What are my online phone options in Canada?

September 1, 2009 4:11 PM

What are my options for online phones in Canada?

I'm in Canada, and I have a cell phone and wireless internet (no router) in my apartment. My cell phone seems to have very little connectivity in my apartment building. (Is this normal, by the way? Should I be looking into getting better connectivity in my building as a solution to this?) I'd like to find a cheap alternative without resorting to a landline. (My only use for it would be to allow my family to contact me from landlines. Otherwise I don't talk on the phone much when I'm at home.)

Previously I used Vonage, but they told me that I can't use it with my wireless internet in my new building so I cancelled my account. I've looked into Skype, but unless I get an "online phone number" from them, people can't call me from landlines, and the online phone number that is available is not Canadian, which I guess means that my family would have to call long distance to another country to reach me.

Is there an option for a Canadian online phone service that won't require my family to download a program or pay long distance charges? (I am technologically illiterate, so if the phrase "online phone service" makes no sense, please substitute the appropriate one.)

posted by smilingtiger to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Who is your internet provider? Rogers and Primus, for example, both have "home phone" VOIP services that come through your internet pipe.

Or did you mean by "wireless internet (no router)" that you don't have an ISP and are in some sort of apartment-wifi cloud?
posted by modernnomad at 4:31 PM on September 1

Gizmo5 has Canadian call-in numbers. Gizmo is an open standards based alternative to Skype.
posted by Emanuel at 4:43 PM on September 1

What city are you in? No, very little connectivity in your apartment is not normal.
posted by Danniman at 5:23 PM on September 1

Modernnomad, my isp is telus, but I guess it is some kind of 'wireless cloud' because I don't need a router to connect to it. (And here my tech illiteracy becomes more apparent.) Danniman, I'm in Vancouver. My cell phone works very well right outside my building, but not inside. I thought it might be because the building is concrete...?
posted by smilingtiger at 5:30 PM on September 1

I am guessing your cellphone is with telus as well. The easiest way around this is to get your cellphone connectivity fixed for your apartment. I live in a concrete building too and I don't get those connectivity issues.

The problem might be with the Telus service in which case you should talk to customer service or change companies (I don't know much about Vancouver so can't really help you there). Or the problem could be with your specific handset in which case you might want to get a new on.
posted by Danniman at 5:41 PM on September 1

I recently dropped Bell for a VOIP solution through VBuzzer. They have Canadian numbers and desktop software you can make / recieve calls with.

They also support SIP, which means that if you can get a wired connection, you can use with a regular home phone. I picked up an unlocked Linksys PAP2 and followed the instructions on VBuzzer's boards.

Expected a couple hours of headaches and mediocre call quality, but 10 minutes and a one-time $75 later, it worked perfectly and I ditched Bell's $50/month home line. Can't recommend it more highly.
posted by nometa at 8:02 PM on September 1