[thelist] VoIP questions

[Hershel Robinson]

Skype does actually support hardware telephone adaptors, as do several other
VOIP providers. I would recommend a third-party adaptor which can be
configured to connect to different providers, should you want to change
providers in the future.

I have two providers, one for incoming calls and one for outgoing calls--I
use a Sipura SPA 2000 which supports 2 lines. The sound quality of these
services on my aDSL line is the same as my land-line phone. The downside is
that there is downtime. When the VOIP server is down, then the VOIP phone is
also down, obviously.

As far as your incoming phone number, services like Skype and FWD provide
you with an 'internal' number, which is permanent, but only accessible from
other users of the same network.

Other (most) services will provide you (for a fee) a permanent incoming
phone number which is accessible (to the entire world) as a regular PSTN
phone number. You can choose what area code you want for your number. I have
seen services offering numbers in the US, Israel and IIRC, England as well.

There are literally hundreds of VOIP providers to choose from, all offering
different packages.

Good luck,
Hershel