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Skype Gateways for Local Calls?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the long-distance-local-calls dept.

cgenman asks: "My girlfriend is currently living abroad, but needs to make calls here in the States. I'm investigating Skype to phone gateways, but none seem to allow the person who is trying to Skype in remotely to initiate calls on the local phone network. What experiences have people had with Skype gateways which give remote people full local access? Are there other setups better suited for this purpose?"

3 of 42 comments (clear)

  1. Skype and privacy by Frol · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Funny, I just read about Skype implementing censoring of text-messages for the Chinese market. I have no problem with Skype following local regulations, even if it is censorship. But considering this quote from Skypes homepage:
    Skype encrypts all calls and instant messages end-to-end for unrivaled privacy.
    If Skype really had end-to-end encryption, censoring would be impossible. How can we trust Skype to implement any encryption for voice calls? Who knows who is listening...

    [Sorry for ranting a bit off-topic. Must be the late hour.]

  2. gizmoproject by saturnism · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm using Gizmo from gizmoproject.com. It's a SIP phone, cheaper than skype for dial in and dial out services, plus a pretty usable ui for linux as well. I'm using both dial-in and dial-out services.

    --
    it is me
  3. Skype? Don't Bother by Braxton_the_Covenant · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It is not worth it to blow money on a device just to use such quirky proprietary software to set up VOIP-to-PSTN communications. Skype uses the compressed (lossy) iLBC codec, which is lower quality than the G.711u codec most of the mainstream SIP VOIP providers use for their phone calls. Skype also requires you (or your girlfriend rather) to either talk to the person on the phone using a mike and headphones or some kludge like a "phone" that hijacks the audio in and audio out from your soundcard. Finally, SkypeOut is actually more expensive per minute to North America than the better SIP providers.

    I suggest checking out the comments found on voxilla.com and its very active forum community for advice on setting up her (and no doubt eventually yours too) VOIP connection, and work out all the details like whether you just want outbound-to-PSTN calling or if she needs a DID number as well for being called at, whether you need an IP phone or an ATA, what providers suit your needs and what is the best way to configure your software or hardware.