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VoIP free!

Read on to find out how to join the VoIP revolution - free*!
(* Sole expense: initial investment of about $70. No Monthly Charges. Just an annual membership fee of $30. )

requirements

instructions

  1. Buy an analog telephone adapter (ATA) a.k.a. VoIP adapter. We use and recommend the Linksys/Sipura SPA-2102. Sipuras are available from e.g. Voxilla (US/Canada) or Nicegear (New Zealand).
    [spa2102]
    (Beware locked versions, from Vonage or other ripoff artists, that look similar - it is impossible to reconfigure their crippled units to work with a different service.)
  2. Sign up for Free World Dialup (FWD). You get a six-digit number - easy to remember - with free calling to other FWD numbers over the internet. There is also easy access to 1-8xx numbers in the US, Canada and some other countries. Not to mention voicemail, 3-way calling, and other modern conveniences.
  3. Plug a standard telephone (POTS) handset of your liking into the back of the Sipura, plug the Sipura into your ethernet network, and then power on the Sipura. Make sure your computer with web browser is plugged into the same wired ethernet network as the Sipura. Configure the unit via your fave web browser using these configuration instructions, which are shared here through the generosity of an American friend. Follow all the instructions, including doing the echo test.
  4. Now call a FWD buddy: simply pick up the phone handset you connected to the Sipura, and dial the FWD number of your buddy.
  5. To dial other VoIP users, you need peering numbers, explained elsewhere. Note, however, that a few so-called VoIP networks obnoxiously lock out other real VoIP networks from peering with them. Encourage any of your mates on those crippled nets to get onto FWD instead.
  6. To dial non-VoIP numbers, you will need to find a way to pay some telecoms company to carry your call for you. Why? Well, FWD works via your Sipura and your broadband connexion over the internet, but the PSTN (public switched telephone network) is a different bit of kit. So there is no particular reason why this type of call should be free. To sidestep this, if in North America you can buy dirt-cheap prepaid calling cards with 1-8xx access, easily obtained from many convenience stores (but make sure to avoid hefty per-call/maintenance/etc. fees). This solution works well because all FWD users can access American 1-8xx numbers by simply prepending a star (*) when dialing. (Other VoIPy solutions for reaching PSTN users include Skype, a proprietary VoIP protocol, and the excellent RebTel for mobile users.)
  7. Link up more friends, family and colleagues via FWD and Sipura gadgets. Spread the word about free VoIP. Stick it to companies gouging people for VoIP (- especially the Vonage ripoff!).

spread the love

N.B.: a cost of under $100 for your new Sipura (SPA-2102) is not expensive, especially when you consider that it is your only financial outlay to get free calling to any other FWD user on the planet (and 1-8xx numbers, and VoIP peers, etc.) for the foreseeable future. No monthly fees. None!

Even better, each Sipura model SPA-2102 allows configuration of two independent VoIP lines connected to two different handsets. So you can let Line 1 be FWD and Line 2 be some other VoIP provider. Or have two different FWD lines for two different phone users in one household - say, a parents line and a kids/teens line. :-)

With clever use of FWD, you can incur zero (or tiny) toll charges on a sustainable basis. You can also revel in the knowledge that you are using open-source SIP standards to communicate voicefully over your broadband when you use FWD on a Sipura gadget.

Enjoy!

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