- The showstopper
- Your local line, anywhere
Your local line, anywhere
The experience with the two hotels demonstrated that taking a VoIP line around the world still requires a bit of effort, but a more permanent setup upon my return to Singapore has worked far better.
Having set up in an apartment and bid farewell to the StarHub technician who had come to connect a cable-based broadband Internet service, one of the first things I did was to plug in the Engin VoiceBox. Since the StarHub service is also a naked service, it was a welcome relief when the VoiceBox worked as it had at the first hotel -- without a problem.
I still faced a problem, though: how to keep both the notebook and phone plugged into the broadband port at the same time. I soon solved this with a trip to Singapore's famous Sim Lim Square, where I spent around AU$65 to pick up a four-port Linksys Wireless-G wireless LAN router, which combines a wireless LAN base station with four Ethernet ports. I plugged the router into the cable modem, then the notebook and VoiceBox into the ports on the back of the router, and -- voilà! -- had a fully functioning Australian phone number complete with voicemail, call forwarding, call waiting and so on.
The only problem with VoIP services comes during large email downloads, when the computer goes hell for leather to get its content and cares little for what other things might need the broadband connection. This seems to affect the upload channel (which is sending my voice) more than the download channel (carrying the other party's voice) so the net result is that the other party can sometimes get a choppy voice, or no voice at all, for a few seconds.
Many mobile services aren't much better, and when I explain where I am physically located, few people seem concerned by these infrequent delays. Furthermore, I was able to substantially improve the quality of the calls by logging into the Linksys router and configuring the quality of service settings to give priority to the Ethernet port into which the VoiceBox is plugged. This seems to ensure that other Internet access doesn't squeeze out the phone calls I'm trying to make.
After several months, VoIP has worked a treat. I give business associates the VoIP number -- a normal Melbourne phone number -- so they don't have to even think about ringing Singapore. I can call family in Australia at local rates, and can even send faxes over the VoIP connection using the multi-function printer I picked up at Sim Lim Square for my time overseas.
I also purchased a cordless phone that lets me roam around the apartment and use the Australian line as the primary fixed phone. Even if I need to call a Singapore number, paying a few cents per minute via engin is still cheaper than using a Singapore mobile phone -- and compared with Australian mobile roaming, I might as well not be paying anything at all.
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anonymous
16/05/2008 06:30 PM
Sounds like you had some success, great to hear. If you travel a lot I suggest you try a service provider like MondoTalk. The reason I suggest this is they use a global network of servers, hence reducing call transmission delays. Also look at the service like follow me to allow you to get rid of international roaming costs.
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