Best option for a land line?

[Nayet]

I have been using my mobile phone for international calls, but the line is almost always so bad it is hard to have a normal conversation, and last time it cut off like five times before I finally gave up.

So I need a reliable land line. What is my best option? I have heard of VoIP but don't know what I need to get it set up or who I need to contact. I welcome any informed opinions.

[lopburi3]

It might be helpful to know where you are as that will make a big difference as to what may or may not be available. Most people have been dropping land line phones so there may be more of a chance to obtain a line than previously. If you install some of the new internet fiber packages they include a land line. Perhaps you just need to use a different mobile service (or higher speed option)?

[Nayet]

It might be helpful to know where you are as that will make a big difference as to what may or may not be available. Most people have been dropping land line phones so there may be more of a chance to obtain a line than previously. If you install some of the new internet fiber packages they include a land line. Perhaps you just need to use a different mobile service (or higher speed option)?

I am in Bangkok. I have tried other mobile services, but none is what I would call reliable.

[KhunBENQ]

I have been using my mobile phone for international calls

It would help to know what Thai mobile provider you use.

What prefix do you use for your international calls? (can male a big difference)

Which country/countries do you call (mobile or fixed)?

Do you also have problems to do domestic calls?

Edited July 6, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[Naam]

So I need a reliable land line. What is my best option? I have heard of VoIP but don't know what I need to get it set up or who I need to contact. I welcome any informed opinions.

for VoIP you need an internet connection with an actual speed of at least 5-6 mb. the quality is as good or better than a landline and the cost is a fraction!

take a look: https://www.voipbuster.com/dashboard

[BudRight]

Why don't you just use Line or Facetime or Facebook messenger like a normal human? If you're calling a luddite who doesn't have those things, use Vyber or Google Voice.

If your phone won't handle apps at all then that's your problem right there. A basic smartphone is like 1,500 baht these days.

Edited July 6, 2016 by BudRight

[RandG]

In Phuket, on 3BB 10Bit service, we have VoIP phones with both UK numbers and German numbers. We also have the same numbers on our VoIP phones at home in the UK, so people do not need to know whether are "at home" in Phuket or the UK. Work extremely well. Calls to the UK and Germany very low cost, other countries, via the UK, not much higher. You certainly do not need an actual speed of 5-6MBit as suggested above if VoIP is the only connection at a given point in time. A VoIP call uses something like 64K, so more or less any stable ADSL connection should do the job, depending on what else you are using at the same time. On our 3BB connection, we have can have Netflix going, and still use the phone without any problems, even with a couple of calls on the go at the same the same time.

Good luck

[Naam]

In Phuket, on 3BB 10Bit service, we have VoIP phones with both UK numbers and German numbers. We also have the same numbers on our VoIP phones at home in the UK, so people do not need to know whether are "at home" in Phuket or the UK. Work extremely well. Calls to the UK and Germany very low cost, other countries, via the UK, not much higher. You certainly do not need an actual speed of 5-6MBit as suggested above if VoIP is the only connection at a given point in time. A VoIP call uses something like 64K, so more or less any stable ADSL connection should do the job, depending on what else you are using at the same time. On our 3BB connection, we have can have Netflix going, and still use the phone without any problems, even with a couple of calls on the go at the same the same time.

Good luck

A VoIP call uses something like 64K, so more or less any stable ADSL connection should do the job...

...providing a quality.

[muratremix]

Use voip. Much cheaper than landline or mobile international calls. I use betamax (calls2india, actionvoip and several clone sites offering different rates) and sound quality is amazing.

[lopburi3]

Sorry but for some/most of us that term has an entirely different meaning.

Edited July 7, 2016 by lopburi3

[Aussie69]

...

[Nayet]

Thanks, all. I downloaded the thing from Voipbuster. Cheap, and seems to be working pretty well.

[RandG]

A VoIP call uses something like 64K, so more or less any stable ADSL connection should do the job...

...providing a quality.

The quality we get is excellent, no different from our telephone service in the UK/Germany and when we used ISDN30 digital connections previously at work.. Modern Codecs are very efficient. Friends and family cannot tell whether we are calling from Thailand or UK.

[gandalf12]

I think you put '8' before the number you want and it will switch you to the VoIP service. VoIP will give you a far better connection than the standard connection

[Naam]

A VoIP call uses something like 64K, so more or less any stable ADSL connection should do the job...

...providing a quality.

The quality we get is excellent, no different from our telephone service in the UK/Germany and when we used ISDN30 digital connections previously at work.. Modern Codecs are very efficient. Friends and family cannot tell whether we are calling from Thailand or UK.

where do you get a speed of 64k nowadays to prove that claim? gimme a break please!

of course you get excellent quality with an ISP providing a nominal 10mb service because even during unfavourable conditions the actual speed must be at least 25 time 64k.

[gandalf12]

A VoIP call uses something like 64K, so more or less any stable ADSL connection should do the job...

...providing a quality.

The quality we get is excellent, no different from our telephone service in the UK/Germany and when we used ISDN30 digital connections previously at work.. Modern Codecs are very efficient. Friends and family cannot tell whether we are calling from Thailand or UK.

where do you get a speed of 64k nowadays to prove that claim? gimme a break please!

of course you get excellent quality with an ISP providing a nominal 10mb service because even during unfavourable conditions the actual speed must be at least 25 time 64k.

For your information VoIP is a packet based system which does use standard 64k packets. The quality for VoIP is not related to the Up / Down speed but to the way in which VoIP works. The quality will depend on what system is used. If it is "Best Effort" then it will be sketchy but if it is a QoS system the quality will be clearly defined

[Naam]

For your information VoIP is a packet based system which does use standard 64k packets. The quality for VoIP is not related to the Up / Down speed but to the way in which VoIP works. The quality will depend on what system is used. If it is "Best Effort" then it will be sketchy but if it is a QoS system the quality will be clearly defined

the quality (sending and receiving) of voip

standard 64k packets

is highly depending on line speed. period!

[muratremix]

For your information VoIP is a packet based system which does use standard 64k packets. The quality for VoIP is not related to the Up / Down speed but to the way in which VoIP works. The quality will depend on what system is used. If it is "Best Effort" then it will be sketchy but if it is a QoS system the quality will be clearly defined

the quality (sending and receiving) of voip

standard 64k packets

is highly depending on line speed. period!

So wrong. Quality of Voip depends on Ping and jitter (along with codec choice of course)

[Aussie69]

See all this talk about bandwidth, ping, jitter. My suggestion just relies upon how many rotations of the dyno you make ... only downside is it needs a RLSO connection - Real Life Switchboard Operator

[lor]

When I was in England I subscribed to Vonage. Now I have a uk number which rings anywhere I am. My calls back to England are free and people in uk phoning me in Thailand only pay local rates or use their free minutes. If I want I can also call any thai number, including mobiles for free