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UK Voice Comparison - Dedicated Consumer Line

Meatball

ULTIMATE Member
Prompted by a few recent posts, the recent VoIP article by MJ plus a need to find a solution for my father in-law I have sought to compare the UK Voice options for a dedicated home voice line.

Whilst a considerable percentage will just give up the dedicated home line and use mobiles there will still be a number who would wish to retain a service in the home independent of their mobile whether its to retrain their number, use by other household members, emergency or simply nostalgia.

I attach a pdf of my comparison (usual accuracy caveats). Those that have or can manage a particular use pattern will get different results.



The situation is constantly moving so where are we?



Traditional Landline/VoBB


The three main players are charging high call charges and the liability of unexpected and very high call costs is an issue. My conclusion is that unless you are using the line for incoming only (and the discipline to keep to it) or on a call plan they are not advisable.

The BT 700 minute plan will meet most consumer needs and remains competitive.

The unlimited call plans from BT, Sky and VM have increased.

I am not expecting things to change as we move to VoBB as these guys will want to retain revenue. Annual price rises may continue so what they will offer is additional functionality free on VoBB (at least initially).



VoIP Providers

General conclusion is these are mainly focused still on Business. The web sites are downright misleading and there are many hidden costs (beware). An example is Vonage, with its Talk UK, looked good but it doesn’t include calls to UK mobiles which is ever more likely. Hence why I have assumed the worse possible case in UK comparison.



Mobile (VoLTE)

Currently a mobile SIM with inclusive calls is the best. However, Landline number call forwarding costs. Entry level SIMs with inclusive calls from the providers is now around £10/m and the MVNO SIMS are following.

For a dedicated line you need an extra SIM and family/multi SIM offers appear to be being managed out. If you can use an existing mobile whilst at home, then it can be even cheaper. Connect2Cell/Link2Mobile devices are now very rare or old units with heavy postage from the US. I am using my Yealink MP50 and quite pleased with it. It can remember 5/6 mobiles and you can connect 2 at a time.



I am currently retesting old VoLTE routers that previously just dropped to 3G for calls. But I am getting mixed VoLTE results with no connection, o/g only, incoming only or dropped calls. A minefield and I may have to await 3G closure as some appear to be lying to me.

The solution for my 86 year old Father in-law now is to use the Skytalk for incoming only and a Easyfone T200 4G LTE Big Button (beware cheaper 2G) in its cradle for outgoing. Added advantage is he can dispense with his 2G Nokia and take the T200 with him when out and about and put it into his cradle when home. Wife uses her iPhone.



I thought my comparison may be of use if only to trigger thoughts. It shows red where there is a warning and green cell where it’s the cheapest within the type.

Please always check before deciding on a particular supplier and advise if I have misinterpreted.

Sorry attachment too large see link for download (quickest will review)


Updated errors.
 
Last edited:
Good effort. On the SIM cards, might be worth including rwgmobile - their two Teaser tariffs are good value for mins and a bit of data. They use EE via a resale agreement through NOWmobile
 
Good effort. On the SIM cards, might be worth including rwgmobile - their two Teaser tariffs are good value for mins and a bit of data. They use EE via a resale agreement through NOWmobile
Yes aware of RWG (£3.50) but didn't order one as I can't get VoLTE to work properly on EE with my old 4G routers so didn't want to take a chance with the Easyfone. Just included ASDA/Sky which are in the mix and I have access to them. Lycra/Lebara are similar in cost for Call purposes but unfortunately need to be tested in the current environment.

Providers simply state any VoLTE enabled phone. If only.

As I highlight MVNO prices will be increasing.
 
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The three main players are charging high call charges and the liability of unexpected and very high call costs is an issue. My conclusion is that unless you are using the line for incoming only (and the discipline to keep to it) or on a call plan they are not advisable.
I fully agree with that, even with a POTS line to receive calls, it makes a lot of financial sense to use VoIP for outbound.
(and the discipline to keep to it)
If you get a suitable VoIP device to take care about the discipline (AKA "least cost" call routing), then you don't need to worry about human discipline. You could do that with a Fritzbox or a Gigaset N510IP pro base (and probably some other devices as well).

Please always check before deciding on a particular supplier and advise if I have misinterpreted.
Just a couple of comments on your table:

A&A now charge £1.44 (£1.20 plus VAT) for a number

Numberpeople do not charge for porting in but a whopping £40 for porting out. Also any PAYG credit expires after 90 days unless you top up again during that period.

And a few more providers you may want to look at:
Net Telco, soho66, VoIPtalk, Yay
 
Great summary, Meatball. For low call landline users, I agree A&A is the best option.

Bit torn between them and VOIPfone whose £6 100 minute package looks to be the cheapest of the call plan options.

A&A have advised they have a porting arrangement with VOIPfone, but not VOIPify.

The porting of VOIP phone numbers is far from stright forward. Probably something that would be appropriate for OFCOM to get involved in.
 
Last edited:
Meatball,

It's also probably also worth noting that if you port your number into VOIPfone the monthly charge becomes £3 + VAT = £3.60. The cross over between VOIPfone flex and Voipfone 100 comes much earlier.
 
For my elderly Uncle, I got him a Tesco International Calling card. This is a card you top up in any store, you then ring a free phone number on the landline, enter your pin and then the number you want to call.

Despite the name, it works in the UK. It's 2.5p a minute to call UK landlines or mobiles.

He has taken to this very well, and he is the biggest technophobe you could meet. He refuses to have the internet, a computer or even a mobile.

When BT switch off the landlines he will have a big problem.
 
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For my elderly Uncle, I got him a Tesco International Calling card.
If the Tesco International Card is used for calls within the UK then:
UK £0.025/min
UK - Mobile £0.025/min
If not using the Tesco App a 4p call connection supplement is charged plus your providers will charge as they would if you were making a call to a UK landline (unless covered by a plan).

It assumes an existing landline with access numbers:
0330 0010 252, 0207 097 2468 and 0800 097 2468

It would depend on the number of calls made per month, their duration and the access number used to forecast the pre-payment card.

Assuming a 10 minute call, a Sky/VM (or similar) landline where there is little additional cost (PAYG) and using the 0800 access number then:
£3 card would provide 10 calls
£5 card would provide 17 calls
£10 card would provide 34 calls
£20 card would provide 68 calls

Cards are valid for 180 days from the time of purchase or the date of your last top-up within the 180 days.

In comparison a BT 700 min call plan (PSTN or DV) costs £7.50p per month so only the lower value cards appear to make sense if their are few calls per month, typically longer in length and spread over a few months. Which may be the case for Johnf's Uncle.

The major benefit of the lower card values is of course the control of spend.

However Tesco's focus is on International Calls and the App. They may change UK bound call charges if they became significant.
 
Voipfone has been the target of some sustained and repeated DOS attacks against their SIP infrastructure last year. Not sure if they have been affected recently but they were having some issues last year.
 
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