VOIP provider that will work over AT&T U-verse internet
January 2, 2015 2:32 AM Subscribe
AT&T recently upgraded its wiring in our area and made U-verse broadband available. We had it installed (at 6 Mbps) the day after Christmas, and so far it is working well. Can we do VOIP phone through the AT&T router without getting the service from AT&T?
The AT&T tech said we are too far from the fiber for U-verse TV to work here, but I would like to try switching to VOIP phone over the internet connection. The Motorola/Arris NVG510 router seems to have VOIP telephony circuitry within it, that AT&T uses to provide U-verse Voice service. Is there another VOIP phone provider that can utilize the existing electronics in the router (we will need to port our existing number too) to give us VOIP service, or is the only alternative to add another VOIP converter box if we want voice service from other than AT&T?
The AT&T tech said we are too far from the fiber for U-verse TV to work here, but I would like to try switching to VOIP phone over the internet connection. The Motorola/Arris NVG510 router seems to have VOIP telephony circuitry within it, that AT&T uses to provide U-verse Voice service. Is there another VOIP phone provider that can utilize the existing electronics in the router (we will need to port our existing number too) to give us VOIP service, or is the only alternative to add another VOIP converter box if we want voice service from other than AT&T?
Why not get the VOIP phone service from AT&T? It's already built into the unit and with the 'bundle' I'm sure it'll be less expensive than a secondary carrier. Additionally, if you have issues, you will be in an endless loop of finger pointing if you're daisy chaining routers and carriers, etc.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:41 AM on January 2, 2015
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:41 AM on January 2, 2015
I've been very happily using Ooma for a few years now. I'm not 100% certain that it'll work in your case, but my understanding is that all you need is sufficient bandwidth. For comparison, I have the lowest level of service offered by Time Warner - approx 8-10 Mbps -- and I've only had 2 calls that I would describe as "laggy" in all this time. The best part is that costs are neglible after you offset the purchase of the phone. In my case, that was about 8 months.
posted by CincyBlues at 5:46 AM on January 2, 2015
posted by CincyBlues at 5:46 AM on January 2, 2015
The VoIP service from AT&T was pretty pricey, as I recall. You can test whether you have enough bandwidth for calls by using Skype or Google Hangouts. If the audio quality of those is acceptable, then you are doing VoIP!
I was very happy with Basic Talk, which is $10+taxes a month for unlimited U.S. calling and is dead simple to set up. I eventually switched to an ObiHai device because we just don't call that much and paying $.01 per minute was cheaper. However, almost any VoIP provider now will port your number and provide good voice quality.
posted by wnissen at 7:39 AM on January 2, 2015
I was very happy with Basic Talk, which is $10+taxes a month for unlimited U.S. calling and is dead simple to set up. I eventually switched to an ObiHai device because we just don't call that much and paying $.01 per minute was cheaper. However, almost any VoIP provider now will port your number and provide good voice quality.
posted by wnissen at 7:39 AM on January 2, 2015
I've been using a $60 MagicJack for about a month without problems (my brother has used one for a few years). It comes with a year of service for the US and Canada and additional years are $35. It plugs into an ethernet port on your router (or you can use a USB port on your computer). We ported our landline number without problem. The software to configure it is decent, and you can configure it to email your voicemail.
I've read mixed reviews of it, but you can't really beat the price, and since we were seeming to only get telemarketers on our landline, it seemed worth trying.
posted by ShooBoo at 7:05 PM on January 2, 2015
I've read mixed reviews of it, but you can't really beat the price, and since we were seeming to only get telemarketers on our landline, it seemed worth trying.
posted by ShooBoo at 7:05 PM on January 2, 2015
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posted by humboldt32 at 5:26 AM on January 2, 2015