Broadband & Telephones

[mats01_99]

Hi folks, I've just got wireless Broadband in (no mean feat as I live in Ireland and we're years behind!), however I still have a landline which is used occasionally for international calls to my folks back in the UK. This may seem daft but is there any way I can ditch the landline by somehow using a phone through the PC and using Broadband instead, or any other possible suggestions. It breaks my heart paying eircom nearly �100 bimonthly when I only make about 6 calls in that period.

[jimblob]

http://www.skype.com/

[mats01_99]

jimblob you're an absoloute star, just what I was after. Has anybody used Skype?, Is it as good as it appears?, also where can I get a USB phone, would I pick one up in PCWorld or Dixons quite easily?

[Ralph]

Skype works great, I use it to call my folks in Ireland from here in the UK. Sound quality is as good or better than a normal wired phone.

You don't actually need a USB phone, just one of those headsets with earphones and a microphone boom which plugs into your sound card. You could also use either a USB headset or the aforementioned phone which would install as a separate sound device on your PC. This is a good solution since the person you're talking to doesn't hear themselves back through your speakers then your microphone. This is very distracting for them! Personally, I got a USB bluetooth dongle for my PC, then use my bluetooth headset from my mobile to talk and listen on Skype. This is great since I don't have to sit in front of the computer to talk and can head off and make a cuppa if I feel like it (which happens quite often since you can talk for HOURS when it's free!).

Yes, you can get a USB phone anywhere, http://tinyurl.com/8vt5y is one, but quite pricey & fancy, you can also get them direct from the Skype site.

[Ralph]

This http://tinyurl.com/asqbv is another USB phone, just the kind of thing you might be looking for. The page also gives loads of other useful info like calling landlines direct from Skype.

[stevie21]

I think you'd need to at least keep the landline and pay line rental to use broadband. You could, however, stop paying for any call packages that may be included in your 100 euro (can't be bothered to figure out how to do that symbol).

[The Pilgrim]

I use SKYPE loads and also have it installed on my PDA. I recently used my PDA to phone home from a back packers hostel in the middle of Thailand using a local WiFi point. It's a very useful piece of software and very cheap to use.