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I am still quite new to the VOIP world and still have a lot to learn. I was a Bell landline customer until a few weeks ago when I had my number ported to FPL . I am quite pleased with the results and would recommend the same to any of my friends.
I also have a basic cell plan with Telus. My question is “could I get VOIP service on my cell as opposed to deal directly with Telus”. Not sure if that could work but thought I would ask.
To use VoIP from your cell phone, you need either Wi-Fi or cell phone data plan. So I don't think you can dump your cell phone and use VoIP for mobile communcation yet. If you have a smartphone, you can use BudPhone, operated by Fibernetics, parent company of FPL, to avoid LD charges to Canadian citys.
I have service with Telus. But when I use VOIP SIP clinet with WIFI then Freephoneline does not wok.
I am using CSIP Simple client on Android. So outgoing calls work but no voice from received party.
In Same client created IPCOMMS user and it works fine both ways. I can make calls and receive also. The voice ok from both sides.
I also used the same unlocked phone with SPeakout unlimited data. The client behaves same as above.
I have my doubts you are going to get support from freephoneline.ca on this issue. You are experiencing the wonders of SIP over a NAT. Some VOIP providers implement hacks to get incoming working, but because they are hacks, don't expect stability.
VOIP over 3G is a hack in itself. No sane VOIP provider would provide support with such an unstable configuration.
Amouwagou is right in saying that you will need to have a data plan in order to be able to use a soft phone client on your cell phone. fortunately, some mobile phone providers offer that option.
I can not really recommend a soft phone to use at this time though (although i will certainly look into the feedback we have received to see if i can suggest any in the future)
Most commonly when people are having audio issues it is due to certain ports (in router/modems being closed) being closed. With a cell phone though i can not specify if that is the issue. Audio quality issues can also be caused by the internet speed that is available. If your smartphone does not have good speeds it will not give a high quality sound.
L3 Escalation Support Specialist
Fibernetics Please contact me for your FPL DSL issues. For phone issues, please open a support ticket by going here. Never give out personal information or access to your computer to somebody you don't know, Fongo staff will never ask for your username or password.
As promised, here are a couple soft phones you can try and use on your smart phone. Again, you must have an active data plan in order to be able to use them. (And have purchased the configuration file for your account)
L3 Escalation Support Specialist
Fibernetics Please contact me for your FPL DSL issues. For phone issues, please open a support ticket by going here. Never give out personal information or access to your computer to somebody you don't know, Fongo staff will never ask for your username or password.
I tried all kinds of Android SIP phones without success on my Samsung Galaxy 3 cell phone. I finally came across one that seems to work. It's called Media5. I've only tested it so far for wifi, as I don't have a data plan yet.
Jos: For now i would suggest trying the ones the 46jimbo and lifeisfun have suggested as i have not had the chance to test any yet.
46jimbo & lifeisfun: Thank you very much for your suggestions Can you tell me anything you have noticed about those SIP clients? Is the quality good? Is the interface easy to use?
L3 Escalation Support Specialist
Fibernetics Please contact me for your FPL DSL issues. For phone issues, please open a support ticket by going here. Never give out personal information or access to your computer to somebody you don't know, Fongo staff will never ask for your username or password.
Amowagou wrote:For free outgoing calls to Canada/US from your smartphone via WiFi or 3G, there is Nettalk http://www.nettalk.com/smartphone
Thank you. I can't see how they can do that for free. If a condition of it was that you had their paid service I could understand it, but who am I to complain?
I've had best results on android with CSip Simple myself... I was able to place a stable call over WiFi through a Satellite Internet connection... sure there was a full second of latency, but the voice was crystal clear.
(This was done on an Archos)
I haven't tried it over 3/4G networks yet with an android Cell phone.
CSip Simple also has various types of proxy support such as STUN to help with NAT issues, but if you look at the expert options you will find it's a VERY configurable program... and I do have to admit to making a lot of tweaks.
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EDIT:
Also look at past posts on using Nokia's semi-smart Meemo/Maemo phones, as their SIP support tends to be excellent.
