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Hi, what your view on VOIP services in Brandon. I wish to ditch my MTS landline and switch to VOIP. Is Vonage or Westman Communications good and does Vonage have Brandon local number? Thanks.

Westman Communications isn't VOIP

Westman dont have voip, just another overpriced home phone option. Last I checked vonage doesn’t have brandon numbers, and they are also overpriced not making them worth it anyway. Grab yourself an obihai there’s tonnes of cheap providers out there voip.ms is a good one. If you need a brandon number the only decent provider I have found is voip much. Ends up being around $10 per month which gets you all the usual features and unlimited NA calling. If you don’t need a brandon number there’s lots of cheaper options depending on where you are calling.

Westman is still cheaper than MTS, especially if I have Westman cable TV or internet to bundle with.  
Vonage has been around for a long time and they still don't have Brandon's number? Sad.  
Does voip.ms and voip much have Brandon numbers?

allice said "Westman dont have voip, just another overpriced home phone option. Last I checked vonage doesn’t have brandon numbers, and they are also overpriced not making them worth it anyway. Grab yourself an obihai there’s tonnes of cheap providers out there voip.ms is a good one. If you need a brandon number the only decent provider I have found is voip much. Ends up being around $10 per month which gets you all the usual features and unlimited NA calling. If you don’t need a brandon number there’s lots of cheaper options depending on where you are calling. "

How is the service and quality like with voip much? Do you get delay like talking on the cell phone?

I have had my home phone for 9 yrs, love it , I pay 40 a month and it's unlimited, no extra cost and I can call anywhere!

Xuser said "    allice said "Westman dont have voip, just another overpriced home phone option. Last I checked vonage doesn’t have brandon numbers, and they are also overpriced not making them worth it anyway. Grab yourself an obihai there’s tonnes of cheap providers out there voip.ms is a good one. If you need a brandon number the only decent provider I have found is voip much. Ends up being around $10 per month which gets you all the usual features and unlimited NA calling. If you don’t need a brandon number there’s lots of cheaper options depending on where you are calling. " How is the service and quality like with voip much? Do you get delay like talking on the cell phone? "

will give you 204 xxx-xxxx number. The monthly fee is $1.99, 0.5 cent/min to call anywhere in Canada, 1 cent/min to call anywhere in the US. Incoming calls are 1.5 cents/min. You also get caller ID and voice mail. I had my number for 3 years now. I usually put $25 dollars on my account once every 6 months and it's sufficient. In any given month I spend about $3-4 dollars total on my landline phone. It really is a bargain.

Have used voip.ms voipmuch and google voice, all have been the same if not better quality than traditional land lines for a fraction of the cost plus all the cool features that voip provides. Just need to make sure you have a decent internet plan which most do these days unless you are out of town I guess. Voip.ms does have peg numbers but voipmuch is actually a brandon number. Again depends on your use but some of the older mts cell plans are local calling only meaning sometimes people would complain that calling us was costing them long distance:p

I will second the Obihai device. We have an Obi200, which allows you to connect to multiple VOIP providers including Google Voice. With Google Voice you can call anywhere in North America for free. Normally GV does not give Canadians an incoming number, but if you jump through some hoops it will give you an American number (I got one in a city where my one Brandon friend now lives). On first thought, that is no good for Brandon, but since the Obihai is good for 4 providers, it means calling out for free.  
 
For a Brandon number, there is voipmuch as above. There is also les.net out of Winnipeg for Brandon numbers.  
 
Since we're now in Winnipeg, we just have the Obihai deal through Anveo for US$49.99 per YEAR.  
 
 
To buy an Obi adapter, your best source is newegg.ca (official vendor)... they goon sale there about once per quarter.

I think I will go with voip much. They do have a Brandon number. Voip.ms doesn't.  
Do I need to cancel my MTS landline first?

just wondering what package you have for internet if you have voip. How is the quality if you are using internet for others things at the same time? Or does it not have any bearing?

