HELLO & WELCOME

[davep123]

Hi All,

Newbie here

I'm looking for some advise please.
I'm considering ending the line rental for my home but take the number and have it hosted/ported by a voip provider
maybe sipgate basic.

Also switch my broadband to virgin media so no line required.
use the existing phones, and get some sort of adapter to convert the cable connections

I'd welcome feedback from anybody in the uk has done the above & can let me know how it has worked out.

regards

Dave

[WelshPaul]

Hi Dave,

I have been doing what your asking for years. Currently have Virgin Media Vivid 150MB stand alone broadband that currently costs me £31.24 (I have a £7 loyalty discount) a month.

This should help regarding porting your number to sipgate: https://basichelp.sipgate.co.uk/hc/en-g ... gate-basic

All you need is a VoIP ATA, a Cisco SPA112 or OBi100 will suffice. The VM super hub(s) that virgin supply are not the best, you might need to put it in modem mode and use a third party router with it. There is a know issue with the super hub 3: http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/20 ... y-bug.html

[davep123]

Paul,

Thanks for the reply.
A virgin rep visited my home today to see how he could help. VM can port my number & the VM rep checked and has confirmed VM can host the number themselves, so might not need sipgate.
Ive been looking at the VM superhub 3.0 on youtube which confirms as you say is not upto much. but I have a ASUS DSL-AC68U router which I can utilise and set the VM hub 3 to modem mode.

I just hope by doing this to the hub 3 it wont disable the 2 ports for the phone.

just looking for discounts on virgin now. I'm likely to go for the SuperFibre 50 to start with, and upgrade if required.


Dave

[WelshPaul]

Virgin Media will port your number over to their network but then you're paying for broadband and a phone line like you already do. The bonus being with Virgin Media over other ISP's is that their broadband is awesome! I can get up to 300MB here with VM but only up to 20MB via fibre/BT.

Virgin Media are always offering deals on a broadband and phone package, usually it still costs more than broadband on it's own though. Caller display isn't free (they don't even seem to advertise the price on their website, see here) That will set you back another £2.25 every month and the cost per minute is 12p per min.

Talk Weekends
12p a min to UK landlines (numbers beginning 01, 02 or 03, not other numbers such as 084, 070)
19.35p/14.25p to call Mobile numbers

See: http://www.virginmedia.com/content/dam/ ... harges.pdf

Overall Virgin Media are very expensive as a phone provider.

[davep123]

No they can port my number over, but no phone line apparently.

[WelshPaul]

Virgin media don't offer a domestic VoIP phone service so if they port your number over, how are they going to grant you access to it?

[davep123]

Unsure Paul, but the guy who visited today said & checked they host the number. Maybe he was full of BS

[WelshPaul]

If you're in a Virgin Media cabled enabled area then VM can supply you a phone line, broadband and cable TV over their own infrastructure. If your not in a VM cabled enabled area then they can offer you a phone line and broadband but via your local BT exchange, you won't get super fast broadband via this method.

If the rep is offering to port your telephone number over then he's signing you up to a landline and broadband package for sure.

[davep123]

My home is in a VM area as we have had virgin tv & broadband in the past. when they next get in touch i'll double check, and wont sign anything until a have read the deal contract very carefully.
I did ask about fibre to the door, but he explained its fibre to the street box then coax cable from streetbox to my premises.

[WelshPaul]

Yea, the broadband comes in through the same coax cable used to supply your cable TV service. VM's telephone line comes in through a separate cable that runs alongside the coax cable.

If you do plan on taking their phone package and intend on using it just make sure you're aware of the charges and or that you sign up to a suitable telephone plan: http://www.virginmedia.com/shop/phone/compare.html

Good luck. :)

[davep123]

The VM guy rang me in the last 30 mins, I told him my concerns so he is going to check and get back to me tomorrow. I stressed that I don't want a phone line and that I want the number ported and hosted , then delivered through the hub. We shall wait and see.

[WelshPaul]

The HUB3 is telephony ready but VM UK does not have its own service. VM Ireland & all the other Liberty Global cable operators do, so its likely to arrive here eventually.

VM will definitely not be able to offer what you're requesting at present and the rep will know that.

If you port your telephone number over to VM you will 100% definitely have a PSTN line installed along side your broadband service.

Virgin have there own support forum, they will confirm what i have written here. http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/cus ... yHubForums

[davep123]

Paul, VM confirmed they cannot host my number as a voice number. So you were right.
Being with virgin have you experienced 7 o'clock slow down of speed ??
Also is sipgate basic any good ??

[WelshPaul]

Well i'm currently on VM's Vivid 150 BB offering, supposed to get 150MB down and 10MB up. This is what i'm getting right now when running a speed test:



To read more about VM's traffic management policy (see note below) click here and here.

Note: If you’re on VIVID 200 Gamer or VIVID 300 then you won’t be traffic managed on your download or upload activity.

I'm a heavy user, have three children whom are constantly online when home. I run several VoIP lines, multiple gaming PC's, games consoles, stream HD video and all without issue! Am I getting throttled by VM at times? Very likely, but if I am I don't notice it and it doesn't have a negative impact on my usage.

As for Sipgate, no complaints here. :)

[davep123]

I took the plunge & signed up with virgin for a 100mbps connection "upto" of course.
So the kit arrives tomorrow for me to set up myself, which should be fine.

So I need to be careful in what order I do things

1. get virgin up & running
2.cancel broadband from current provider
3. start sipgate account or net telco
4.port number from current provider to sipgate or net telco
5.buy adaptor Cisco SPA112 or OBi100

have I missed anything ??

Also where is best to buy adaptors from ?
I have seen this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cisco-Linksys ... 2222986483


Dave