Cell phone trends

Due to the efficiency of VOIP we now have lower charges for these calls even over mobile networks. This means that now no one uses the regular mobile phone service but will phone you on a data call.
I understand the demise of landlines and the advantages of VOIP but the mobile networks are also digital networks…

I use the regular phone service because voice quality is worth the extra money. I hate it when someone calls me on Whatsapp, because voice drops out, I cannot walk from one room to another without losing the call for a second (even with a mesh network)… I far prefer it if people don’t add frustration to my life because they want to save a buck. Controversial opinion… I am aware :slight_smile:

Have you tried SIP? My “landline” is actually a SIP VOIP, and the experience is much closer to “analog”.

Yup, I have a SIP “landline” too. Using a Yealink phone. It has an ethernet cable to the base station, and from there it is basically a normal cordless phone. That works much better than WhatsApp calls!

It does mean that when there are internet issues, everything is down: The television (Netflix, showmax), the phone, and of course the internet :slight_smile:

The nice think about that is, your cellphone also supports SIP, so you can get your landline landline calls on your cellphone if you wanted to…

What exactly is a landline call? (Do they still exist??)

And then there’s also VoLTE & VoWiFi which technically is a form of VoIP calling from your cellphone which should improve mobile call quality.

Well, I mean you can get your 021 number on your cellphone.

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Have a “landline” on my desk, it is a 021, my old Telkom number, and it is VoIP lines, actually have three numbers transferred, and have a “switchboard” still in the house.

Cheap as chips compared to Telkom lines from before.

And the line is 99% 100% clear.

Using a Cell has more nodes it must go through, so yes, it will be more “complicated”, and temperamental.

Helps when one has Fibre and a firewall that gives preference to VoIP. :innocent:

The reason we did that, Telkom said, “If the lines are damaged, stolen, we ain’t fixing it anymore”.
They did give LTE as an alternative in the area, I just opted not to use Telkom.

I can have the no working on my cell … but opted to rather take a message, when the desk phone is not answered, after it transferred the call to my phone.

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Which providers are out there… ? I have limited options and don’t want to shift from my fibre provider if I can?

Vox Telecom has a VOIP option they bundle with their fibre packages. I believe you can also just get it as a standalone thing too. There must be more providers, this just happens to be the one I use.

We used VOX when they started … maybe they have improved.

Been using Switch Telecom Billing www.switchtel.co.za for a few years now.

They transferred the 021 numbers for us too.

Most ISP have VOIP options now. I suggest you ask your current ISP first.

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One that works surprisingly well compared to Whatsapp calling is Google Meet. It seamlessly transitions between mobile data and WiFi. But adoption has been poor.

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