Xuser said "I think I will go with voip much. They do have a Brandon number. Voip.ms doesn't.   Do I need to cancel my MTS landline first? "

If you are going to "port" your current number, DO NOT cancel it with MTS. Once VOIPmuch gets your number, that should automatically cancel it with MTS.  
 
If all you want is a new number, then you can cancel your MTS number any time.

PuddleJumper said "    Xuser said "I think I will go with voip much. They do have a Brandon number. Voip.ms doesn't.   Do I need to cancel my MTS landline first? " If you are going to "port" your current number, DO NOT cancel it with MTS. Once VOIPmuch gets your number, that should automatically cancel it with MTS.     If all you want is a new number, then you can cancel your MTS number any time. "

I've had Voipmuch for a couple of years now. There has been the odd hiccup, but when you're only paying $10 per month, I'm not going to complain.  
 
I agree - don't cancel MTS. Voipmuch will do it for you if you are porting your current number over. If you want a whole new number, wait until you get Voipmuch hooked up and working, THEN cancel your MTS phone.

Opustwo said "just wondering what package you have for internet if you have voip. How is the quality if you are using internet for others things at the same time? Or does it not have any bearing? "

I would also like to know but I have a feeling my internet speed is more than sufficient. My download is about 40Mbps and there are no netflix except for Westman Tivo.  
Also, where do I plug in the ATA adapter?

Xuser said "    Opustwo said "just wondering what package you have for internet if you have voip. How is the quality if you are using internet for others things at the same time? Or does it not have any bearing? " I would also like to know but I have a feeling my internet speed is more than sufficient. My download is about 40Mbps and there are no netflix except for Westman Tivo.   Also, where do I plug in the ATA adapter? "

We have BellMTS's Lightning 25 and our VOIP seems to work just fine. I usually have a live stream or Netflix running on the TV, sometimes a second stream in another room, and one or both kids gaming and or watching Youtube. Don''''t notice any issues.  
 
You want to connect the ATA (Obi, Grandstream, Linksys PAP2) directly to your router. You may be tempted to put it in the DMV giving it its own public IP address, I''''ve read not to do that as it can give hackers access to your ATA and you may get phantom calls or unauthorized call access.  
 
If you go on the RedFlagDeals.com website, there is a user called Webslinger who answers a LOT of VOIP questions. Most of it is in the ongoing FreePhoneLine.ca thread. https://forums.redflagdeals.com/freephoneline-ca-free-local-soft-phone-line-lifetime-voip-821229/  
 
 
***FreePhoneLine does not have Brandon numbers. To make it work with an ATA is also a $75 charge, but after that it is free, has been for years***  
 
Edited by PuddleJumper, 2017-10-15 08:28:26

Most Westman/MTS internet plans should be fine. I too am on Lightning 25 and have no issues. I also have a decent router so set up QoS on the Obi device, meaning it gets priority over other traffic, but this is probably not needed.  
 
We plug the Obi device directly into the router, then plug the base phone into the Obi device. Of course this is all in the basement, but it works out well as we have a Panasonic set that works wirelessly with the base, which provides the phones upstairs. There are other ways to do this though.  
 
Just wish voip.ms would get Brandon numbers. I've been bugging them for some time but still no luck. Would be awesome if Brandon became a free calling area for freephoneline but again, might be waiting a while for that  
 
To be honest we use our cell phones mostly, but it's nice to have the "land" line for the kids, and when grandparents are over looking after the kids who don't always have their cell on them.

your useage sounds very close to my own. I'll take a deeper look at switching to VOIP.

I've been a user of Magic Jack for well over 10 years...at first it was glitchy as it was a new process that needed the bugs worked out. So far I've been very happy with it. I pay a whopping 35 bucks a year for free calling and long distance within Canada. As long as you have good internet speed things are great. I notice once in a while the calls get choppy or I lose a caller but not often. Now don't forget this phone system will only work if you have power and internet...I still have my cell phone in case of power outages.

