alternatives to landline phone?

dinneenp

Hi,
What are the alternatives to having a landline phone?We pay €46 a month for landline (all irish calls etc) and broadband.
My wife wants a 'main handset' for her long calls with friends.

Whatever solution available I still need to be able to have internet as well.

I'm looking to cut down my costs. Can't get the UPC all in one deal (net, phone, tv) as I'm living 'rurally'/Lackagh, Galway.

Cheers,
pa.

bhickey

No matter what you do, you're going to need broadband anyway. Once you have your broadband sorted then you have the option of using a VoIP service like Blueface separately just for all your voice calls.

Unless you have decent wireless Internet providers in your area though then you can never really avoid the monthly rental for the landline as most providers simply resell the Eircom ADSL service.

If you have to use landline-based broadband then all you can do is shop around for whatever broadband/calls bundle best matches your typical usage.

Merjock

bhickey wrote: »

No matter what you do, you're going to need broadband anyway. Once you have your broadband sorted then you have the option of using a VoIP service like Blueface separately just for all your voice calls.

Unless you have decent wireless Internet providers in your area though then you can never really avoid the monthly rental for the landline as most providers simply resell the Eircom ADSL service.

If you have to use landline-based broadband then all you can do is shop around for whatever broadband/calls bundle best matches your typical usage.

I'd second all that. Depending on your location, you can also get reasonable broadband for VOIP purposes using a mobile dongle from O2 or one of the other providers. Not as good as fixed wireless though. I've been using Blueface for years with a fixed wireless hook-up. Works really well and I'd never revert to Eircom. Blueface will port an existing number, or you can buy a geographic number from Skype.

dinneenp

Merjock wrote: »

I'd second all that. Depending on your location, you can also get reasonable broadband for VOIP purposes using a mobile dongle from O2 or one of the other providers. Not as good as fixed wireless though. I've been using Blueface for years with a fixed wireless hook-up. Works really well and I'd never revert to Eircom. Blueface will port an existing number, or you can buy a geographic number from Skype.

Can you tell me in laymans terms what:
Do I still need a landline connection for this?
What kind of costs are involved for Blueface?
Do people call me on my exisiting number?
thanks.

bhickey

dinneenp wrote: »

Do I still need a landline connection for this?

You need broadband. Haven'y you read any of the replies?

What kind of costs are involved for Blueface?

See the Blueface website

Do people call me on my exisiting number?

Blueface can port an existing landline number

dinneenp

Sorry, it's just I'm not too up to date with mobile dongle etc and was wondering if this is anyway around having a landline connection...

From what I think- mobile dongle would be using the 3G internet connection from my iphone to surf the net on my laptop. Therefore I woudln't need a landline for internet.

If that's right still some issues- only have net when my phone is at home...

GerardKeating

dinneenp wrote: »

Hi,
What are the alternatives to having a landline phone?We pay €46 a month for landline (all irish calls etc) and broadband.
My wife wants a 'main handset' for her long calls with friends.

Whatever solution available I still need to be able to have internet as well.

I'm looking to cut down my costs. Can't get the UPC all in one deal (net, phone, tv) as I'm living 'rurally'/Lackagh, Galway.

Cheers,
pa.

Try Lighthouse for broadband, and maybe blueface for a phone service.

Merjock

dinneenp wrote: »

Sorry, it's just I'm not too up to date with mobile dongle etc and was wondering if this is anyway around having a landline connection...

From what I think- mobile dongle would be using the 3G internet connection from my iphone to surf the net on my laptop. Therefore I woudln't need a landline for internet.

If that's right still some issues- only have net when my phone is at home...

Just check with any of the mobile providers. They all offer wireless broadband services with a simple plug-in device for your laptop called a 'dongle'. You'd need to check which provider gives the best reception in your area. I think O2 will give you one free for a few days to check it out. If you do that and try out, say, Skype, which is free, you should get a good idea as to whether this route is a runner or not. Blueface will, incidentally, give you a free 076 VOIP number so people can call you from ordinary phones.

P.S. Watch out for Vodafone, apparently they are deliberately degrading VOIP connections on their mobile broadband service. (see posting in VOIP section)