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BT to Offer Free Internet Calls
gnoos writes "The BBC is reporting that BT is to start offering customers free internet telephone calls if they sign up to broadband in December. The offer will be limited to the first 50,000 people who sign up and users will need to use BT's internet telephony software, known as BT Communicator"
Hmm, last I check through almost every major emergency the phone lines are about the last thing to go out, heck even power loss doesn't effect corded telephones. Cell Phones while improving, simply don't have the same reputation. And Internet Service can be very flaky at times.
It's hard to understand as an American how important this maneuver is to BT. Unlike the States, The UK and other EU nations prefer mobile phones over landlines to such an extent that telecos are losing money. The only source for revenue for this redundant system presently is DSL service, and even that is being offered at reduced rates.
The American business model for telco service has always been charge a little extra for flat rate local calls and save thousands of dollars in not having to itemize billing for something that costs jack squat. BT has clearly acknowledged that this is the only way to compete with the booming mobile phone industry is to go VoIP and following the American standard but because it's a new technology they don't have to say America was right.
Minimum requirements -Microsoft Windows 98/Windows 2000/Windows Millennium/Windows XP operating system (XP recommended) -Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.01 or later not so sure about the latter, because i bet it just requires flash and so would work in firefox. but it probably doesn't work in linux since it specifies: Please note that BT Communicator is not Mac compatible. All in all, how many windows users want to use something possibly IE-based so that they can talk to hardlines and such for free?
BT are lying theiving scum that have exploited the British public with their monopoly for years. This is an obvious gimmick (that will fail) to attempt to steal customers from other broadband providers.
Their ADSL service is fine up until layer 3, at which point it becomes crap. Their web service will only let you download two simultaneous files, and given half a chance they will cap your downloads. Service is unreliable. I have several remote sites using VPN's - one uses BT at the moment, and VPN is up and down like a yoyo.
If you want broadband in the UK and you live in an area where you can get cable, use Telewest (I have a 3Mb line which is 1Mb faster than the fastest BT offering) or if you can't get cable and can only have ADSL, use Demon.
Oh and don't use BT for regular telephone lines - they are overpriced.
In fact, don't use them for anything.
no, but living next to the wrong building(my sister's apartment) doesn't make your cell phone almost useful. and for all my experience, land lines give the best and far and away most consistent reception to be had.
Why can't people realize there are advantages and disadvantages to both types of phones. I will not make many important calls on my cell phone in certain areas(my dorm at my school for the last two years) because reception is just that bad at times. Its never at a dependable level. But that is what I have where I live so land lines are the best option. My friends in UF only have a cell phone because they are rarely in their apartment and reception is near 100% no matter where they are.
Slowly though, cell phones are moving to replace most land line uses, but for now, cell phones aren't the end all answer for everyone out there.
We have free national house-to-house VoIP phone for about a year or so in France. And you don't have to use your computer: just plug your phone in the 'Freebox' given with your Free.fr subscription. You also get broadband internet (up to 15 mbits in some areas) and TV (not everywhere), all for 30 euros/month. For once that France isn't years behind technologically, I thought I'd mention it...
Just so you don't have to go down a whole thread, the requirements are listed below.
In short, Windoze only, and needs Internet Exploder and Flash as well. So tough if you're using any kind of alternatives with, say, a better security record.
Thanks BT, but not very much.
Minimum requirements
Multimedia PC with 700MHz processor or faster *
Microsoft Windows 98/Windows 2000/Windows Millennium/Windows XP operating system (XP recommended)
Minimum 128MB RAM (256MB recommended)
256-color VGA or higher resolution graphics card (SVGA recommended)
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.01 or later
Macromedia Flash version 5.0.25 or later (Flash version 6+ recommended).
... send UDP or RTP or RTSP packets through the Internet if I sign up ?
.... I had to phone them 3 times to get the password to access their ADSL router to start it up and endure sniggering adolescent tele-plonkers who seemed to think I was *mad* as a hatter for even trying to do it without using the free windows software (read browser page).
I should bloody well hope so.
I remember working at one company where we ordered a BT business ADSL line
And then we discovered BT blocked *every* incoming port to the ADSL router. Very useful that was.
HOW-TO setup a soft-VPN system:
1) rent ADSL service from ISP that know's the f*ck what it's doing
2) connect penguin box
3) install, configure, start service
4) go for a cup of tea
5) fire twat who ordered BT ADSL Busy-being-idiots Service.
BT is an ISP?
My arse.
"So our calls are happily sent across the country through random strangers?"
Actually, that's true.
Skype's NAT traversal works by using a non-firewalled 3rd party... which means (in real terms) anyone running Skype who is not firewalled is a candidate to act as a "server" for the two firewalled people talking. I assume these servers are chosen randomly among Skype users, or are those with the best bandwidth / least latency.
To put it another way:
Qxe4
BT, together with their mobile subgroup O2 really are the worst company in the UK. I was ripped off by O2 on a mobile telephone bill to the tune of several hundred pounds and I know many others who have similar tales of woe. We also have an ISDN from BT themselves the service on which is truly dreadful.
Of all the corporates I've ever dealt with in the UK BT are by far and away the worst, and that includes the various rail companies. No other company comes close for their attitude of not giving a toss about their customers, indeed they are the only corporate I know which actively seems to go out of their way to treat their customers with contempt.
Avoid.
Sorry, but this market is self deprecating.
Unless they somehow sabotage world networks, all voice traffic can easily squeeze in right next to the bittorrent traffic.
Pay for VOIP? Are you mad! I hope they don;t try and neuter DSL connection in the future to stop voice calls, one day, everyone will have a compatible voice software, and I think it will be within 4 years.
4 years telcos. Wise up.
#hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
After the free period, the pricing is the same as your standard BT landline costs.
To have BT Broadband you must have a BT Landline
I have a walkabout phone for round the house so i can be in any room, in the garden, garage etc. But my PC is tied to the wall. Even if you had a laptop do you really want to lug that around?
So I pay the same for a net call and get less 'features' than my landline. Sounds like a bargain!
There's a large number of posts further up this discussion just not getting it. Here is my summary of what is different about this:
BT communicator is just Yahoo messenger with VoIP software in it, that's nothing new. BT offers a gateway to the real phone network that they have been charging to the customers household phone bill at standard rates. That's nothing new either.
What is new here and news worthy is that BT is giving away FREE PHONE CALLS TO THE REAL PHONE NETWORK from the VoIP phone until the 31st January 2006. That is what makes this story interesting.
Steve.
A latent existence