Australian VoIP Guide Plans For 2020 - VoIP Phone Services Australia

 

Australian’s everywhere are discovering the savings possible with VOIP technology. Learn more right here.

Increasing Broadband Use– Greater Opportunities for VoIP

There were 11.6 million active internet subscribers in Australia as at December 2011, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with 77% of those being household subscribers and 23% business / government. 92% of all household subscribers chose to connect to the internet through a broadband connection, reflecting the move away from dial-up connectivity in recognition of the greater efficiency of broadband.

Since November 2007, the Australian communications marketplace has witnessed the gradual introduction of Naked DSL. Naked DSL offers consumers the opportunity to retain their broadband connectivity without being obliged to pay for a landline connection.
Astute consumers have recognised the potential cost benefit of operating such a broadband service and integrating net-based communications like VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) for their telephone connectivity rather than paying for their landline as well as their internet. With the pre-eminent Australian POTS provider, Telstra, owning the access rights to the copper-based network and commanding exorbitant monthly line rental fees for consumers just to maintain their landline service, the introduction of naked DSL offers a far more cost effective and streamlined alternative for consumers.
The rapid increase in consumer recognition of broadband efficiency, combined with the introduction of naked DSL, offers a great opportunity for increased consumer take up of VoIP services, particularly when bundled with their broadband service. In essence, the POTS is becoming increasingly redundant to those who have the foresight to effectively utilise the internet as their core communications instrument.

Benefits for home users

Cost is the driving factor for residential take-up of VoIP services in Australia, with pricing structures for VoIP products ranging from all-inclusive monthly subscriptions to pay-as-you-go plans with flat rate connection flagfalls for national and local calls and significantly reduced timed usage for international calls. Despite this variability in pricing plans, consumers have the opportunity to derive significant savings when VoIP service costs are compared to the call costs charged by fixed line service providers. Further information about VoIP pricing is available from our VoIP Plan Comparison Page…

Cost, however, is not the only benefit associated with VoIP connectivity. Additional features, for which the consumer pays handsomely on fixed line services, are also available (and often complimentary) with VoIP. Calling number display, call blocking, re-direction of calls, instant messaging, multiple-party conference calls, video calling, the capacity to send visual or audio files during a conversation and the portability of VoIP, which transcends geographic location. These features are integral to a VoIP service and offer the consumer far more value for money and flexibility than the limited features available on a standard fixed line service.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics notes that 26% of personal internet users utilised VoIP technology for voice or video calls over the internet in 2011, with this uptake having increased substantially from the 10% recorded by the Roy Morgan Poll in 2008. VoIP services have, in the past, suffered from a low level of public awareness and a misconception of lesser quality communication. It has often been assumed that high level IT proficiency has been necessary to install and conduct VoIP communication. In recent years, however, consumers have come to understand that technical proficiency is not required to operate a VoIP service and that increasing consumer uptake of faster, more efficient broadband services have overcome the early latency and lower quality transmission issues associated with VoIP services.  According to a survey commissioned by ACMA (the Australian Communications and Media Authority) in 2009, 80% of current VoIP users are very satisfied with their VoIP service, with only 7% indicating any dissatisfaction.

With the advent of the Australian National Broadband Network, currently in its roll-out phase, the quality and speed of our internet capacity is predicted to improve significantly, placing Australia on par with the international community, and thereby elevating VoIP as a legitimate, progressive, cost-effective alternative to the fixed line telecommunications to which we have become accustomed.

Business VoIP

According to Sensis, 20% of all small to medium enterprises in Australia have embraced VoIP as a viable business communications strategy.Whilst the small business sector is only just beginning to appreciate the benefits of VoIP technology, medium sized enterprises have long recognised that VoIP services offer not only a substantial cost benefit, but also greater flexibility for workplace efficiencies and delivery of service. This is anticipated to rise significantly in the short term with the roll-out of the National Broadband Network, with increasing internet capability nationwide (especially in regional areas) and as more technologically advanced mobile handsets, with the capacity to engage with VoIP connectivity, become more readily available.

It is acknowledged, a priori, that businesses seek to improve their bottom line through reducing their overheads, with communications an essential element for any business. With the significant savings available on VoIP products, it makes good business sense to explore the options available and undertake in a cost benefit analysis. For those enterprises who have already engaged VoIP products, 66% have indicated that the cost benefit has been the major motivation, with 46% stating that VoIP provides lower call costs, 10% identifying the lower cost of IP PBX hardware and another 10% indicating that they had experienced lower maintenance costs with VoIP telephony.

 

Combine these lower overheads with the inherent portability of VoIP services, which transcends geographic location, and additional features such as calling number display, re-direction of calls, instant messaging, multiple-party conference calls, video calling and the capacity to send visual or audio files during a conversation, all of which are integral to VoIP service provision, and the benefits to business are compounded.

Savvy businesses will recognise that IP telephony is the progressive pathway for all enterprise. Not only is the internet the global medium for advertising and trade. It is now THE core network for all communications, with our copper based telecommunications network predicted to soon become obsolete in its wake.

A review of VoIP phone services in Australia

Traditional home phone packages bundled with a broadband plan are becoming a thing of the past. After all, who uses their landline telephone anymore? We suspect a lot of young people forego the handset for their mobile phones, as mobile phone plans these days can be dirt cheap with unlimited calls. However, there is still merit in having a home phone, but the way a phone call is delivered these days can be vastly different. Enter the realm of Voice over Internet Protocol – or VoIP for short.

How Does VoIP Work?

VoIP simply works by converting analogue voice calls into little packets of data. VoIP basically means you’re using the internet to make phone calls, and your voice is transformed into little packets of data that are then deciphered on the other end. This is similar to using a multitude of other things over the internet – email, instant messages etc.

