Our Real Life Internet Phone Experience

Being able to make phone calls using the internet has come a long way since 2003.  Companies like Vontage and Packet8 have made this service very usable.  Now Comcast, Cox, and Roadrunner cable TV systems offer their own phone service.  If you are off grid  / remote living, you don’t care much about cable companies and their offerings, but depending on the kind and quality of Internet connection you have, Internet phone technology can make a big difference.

First, the bad news.  If you have Internet from a satellite service like Hughes net, Wild Blue, or others, Internet telephony will not work on your connection – guaranteed.  However, if you have DSL from a hardwired land line telephone, a good cellular data connection, or a wireless connection (using microwave technology from a WISP) it will probably work.

My original phone system cost $4,000 and covered a distance of 4.5 miles to a home where the owner graciously agreed to let me get a 2nd phone line installed.  It was designed by Carlson Wireless, and worked fairly well using the 2.4Ghz band.  Unfortunately, no mater what I did, we couldn’t resolve one nagging interference problem.  Our small microwave oven would drop our phone calls after 5-10 seconds.  I even tested our system with the microwave at the end of a 50′ extension cord in the yard trying to move the noise source away.  It was often comical and frustrating when Jackie would put something in the oven while I was on an ‘important call’.

In late 2003 the company I work for managed to get a wireless connection to our remote home.  The quality of the connection was good for surfing, but not the best for VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) phone work.  Things like jitter and latency were less than optimal.   After much testing and research I signed up for Packet8.net service.

The Packet8 price was right at the time, about $75 for the phone adapter and $25/month.   This was before, I believe, Vontage had made their big entry into the market.  Packet8 had developed their own technology to do VOIP calls over a dialup connection!  This service worked relatively well for what we had.  We’d loose 1 out of 15 or so calls, and would just call back and apologize for our poor “mobile” connection.   If your Internet connection is on the edge of usable VOIP, I highly suggest Packet8.net.

Since 2003, our provider has greatly improved the quality of connection, and we can shop for VOIP service from dozens of providers.  I have setup and tested phones on several services that allow BYOD customers (ones who Bring Your Own Device).  A $79 Grandstream budget tone phone, and you too can dive into this world too.  Some confidence in plugging the right information into the phone’s web page is helpful.  These services allow you to pay as little as $2 a month and $0.01 per minute when you use them.

Now in 2009, I see that Skype free PC to PC phone service is in the mainstream when the networks do video interviews with it.  I’ve used this quite a bit with great success.  It is a great place to start when testing if your connection will support VOIP because A) its free, B) it doesn’t require special hardware, and C) it seems to perform well in poor conditions.   If Skype works for you, I’d suggest getting their $2.95/month dial out service that lets you call anywhere in US unlimited.    [In fact, I used it 8 hours a day for 4 days straight last year for an on-line training course.]

Here are a few tips to test your Internet connection for VOIP use.

• If you know how to use the “ping” command on your computer (normally in the little black DOS box, or a terminal window) try to ping yahoo.com, or the provider you want service from like packet8.net.  The response times should be less than 150-200ms to have something that works moderately.
• Sign up for a free Skype account, and use their test call facility.  I will record and play back your voice over the Internet phone line.
• Note, that the quality of your voice to others is often the weakest link in residential quality connections, because it uses the smaller upload speed.
• Test with a friend over Skype for free.  Try it at different times during the day and also between 8 and 10pm when any congestion may occur on your ISP’s network.

When you have a working Internet phone connection from your remote off grid home, you can reach out to that congested, crazy world on your own terms without worries of huge phone bills.  The days of lost calls because Jackie warmed up lunch are over!

Do you rely on a VOIP phone for your off grid home?  Which providers have worked well for you.  Please share, leave a comment!

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Related posts:

1. Remote Broadband Options – part 1
2. New Off Grid Internet Guide Released
3. Turn off the microwave, I’m on the phone!
4. Managed Expectations for Satellite Internet
5. Can you hear me now?