This new telecoms blog is a place where we, and you, can quickly publish news on telecoms (fixed-line and mobile phones, broadband, VoIP and similar ICTs), associated applications, technology, issues, products and services. Excerpts from the 10 most recent posts are shown below.
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Daisy Group plc is a commercial partner of Telecoms Advice, specialising in Business VoIP Phone Systems within the business to business telecoms sector.
Ofcom has published three pieces of research as part of its work on simplifying non-geographic numbers (for example 08, 09 and 118 numbers) ... more ..>>
Ofcom has published its draft annual plan 2012/13 and is holding a series of public meetings to hear people’s views. ... more ..>>
selected recent Ofcom publications ... more ..>>
Ofcom has published its sixth annual Consumer Experience Report…..which looks at how the communications market delivers benefits for consumers in terms of competition, choice and price. ... more ..>>
Ofcom has set out the steps it expects Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to take to ensure customers are aware of how internet traffic is being managed on their networks. ... more ..>>
Mobilife mobile phone price comparison website has been accredited by Ofcom to be ‘accessible, accurate, transparent, comprehensive and up-to-date’. ... more ..>>
The new(ish) UK government has been taking steps of late to try to convince the world that Britain is ‘open for business’ whatever that may mean. As the new budget approaches, many insiders are saying that the main issues will be how that budget goes about encouraging growth across the UK.
So far, plans for growth have been rather limited, although the government has been keen to point out that there is one. A lot has surrounded the plan to improve Britain’s broadband connection to being the best in Europe by the end of the current parliament. ... more ..>>
The Nokia Symbian platform has been overtaken by Google Android as the best selling smartphone operating system. ... more ..>>
independent study investigating the impact of new mobile services in the 800 MHz band on cable TV systems. ... more ..>>
The Independent Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator (OTA2) today published its update for December 2010. This shows that at the end of December there were 7.49 million unbundled lines and 6.27 million Wholesale Line Rental lines. The number of telephone numbers using Carrier Pre-Select was 3.07 million. ... more ..>>
I would be interested in your thoughts on using VOIP technlogy to replace landlines. What options are out there?
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admin Reply:
May 25th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
As you are probably aware voip stands for “voice over Internet protocol”. A managed network that is uncontended or which gives voice data packets priority should provide good quality calls but the Internet itself is contended and largely unmanaged, and doesn’t give priority to voice, so when the Internet is busy (or your branch or the other end branch of it is busy) then calls can break up. So for large corporations which can use voip over their private networks, or having a dedicated voip connection to a telco IP network, it is fine – for Internet telephony it is variable. For International video conferencing with your grandma in Australia you can put up with the call breaking up a bit but you have to make a judgement on whether the quality is good enough for business calls.
Try Skype, without video, to see what the quality of telephone calls using your broadband Internet connection is likely to be – a good echo cancelling microphone or headset which avoids speaker feedback is best. Specialist VOIP handsets will have that echo cancellation built-in. Search for voip on our main site and look at the relevant Google ads which show around the page.
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Babelisk Reply:
March 28th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
@Bath Lifts, Voip Hybrid Systems are the way we are moving with our VoIP telephone systems, the facilities of VOIP and the reliability of copper cables go hand in hand, visit our website for morn information of our hybrid PBX’s
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Nikki Reply:
July 20th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
The question is why should you switch your phone service to VoIP? Well there is a huge list of reasons to change providers. We want to touch on the top reasons for you:
1. VoIP service is cheaper – VoIP service is cheaper than your regular local phone company. If you purchase a voip service you will end up paying 1/3 or more less per month than you currently spend on your phone bill.
2. Get more features – The standard features in most voip plans include caller ID, Call forwarding, 3-way calling, call waiting and a large number of features you get nickled and dimed for with most local providers. Why not get all these great features and pay less money each month?
3. Free long distance – Are you still paying a per minute fee for long distance calls? When you call a few cities away are you paying extra? No more wasting money on long distance plans. VoIP service providers will give you free UNLIMITED local and long distance calling. Not only that, but many providers also include the entire USA, Canada and other countries in their calling plans. Need to call a friend who is staying abroad? With VoIP its just like making a local call. No extra fees, no hassles.
4. Utilize things you are already paying for – VoIP service requires you to have a broadband internet connection. More than likely you are paying for a lot of downtime when your internet is not in use. If you have a VoIP service, you will get the most out of your broadband costs each time you place a call. It makes you feel good to know you have consolidated costs and are better utilizing what you are already paying for.
5. Take it with you – any VoIP service that provides you with an ATA box will most likely work ANYWHERE. What do we mean by that? Well, fly to China, plug in your VoIP box to a high speed internet connection and call your mom just like you would when you were home. Does your family need to reach you when you are away at the college dorms? Take a your phone with you. Your phone works no matter where you are.
6. VoIP is low maintenance – No more having the phone repair company out to service the lines in your yard, check connections on the side of the house etc. If you ever lose service it is due to the internet being down, or you can simply reboot your ATA device and your connection will re-establish itself. No more waiting on the list for days while a repair crew is scheduled to come out and troubleshoot your problems.
