WiFi
SIP Internet Phone DIY
Make
Cheap Calls with mobile WiFi Telephone
Even
my mother knows about Skype. It allows you to make cheap domestic
and international calls and free calls to other Skype users.
What my mother doesn't know is that Skype may not be the best
VOIP solution out there.
In
this tutorial we'll learn how to setup a dirt cheap non-Skype
internet telephone [Fig. 1]. I have several requirements for
this project. First, I want a physical phone that I can carry
around with me and make calls. Second, I want good sound quality
and inexpensive rates to international destinations (at least
as inexpensive as Skype). Third, I want to be able to make
free internet-only calls to any standard VOIP phone.
Anyone
can benefit from this setup but it is especially useful to
people with family members in many different countries and
small companies with a virtual office and employees all over
the world.
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| Purchase
UTStarcom F1000G or F3000 directly from SkiFactz
WiFi while supplies last. Selling is not our business.
Our mission is to educate and save you money and
we happen to have some extra phones. Find
out more. |
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Fig. 1 UTStarcom F1000 -- the best value
Cost
and Time
How expensive is this solution? A new WiFi
phone will cost you from $120-200 USD on the Internet. SkiFactz
WiFi is offering phones for sale while
supplies last. Calling plans usually have no setup fee and
you can start making landline calls with as little as several
dollars balance on the account.
Prepare
to spend 1-2 hours setting up your first phone and account.
Once you get a sense how it works you'll be able to do it
in 10 minutes.
I
knew nothing about the technology a month ago. By the time
you finish reading this you'll know as much as I do now.
VOIP
Basics
Let's review how all this works. VOIP stands for "Voice
Over Internet Protocol." It can be implemented in many
ways but in the nutshell if communication between two telephones
travels over the internet there is VOIP in play. The two phones
need not have a 100% internet connection between them. You
may have made VOIP calls without even knowing it. Inexpensive
phone companies often use VOIP to deliver cheap rates to customers.
You and the party you are calling may be using 70's rotary
phones but some part of the traffic between these two units
is routed through the internet.
The
advantage of VOIP is that more calls can be shoved through
the pipe. Where an analog line could handle a limited number
of calls a VOIP route can push many more calls through. This
brings the cost down.
It
doesn't matter where you are in the world. Your calls will
always cost the same and people will always be able to call
you at your local number(s) regardless of your location.
It
is important to consider that a setup described here is not
a replacement for your regular phone. You can not make emergency
911 calls from this type of phone. There will also be many
times when you are completely out of WiFi range and the phone
is dead.
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