46jimbo wrote:Just to report back on Media5-fone, when I receive a call, the other party can't hear me. When it's me who initiates the call, it works.
Looks to be a classic SIP over NAT issue. If you had access to the router, you for forward a RTP port to your phone. If you are using 3G, well good luck getting your carrier to address the problem.
Back to Pierre's original post, I think his request is simply like this: Telus is pricy pricy pricy, may I have a mobile service like FPL, a service that is cheap cheap cheap?
So far as I know, while on mobile no service is as stable as cell phone service itself, so I will setup a cheap service plan, like FPL, running on top of the existing cell phone system, like Telus.
Since Telus has a feature of "1 number unlimited" for $7/mon, now I have bounced my FPL# as that "1 number", everytime I call out I dial my FPL# first (like people dial an out number in the office they dial "9" first).
Now my cell phone bill is cropped down to less than $10/mon and, I don't need to worry about where there is a Wifi hot spot, or worry about an extra data usage cost, and after all, I still maintain a conventional good cell phone service quality.
For outgoing calls, my monthly bill is $7 from Telus + various talking minutes on approx. 1c/min, way cheaper than 30c/min by most cell phone service providers, isn't it?
We have a similar thing going on with one of our cell phones. But we use a PBX here.
1. We bought a FPL config file and give that number out as the cell number.
2. We set up the FPL number as our '1 number unlimited' with Telus on PAYG.
3. When people call the FPL number, it then calls us through the PBX via the FPL number, so incoming calls are free.
4. When we call into the FPL number from the cell, the PBX sees our number and routes it to a DISA script which gives me a dial tone then that allows me to call out - via the FPL number again so that is the number people see when we call.
With this set up, for 7$ a month we get unlimited in and out calls.
Pretty slick set up Jake ... Certainly good for maximizing useage and minimizing cost ... quite clever. If I get a cell up and running again, I may have to look further into this arrangement --- it sure seems to be a thrifty way to do things!
Hardy - Surrey, BC ~~ increasingly disgruntled FPL user ... comon, fix your stuff! driver/webmaster - INCARTA Professional Delivery & Moving -- http://www.incarta.ca604-594-7126
I REALLY wanted to use FPL for my cell but sadly FPL does not offer SMS
I am thinking of going Anveo for my Ottawa # and using Voxox to have a Montreal # forward to my Ottawa #. I will then give my Ottawa # to everyone in Ottawa and both my Montreal and Ottawa # for everyone in Montreal (so that they recognize a text from me, for grandparents etc who don't use SMS I'll just give them my Montreal # ofc)
I could also pay for an extra number so that my Montreal contacts don't need to know my Ottawa number... I am also thinking about have 2 Voxox #s and have them forward to a FPL # for calls and have a seperate free # for texts that it forwards to, but then they won't recognize my # for calls OR texts, but it was be 20$/yr (already have free Montreal Voxox #)
My usage is very low, 500 minutes per month (~300 out ~200 in) and 60 incoming SMS ~40 outgoing SMS but idk what the future holds. Texting with Anveo is iffy and expensive for sent SMS (4.4 cents per sent SMS) and great for incoming (1 cent). Some Carriers like Mobilicity and Telus will see a UK number when you send texts and it is unconfirmed if WIND and the like will receive a text at all
I can't think of any reason why Nokia would not be able to work with a sip phone app. You would just have to find one that advertises as being compatible with the your phone.
L3 Escalation Support Specialist
Fibernetics Please contact me for your FPL DSL issues. For phone issues, please open a support ticket by going here. Never give out personal information or access to your computer to somebody you don't know, Fongo staff will never ask for your username or password.
The Nokia 2690 is not capable of VOIP in any practical sense. It is a GSM phone, which means VOIP would be walkie talkie laggy, it is not all that powerful, so you could not use low bandwidth codecs, and there is no SIP software for this phone. You would need a better phone with a decent data plan, and even then, the results are not impressive.
. I am quite pleased with the results and would recommend the same to any of my friends. 