7. Number Portability – Do you have a phone number you just love? Is that the only reason you havent made the switch to VoIP? With a simple form you can have your current provider transfer your phone number to your new VoIP service. Check with your VoIP provider to see how easily this can be done.
8. Send a box over-seas – Do you have a loved one or family member living overseas? You can purchase an account, send them the box and they will have a local phone number for you to call whenever you like. They will be able to call anyone in the service area for free as well. This is a great alternative to expensive phone cards and other methods of contacting loved ones while you are separated.
9. Automated billing – Hate worrying about your bills and when to pay? Most VoIP providers allow you to pay in advance for services, or you can setup automatic payments to be withdrawn from your credit card each month when they are do. Easy, Simple, and you never make a late payment.
10. Online Features – most VoIP providers have a large set of online features including voicemail by email, full online calling records, bill-pay, and more. Take more control over your phone usage and have the tools you need to manage your own account. Also, most providers offer a huge online helpdesk with information on how to use your services. Many even have online chat support if you have a few quick questions to ask.
You are welcome to visit my site: voip-sip.org for more details.
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Comment by Bath Lifts — May 25, 2010 @ 12:21 pm
Voip is great and a very cheap or even free option but you still usually need to have a land line for emergencies though?
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Comment by Affiliate home business — June 26, 2010 @ 12:55 pm
I think hybrid systems are required before a full move into VoIP is possible. In some locations it may be possible to shift all phone systems to VoIP, however landlines still offer slightly more protection against things such as power cuts.
Also of course, using VoIP may offer good quality most of the time, with a poor internet connection the packet nature of the data can cause issues. All that means though is you need to set it up properly and not assume any internet connection can provide a good enough connection for reliable VoIP.
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Comment by Telephone systems guy — October 21, 2010 @ 5:57 pm
I agree that Hybrid System are definately required before moving into the VOIP/SIP installations. Many office users are still using fax machines and PDQ machines to take payments and if a VOIP system was installed, extra lines would also have to be installed to allow these facilities to work.
This is the thing when people are considering VOIP systems, they don’t realise that it is not going to save them money in the short term, only in the long run.
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Comment by Business Telephone Systems — October 29, 2010 @ 1:25 pm
Hybrid business telephone systems are definately a good idea before moving straight over to VOIP. There are now many feature rich budget small business telephone systems with VOIP and SiP compatible lines that are a ideal introduction to VOIP without loosing the reliability of traditional lines.
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Comment by Small Business Telephone Systems Specialist — November 6, 2010 @ 3:46 am
VOIP technology is becoming increasing popular as it is cheap and easily accessible. Services such as Skype allow you to contact people all over the world without being charged extortionate fees to do so. VOIP technology is up and coming and is still not up to quality of a ‘normal’ landline. The lines can be crackly and the quality can lower, causing your voice not to be as clear as those lines run through exchanges.
If price is the main reason for changing then you will not find a cheaper alternative but if quality is what you are after then VOIP lines still have a way to go. I think if you give it a few more years before investing in a VOIP line, the service will still be cheap but the quality will have improved and you will have a great service, I just feel at the moment the VOIP lines are too temperamental to be used on a long term or for a high amount of calls.
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Comment by DBS Telecoms — January 19, 2011 @ 10:11 am
Hybrid business telephone systems are definately a good idea before moving straight over to VOIP. There are now many feature rich budget small business telephone systems with VOIP and SiP compatible lines that are a ideal introduction to VOIP without loosing the reliability of traditional lines.
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Comment by business mobile phone — January 29, 2011 @ 6:09 am
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Comment by David Wiliams — February 3, 2011 @ 8:55 pm
Mobile broadband is very useful especially when your not in the office, and you are traveling somewhere. Internet is still with you because of mobile broadband.
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Comment by Business Broadband — May 3, 2011 @ 5:43 am
I think VoIP solutions are now really stable I have been using VoIP now all the time it is very stable now quality is well brilliant. And the most important thing is the cost! So if you are thinking to move over to VoIP I would definitely recommend it. As business phone systems can be quite expensive to purchase and running costs can be quite high for smaller companies. If you would like to know more why not visit our website http://www.onlinevoicecoms.co.uk.
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Comment by Online Communications — May 8, 2011 @ 4:26 pm
Nice site. I am totally agree with above post. Now the market is captured through the technology VOIP. Its growing day per day.
http://www.minttec.com/voip/
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Comment by VOIP Phone Systems — July 15, 2011 @ 3:39 pm
The main advantage of VoIP broadband phone service is the cost. VoIP broadband phone providers charge you a much lower monthly fee for local, long distance and international calls than traditional phone service. VoIP provides a significant cost savings over telephone service from the traditional providers. This is particularly true in the area of long distance rates, with many VoIP service providers offering plans with unlimited long distance calling at a low monthly flat rate. Very few traditional carriers offer affordable unlimited service – even if they do the monthly rate is prohibitive for the average consumer. So most consumers end up paying some form of per-minute rate for their long distance.
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Comment by Access Numbers — November 7, 2011 @ 7:18 am