Is a VoIP adapter a possibility with a third party router?

[Bordonbert]

Hi.  I have Sky FTTP with Sky stream to their Puck and Sky's VoIP setup.  Disliking their router and what it offered me, I installed my own, an Archer A7, and massaged and bullied it into working with their system.

Great, I am in control of my own network now and can set it up as I like.  But I have had to lose VoIP landlilne calls.  After a "mystery" £70 phone bill one month I picked my jaw up from the floor and decided then and their I could do without it.  I certainly won't miss making landline calls, especially with a cheap GifGaff mobile SIM with unlimited UK call time at £6 per month, but having the incoming side is useful so...

I know that VoIP is absolutely impossible with my A7 router as with most (all?) third party models but could I use a simple VoIP adapter as part of my home network?  I am tech knowledgeable but not in this area so any advice you can offer at a sensible level will most likely be understood and will certainly be appreciated.

[GD1 · Accepted solution]

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@Bordonbert wrote:

Hi.  I have Sky FTTP with Sky stream to their Puck and Sky's VoIP setup.  Disliking their router and what it offered me, I installed my own, an Archer A7, and massaged and bullied it into working with their system.

Great, I am in control of my own network now and can set it up as I like.  But I have had to lose VoIP landlilne calls.  After a "mystery" £70 phone bill one month I picked my jaw up from the floor and decided then and their I could do without it.  I certainly won't miss making landline calls, especially with a cheap GifGaff mobile SIM with unlimited UK call time at £6 per month, but having the incoming side is useful so...

I know that VoIP is absolutely impossible with my A7 router as with most (all?) third party models but could I use a simple VoIP adapter as part of my home network?  I am tech knowledgeable but not in this area so any advice you can offer at a sensible level will most likely be understood and will certainly be appreciated.

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There isn't any way around getting the VOIP service other then usikngt he sky hub.

[Mark39]

As @GD1 posted, you can't use an external ATA to access Sky VOIP (or at least nobody yet has demonstrated a way of doing so) but you should be able to use a standard VOIP service from a non-Sky provider by connecting to Sky broadband in the usual way.

[Bordonbert]

Thanks for confirming that guys.  It's not what I would have liked to hear but at least I now know it isn't worth spending time on.  I'll look into the ins and outs of getting a different supplier for VoIP.  To be honest, it's not a huge issue for us after realising how expensive (read exorbitant) Sky's call charges are.

Thanks for the help.  Case closed!

[Mark39]

If it makes you feel slightly better about it, calls made by Sky VOIP are charged no differently to calls made on a standard Sky landline. The same call packages apply to both.

[Bordonbert]

😆   I get that you are trying to make me feel better Mark and I thank you for that, but hearing that ordinary Sky phone customers pay the same doesn't make it any more palatable, to either of us.  😉  The charges I found out we were paying were ridiculous.  I only found out when a mystery £70+ charge appeared on my account for a month of ordinary evening calls.  I had no idea the charges were so high.  I'm sure the lady who talked us through the Sky contract must have mentioned them but she must have done what they do in all the TV adverts when info with a negative impact must be given, "Oh look over there, it's a bright shiny thing. Be aware, your call charges may bankrupt you within 3 months.".

"Caveat Emptor" as they used to say in Rome when a Caelum representative called.  (Caelum - Sky in Latin. 😊 )

[Mark39]

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@Bordonbert wrote:

"Caveat Emptor" as they used to say in Rome when a Caelum representative called.  (Caelum - Sky in Latin. 😊 )

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Very true.  I would guess that the high charge was because you were on the default Pay as you Talk package which has no inclusive calls - every call is charged. 

[Eddy321]

Hi  , do I am looking to dump the sky hub 4.2,  as its reducing my bb speed by half , ,  I have a openreach duel face socket 5c , so a port for router and a phone socket,  I have tried my normal analogue phone it did not work,  so if I purchase a voip phone can I plug it into the nte5c socket,  along with my new router,  to be honest I am not fussed about the phone line if its going to cause me a nightmare 

[Mark39]

If you have Sky internet calls he only way you can connect to the phone service (Sky VOIP) is via the phone socket at the back of the Sky Hub. The usual wall socket won't work.

[Eddy321]

Ok , got you , to be honest I did think that   we'll there goes the landlines, thank you 

[TimmyBGood]

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@Eddy321 wrote:

  I have a openreach duel face socket 5c , so a port for router and a phone socket,  I have tried my normal analogue phone it did not work,  so if I purchase a voip phone can I plug it into the nte5c socket,  along with my new router,   

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No: by definition VoIP ('Voice over Internet Protocol) runs on broadband, not alongside it.

A 'voip phone' takes the sound of your voice and converts it to digital data, but it then has to connect with a router for data transit.

[Eddy321]

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@TimmyBGood wrote:

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@Eddy321 wrote:

  I have a openreach duel face socket 5c , so a port for router and a phone socket,  I have tried my normal analogue phone it did not work,  so if I purchase a voip phone can I plug it into the nte5c socket,  along with my new router,   

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No: by definition VOIP ('Voice Over Internet Protocol) runs on broadband, not alongside it.

A 'voip phone' takes the sound of your voice and converts it to digital data, but it then has to connect with a router for data transit.

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Thank you