VoIP guide: Voice over IP in Australia

By Ian Grayson on 08 August 2007

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What you'll need?

Essentially, there are two ways to set yourself up with a VoIP service. One requires special hardware while the other uses a software program. It's worth understanding the various options before deciding which service is right for you.

Hardware

Within the hardware category there are a range of choices, depending on the type of equipment you already have and the way in which you want to make and receive calls. There are analog telephone adaptors (ATAs), dedicated VoIP phone handsets, and broadband modems that have VoIP capabilities built in.

ATAs are designed to allow you to use an existing phone handset to make VoIP calls. They are a small box that connects to your broadband modem/router with another socket into which an existing handset is plugged. They work with both wired and cordless phones and are an easy way to incorporate VoIP calling into a household at minimal cost. One example is the 3010 ATA unit from VoIP provider Freshtel. Housed in a curvy green box, the unit comes with a power supply and Ethernet cable for easy broadband connection.

Dedicated VoIP handsets, on the other hand, look like a regular desk phone, but plug directly into a broadband router rather than the traditional phone socket on the wall. All the work of converting human voice into a data stream is done by the phone which then sends it out over the broadband connection. An example of such a phone is the V85 desk phone from Netcomm which has handy features such as a speakerphone, speed dialling and an inbuilt phone directory.

WiFi mobile

This Linksys ATA (analog telephone adaptor) is locked into the MyNetFone service.

If you're in the market for a new broadband modem/router, another option is to select one that incorporates VoIP capabilities. This allows you to plug an existing phone handset directly into the unit, and removes the need for an extra box and associated cables.

Software

The other alternative is to dispense with additional hardware and opt for what's termed a VoIP softphone. Designed to be loaded onto a PC or Mac, a softphone is a small software program that does all the hard work of converting a voice call into a data stream.

There are various softphones available with most being offered free of charge by VoIP service providers. Once installed on a desktop or notebook computer, they provide an on-screen keypad and can store phone numbers for speed dialling. You can either connect a headset and microphone or invest in a handset that plugs into a spare USB port.

Softphones are also commonly used by free VoIP services such as Skype. These programs offer the added ability to conduct chat sessions and even video calls. The major downside of using a softphone is that your PC has to be on to make or receive phone calls. This is not the case with the hardware options.

Topics: australia, guide, explained, telephony, voip, voice over ip, skype, engin, mynetfone, gotalk

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Comments (48)

  • Techno Newby commented on 17/06/2009 11:02 Report abuse

    I am seeing reviews here with extreme good/bad with regard to all VoIP providers, and thought I should add my own bit with regard to my experience with VoIP – with PennyTel. I have been using PennyTel for nearly a year now and my experience has generally been positive. I use the “Free Access Untimed” plan and find it to be terrific value. There is no monthly commitment and calls to Australian Landlines and many countries like US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore at 8c for a call of any length. I purchased a “Traditional” number some time ago ($15 for3 years) so that my Pennytel number can be reached like an ordinary phone. Later on I ported my mobile connection to Pennysim. The main reasons were the really good call rates (8c flagfall + 8c per half minute), ability to take calls using my pennytel account (at landline rates) and being able to call home (and other Pennytel users) free of charge. My experience with Pennytel was not entirely free of glitches. When my mobile number was being ported, there was a scare when the existing SIM stopped working, but the new SIM card did not pick up the line immediately. There was a delay of about a day for the new SIM to get activated. I had to call customer support a few times, specially when I was trying to get my “Smartdial” working. My calls to the customer support line did go to their voice mail system and I did receive a call back from them, and there was no undue delay. In one occasion the customer support guy could not sort it out and had to raise a “ticket” to their technical team and they got in touch with me fairly quickly and sorted things out within a few days. Obviously I would have been happier if I did not have to go through the trouble of calling the customer support and wait some time to get solutions. But it seems a fair price to pay for the terrific savings you can make with Pennytel!. I have also had no issues with billing or call quality (except for an occasional choppy voices)

  • deafasacuckoo commented on 14/06/2009 14:11 Report abuse

    Has anyone had any experience with a Siemens Gigaset C470IP IP/DECT cordless phone system ?? This is offered in the Voip offer made to me, supposedly because of good sound quality. Being deafasacuckoo I want to try this out( $199 risk)on that copper wire landline first( where most other phones fail to give CLEAR voice) .

  • Siemen commented on 14/06/2009 04:52 Report abuse

    I have been with Vocaltone for obe r a year now. My wife got another PennyTel line and we soon understood Vocaltone quality is unmatchable. Vocaltone works with Faxes and also they are the only provider I know who provides access to weather networks, directory assistance and live call connections

  • paddles commented on 08/06/2009 11:01 Report abuse

    Have read diligently through all the above posts and they have confirmed my "gut" feeling that my moderate costing bundled telcom services are not worth disturbing for technology that appears to cause so many problems and contain financial pitfalls for the unwary.

  • syd_bloke commented on 30/05/2009 14:54 Report abuse

    Anyone who is praising Pennytel are talking lot of crap, absolutely crap service, rip off billing, and not talk about their customer service. The word PENNYTEL suits them.

  • has2bcn commented on 15/05/2009 21:31 Report abuse

    ive been using pennytel at home for a couple of years now, and have no complaints. in more recent times, i have tried their PennySim, which is a remarkable concept! VoIP rates on your mobile.. ingenious!!!

  • Pennytel vs Engin vs iinet commented on 28/04/2009 12:38 Report abuse

    Engin are indeed total rip offs with their stupid box and tyheir rates. iinet rates put them in the class of total wankers for landline and voip - but they have the best adsl2 rates. Pennytel has the best rates around but it has absolutely no service.

  • Timo commented on 10/04/2009 11:48 Report abuse

    We are in trials at the moment for Australia and have been setting up in 19 countries. We should be up and running here around sept09. If you give me an email at spot.on.computers@gmail.com around that date our Internation company will be doing some promotional deals. Should be able to get you in on the ground floor as they will be looking for Telecommunication reps as well because they own and make the video phone. I havent seen any other company that makes a product like this. Its going to be futuristic stuff. UK and USA already up and going. After Australia we will going into the Asian market. IF your interested in being a rep you will need a Telecommunications licence which cost me $495. But a lot of money on the table. Talking $10,000 a month now.Elvis pressley money

  • midnight commented on 10/04/2009 11:35 Report abuse

    Where can I get one of these videophone from

  • Timo commented on 10/04/2009 11:28 Report abuse

    New voip service coming out in Sept based in Sydney. No off shore stuff. offering a video voip phone. no setup needed. Will cost apox $30 month with video phone. test tried out from Aus to uk 0.25s lag in video. perfect picture. Able to plug into wide screen and act as Dig picture frame when not in use. awesome. Excellent for confrence calls. really good front end service as based in sydney. Talk to an Aussy. Will be a 24month plan with videophone. Comes with sip code so you can program mobils with Wifi to switch to voip when in range of home base access points. Fantastic for farms with no mobil coverage but have adsl. Can set up repeaters around farms so that mobils can use voip if they have wifi. I'm using a nokia E65 with wifi and can make perfect voip calls in a mobil black spot area. Awesome

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