

Gibs wrote: »

Don't forget you could also use a mobile phone. Many mobile handsets either already have Skype or SIP software on them, which might enable you to do without a voip cordless phone.

I use an iphone with Siphon (a free SIP program for jailbroken iphones) software on it and have it connected to blueface. I can make and receive SIP calls on the go wherever I happen to be. When I'm at home (or in a wifi zone) the iphone uses the wifi connection and when I'm out and about it uses a 3G connection.

cheers for the tip on the mobile phone gibs. just installed fring and hooked it up to my blueface and skype and seems to be working good. saves me the hassle of an extra phone!

dave1982

Lads what kind of internet speed would i need for this i'm switching to nova network 5m plan i;m in cobh co cork?
Or would i be better to keep the land line

flodis79

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Regardless of SIP provider you have the capability to call other SIP users for no cost => VOIP to VOIP.

Not entirely true. This depends on the provider, for instance it is only free to call a handful of SIP providers with Blueface.

Johnboy1951

dave1982 wrote: »

Lads what kind of internet speed would i need for this i'm switching to nova network 5m plan i;m in cobh co cork?
Or would i be better to keep the land line

It is the upload speed - which is usually much less than the d/load speed on ADSL - which can be problematic ...... but usually only if you want multiple simultaneous calls.

I have an upload speed of 384K and have no problems with two simultaneous calls.

Whether you keep the landline or not is dependent on how you get broadband, your phone useage and type of calls => local/international.

I use Blueface for International calls only because I have to have the landline to get broadband and Eircoms bundle for Irish lanline calls is more suitable for me due to useage. Everyone's situation is a bit different.;)

Johnboy1951

flodis79 wrote: »

Not entirely true. This depends on the provider, for instance it is only free to call a handful of SIP providers with Blueface.

I have not found any I cannot call, but that does not mean they do not exist.

Can you give me any example or point me to some information that shows some information about what you have said?

dave1982

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

It is the upload speed - which is usually much less than the d/load speed on ADSL - which can be problematic ...... but usually only if you want multiple simultaneous calls.

I have an upload speed of 384K and have no problems with two simultaneous calls.

Whether you keep the landline or not is dependent on how you get broadband, your phone useage and type of calls => local/international.

I use Blueface for International calls only because I have to have the landline to get broadband and Eircoms bundle for Irish lanline calls is more suitable for me due to useage. Everyone's situation is a bit different.;)

They say the sppeds are 5mb 1 mb up thank's learnt some thing new today that its based on upload speed's
Sorry for being stupid here completely new to me.On the blueface it say's unlimited calls to landline's i assume this mean a eircom landline i.e house phone?

malachy47

dave1982 wrote: »

.On the blueface it say's unlimited calls to landline's i assume this mean a eircom landline i.e house phone?

That's correct. Most notably, it does not include mobile phone numbers. although what they charge is less that you'd pay as a PAYG mobile customer.

Johnboy1951

dave1982 wrote: »

They say the sppeds are 5mb 1 mb up thank's learnt some thing new today that its based on upload speed's
Sorry for being stupid here completely new to me.On the blueface it say's unlimited calls to landline's i assume this mean a eircom landline i.e house phone?

Not so much 'based on upload speed' but as the norm is to have the upload speed much less than the d/load speed it is that which usually determines things.