What is VoIP?

Some people call it VoIP, or voice over internet, or digital voice, or a broadband phone service. They’re all different ways of describing the latest technology that allows you to save on your phone bill. You make and receive phone calls just like you did before, using a regular touch tone phone but instead of your calls being delivered over a regular phone line they travel over your high speed internet connection.

Phoenix comms Are an Intergrator partner of Engin, Engin is Australia’s largest VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) provider, now used by more than 60,000 Australians (June 2009). As the word spreads on how much you can save, that number is growing all the time.

How Does VoIP Work?

Engin connects directly to your broadband internet connection. Simply plug an Engin VoIP phone into your broadband modem-router. Or plug in an Engin voice box that is connected to your existing home phone. Then, when you pick up your phone, we route your calls over the internet using SIP technology (session initiation protocol).

Unlike some VoIP services, with Engin your computer doesn’t need to be switched on to make a call, so it doesn’t matter whether you use Mac or a PC. So long as your broadband connection is operating, you should be able to call with Engin.

You Can Call Anywhere With Engin

Some VoIP services are only for calling between broadband connected computers. That’s not the case with Engin. We pass your calls from the internet to the regular phone networks, so you can call people on mobiles, or at home on a standard phone line. The cost of carrying these calls on other people’s networks is passed on to you in your Engin call costs, or is included in the monthly plan charge. If you make a call to another Engin phone number the call is always free.

Easy to Set Up

If you’re thinking Engin is a serviced designed for computer geeks, and that it’s hard to set-up, think again. Everything you need comes in the box for the product you select – the device, whether it’s a voice box or an Internet Phone, the power supply, cables, installation manual and a CD that take you through the set-up, step by step, at your own pace.

Your Engin Voice Box or Internet Phone plugs directly into your broadband modem/router. Then, when your Engin service is activated, you’ll hear the dial tone and are ready to start calling. It’s that easy. Say goodbye to your old phone company and start calling the new way – over the internet, with Engin.

Switching to Engin Is Quick and Easy

If you have ever tried to switch phone companies you’ll know how hard it can be. With Engin, you can switch in next to no time. If you use ADSL for your broadband you will need to keep paying for line rental with your existing company, just stop using them for phone calls. Cable customers can stop paying line rental and save even more. Either way, you just plug in your Engin device, activate your service and start making internet calls.

Keeping Your Phone Number

Most Engin phones and voice boxes can connect you to our VoIP service, whilst staying connected to your old phone connection. That way people can still call you on your old number, and you can still make outgoing calls with your old provider if there’s a powercut or you temporarily lose your broadband connection.

Engin Phone Numbers

Engin has phone numbers available in most parts of Australia. When you sign-up we allocate a phone number for your area. Our numbers cover wider geographic areas than standard phone services, so when you move house you might be able to keep your Engin phone number. Check our coverage map to see if you’re in an Engin area.

Extra Lines

With Engin, it’s easy to add extra phone lines. As long as you’ve got a fast enough internet connection, two or more members of the household can be making calls at the same time. That could mean a phone number for each of the kids, without calling out a technician to run extra lines into the house. Check our Engin’s rates for more details.

Digital Call Quality

When you make a VoIP call with Engin, the Engin Voice Box converts your voice into data and sends it via the internet. That means, provided you have a fast enough internet connection, the person receiving your call will enjoy high quality digital sound.

Sometimes, other factors might influence call quality, including:

• The speed and quality of your broadband service.
• The quality of your equipment.

Quality can also vary because your voice call is travelling as data packets over the public internet. To ensure as smooth a ride as possible Engin ensures that calls are sent using the smallest data packet size possible. This minimises data loss caused by internet congestion.

Broadband Quality

We recommend that you use a broadband service with a speed of 512kbps or above. Even then, the quality of the call can be impacted if someone is transferring large files while you are on a call. When it comes to broadband speed some providers offer a more consistent service than others. Research has shown that Engin customers who use Optus have a better experience than Bigpond customers. To see how your broadband service compares, test your speed in the evening, when net usage is highest, at sites like Speedtest.net http://www.speedtest.net/

Equipment Quality

Engin uses a globally accepted standard for the delivery of voice over the internet. This standard is called Session Initiated Protocol (SIP). Whilst most handsets work with Engin (we’ve tested lots of them!) the quality can vary. Some modem/routers may not be SIP compliant and this can also impact the quality of your call. If in doubt, purchase an Engin-ready Internet Phone. See our products page for more details.

Improving Your Quality

Engin has established two separate sampling speeds to combat VoIP call quality. If you find you are having quality issues on the 8kbps default speed, we can increase your sampling speed to 64kbps. This should resolve most problems. Just be aware that this can impact the cost of downloads and uploads from your Internet Service Provider. Contact Phoenix comms on 1300 93 66 20 to change the sample rate of your calls.

VoIP myths

VoIP is one the world’s fastest growing industries and with this comes talk and speculation. So what’s true and what’s not?

“Extras come free with engin VoIP”

In the PSTN/ISDN world, customers are used to being charged for extra features like caller id, Voicemail and line hunt. Often up to $5, per line per month. So customers with 3 services on 4 lines @$3.50 per service could be paying $40+ per month for these features. That ads up to $ 500 per year saving alone.

Moving to engin means these kinds of extras are included, saving you the customer even more with the great call rates on offer.