Another cheap option for voip is to go on Ebay and buy yourself a cheap used "Sip" phone. I have one by Aastra which I think I bought for $40. Just plug it into your network, configure for a SIP provider using the built in web interface (voip.ms is what I use) and then you can make calls. Although the various boxes such as the Ooma and Obihai are an option and let you use an existing analog phone (such as a cordless set) you can pick up used Sip phones for not much money at all and many of them are built for businesses and so built to last. The only caveat is make sure it is a "SIP" phone. Other companies like Mitel and Cisco make great phones but usually come with proprietary firmware that must be converted to SIP. This can be done but is not recommended unless you get them pre-configured or have an asterisk server running TFTP.  
 
Although not technically available in Canada yet, when Amazon finally brings it's Echo device to Canada, it too has voip capability. I set mine up over the Thanksgiving weekend. You get free outgoing calls in North America and pair it to your cellphone number so that your cell phone number shows up as the call display number. Incoming calls would be to your cell phone, unless you are calling another Echo user who you can call you Echo to Echo. The other thing is that you get voice dialing and a speakerphone all using the Echo.  
 
As for bandwidth, you don't need much to run Voip. No matter what internet package you have, you will likely have plenty of download bandwidth. The key is upload. You probably want at least 1 MB/s upload. As you get below 1 MB/s the person on the other end may experience drops and the overall sound quality will be poorer. Here is a good article on bandwidth needed for voip:  
 
https://www.phone.com/2014/10/18/much-bandwidth-need-voip/

It is one of the cheapest and better services out there.. You can port your existing number to MJ as well. Install the app and you have mobile service as well that works with your data plan  
 
http://www.magicjack.com/index.html

Des said "Another cheap option for voip is to go on Ebay and buy yourself a cheap used "Sip" phone. I have one by Aastra which I think I bought for $40. Just plug it into your network, configure for a SIP provider using the built in web interface (voip.ms is what I use) and then you can make calls. Although the various boxes such as the Ooma and Obihai are an option and let you use an existing analog phone (such as a cordless set) you can pick up used Sip phones for not much money at all and many of them are built for businesses and so built to last. The only caveat is make sure it is a "SIP" phone. Other companies like Mitel and Cisco make great phones but usually come with proprietary firmware that must be converted to SIP. This can be done but is not recommended unless you get them pre-configured or have an asterisk server running TFTP.     Although not technically available in Canada yet, when Amazon finally brings it's Echo device to Canada, it too has voip capability. I set mine up over the Thanksgiving weekend. You get free outgoing calls in North America and pair it to your cellphone number so that your cell phone number shows up as the call display number. Incoming calls would be to your cell phone, unless you are calling another Echo user who you can call you Echo to Echo. The other thing is that you get voice dialing and a speakerphone all using the Echo.     As for bandwidth, you don't need much to run Voip. No matter what internet package you have, you will likely have plenty of download bandwidth. The key is upload. You probably want at least 1 MB/s upload. As you get below 1 MB/s the person on the other end may experience drops and the overall sound quality will be poorer. Here is a good article on bandwidth needed for voip:     https://www.phone.com/2014/10/18/much-bandwidth-need-voip/ "

Sure, buying an actual VOIP/SIP phone is a cheap solution, but where do i then use the $5 touch tone I gt at the Salvation Army?  
 
Plus, with an adapter you can plug in a cordless phone!  
 
==========  
 
On the subject of MagicJack. (mentioned by another) Yes it is a good value proposition but it uses a proprietary adapter. I was burned by a similar company.

NewEgg Canada currently has the Obi200 phone adapter on sale for $49.99. With free shipping, that''s a saving of over $20.  
 
https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=:N82E16833617008  
 
Edited by PuddleJumper, 2017-11-01 13:05:12

$5/month and great quality and all features. US and international calling costs 2-4cents/minute. Downside is no Brandon area code and we have Winnipeg as location. at first a pita because my neighbor would have to call long distance. Now almost everybody has unlimited long distance so no issue. Huge bonus, never ever get telemarketing calls!!!!