With Voiceover IP, you can still call a landline or mobile phone, but you’ll be using your internet connection to do so, rather than a phone line connection. This can represent a solid alternative and can work out to be fairly cost effective.

VoIP has emerged as a popular alternative to a copper home phone line amid the rollout of high-speed fixed line broadband, Wi-Fi and mobile 4G, along with the rapid adoption of the smartphone. High speed internet access is virtually wherever we go and has enabled a whole new communications boom.

• Landline telephones have been left in the dust: With VoIP, users plug their phone connection into their modem, bypassing a direct copper home phone line.
• New NBN connections also commonly prefer the use of VoIP as the country moves away from copper connections.
• VoIP can be cost effective: Many internet providers charge for ‘home phone line rental’, which is basically paying for the privilege to access and have an active copper home phone line in your home.
• VoIP bypasses this need by plugging directly into a compatible Wi-Fi modem.

We’ve established that VoIP has a strong foothold in the future of home phone calling in Australia, but how much data does it actually use, and will it limit internet speeds in any way?

How Much Data Does VoIP Use?

Perhaps the best thing about VoIP is that, unlike many other things used over the internet, it does not require a lot of data or particularly fast internet speeds.

• A single phone call requires download and upload speeds of only 100Kbps, with 3Mbps a second now recommended. Given a lot of providers these days boast 20Mbps download speeds with 1Mbps upload speeds on ADSL2+, bandwidth for VoIP is usually not an issue.
• As far as data used, 13 megabytes per hour tends to be about the norm. Given that most broadband plans are unlimited these days, this is likely not a major issue… unless Nanna rings you for your birthday and you’ve only got 50GB to spare.
• This low data use is also good for mobile phone data connections as many plans nowadays boast over 1GB in data inclusions. This begs a question: Could you forego calls and texts, and just base everything entirely on the internet?

The communications landscape is fundamentally changing, with VoIP services allowing Australians to communicate both at home and on the move. Evidently, the humble fixed landline has been politely told to vacate the premises. So with VoIP appearing to be a solid alternative, what services are out there, and what can you expect to pay?

Australia’s Top VoIP Home Phone Internet Plans

A range of ISPs currently provide VoIP plans as an alternative to fixed line telephone plans, with consumers able to use their regular home phone to access these services. Generally speaking, VoIP services frequently come as an option with a naked DSL plan, while traditional DSL providers prefer the bundling of a traditional home phone line. There are exceptions of course. The following is a selection of some of the top ISPs offering VoIP plans.

Traversetelecom VoIP Plans

Traversetelecom already offers NBN plans on NBN 25, NBN 50 and NBN 100 speeds and also offers VoIP plans from a little extra per month. Traversetelecom add ons start at $10 per month for Australian landlines and mobiles, and go up to $20 per month for international inclusions. Calls can be PAYG for $0 per month. These voice packs can be added to any plan.

• Traversetelecom’s fixed line NBN plans come with the top three speed tiers as standard, which is 25/5, 50/20 and both the 100/20 and 100/40 Premium speeds.
• Special Gamer plans available, which are optimised for a more premium online gaming experience.

Traversetelecom is still a relative unknown compared to the bigger telcos but offers some cheap naked DSL & NBN plans with cheap VoIP call packs thrown in if you so choose.

The below table features a selection of published Traversetelecom NBN plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost from lowest to highest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a wider range of providers. These are products with links to a referral partner.

iiNet VoIP Plans

iiNet offers its Netphone VoIP service with its residential NBN, VDSL2, cable and naked DSL plans, and it’s priced at $9.95 per month.

• Netphone comes with included calls to other Netphone numbers, along with local and standard national calls, while calls to Australian mobile numbers cost 29 cents per minute, which are billed in 30 second increments.
• International calls are from 5 cents per minute (with call inclusions varying plan by plan).
• Dependent on the contract, you can additionally purchase a VoIP international call pack for an additional $10 a month. This includes all calls to landlines in 20 different countries, including popular ones like the UK, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.
• For an additional $10 per month you can buy a VoIP Mobile Call Pack – this includes all calls to standard Australian landlines and mobiles.

iiNet’s VoIP plans come with no minimum term, although they are only available when bundled with an iiNet fixed line broadband service, and the broadband service may come with a minimum term.

Netphone works by plugging a standard phone into a VoIP-enabled broadband modem, or for those without a VoIP modem via a VoIP adaptor, ATA, device. Below are some iiNet plans you can expect to see bundled with a Netphone.

The below table features a selection of published iiNet NBN plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost from lowest to highest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a wider range of providers. These are products with links to a referral partner.

Internode VoIP Plans

Internode is a subsidiary of iiNet and perhaps unsurprisingly has several broadband plans with the ability to add a VoIP service. Internode’s VoIP service is called the ‘Nodephone’ and Internode packages this service with many NBN plans.

• NodePhone plans start at $0 extra per month, which comes with PAYG rartes, while other plans can be had from $5 per month.
• Local and national calls are untimed and charged at 18c each. Mobile calls are 29c a minute while international rates start at just 15c/minute.

Internode may be a subsidiary of iiNet but what it offers is quite different. 250GB data can be had from under $60 a month, remembering that a NodePhone with credit can be bundled from an extra $5. Internode does not seem to offer any ‘packs’, rather relying on relatively cheap call rates to see customers through.

The below table features a selection of published Internode NBN plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost from lowest to highest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a wider range of providers. These are products with links to a referral partner.

Exetel VoIP Plans

Exetel offers its own VoIP service, ExeFone, with all of its broadband plans. Under ExeFone plans, Exetel to Exetel calls are free, and if bundling a broadband service, the Exefone service is about $10 a month extra. For this customers get local, national, mobile and international calls to 10 countries included.

• Other international rates are available from as little as 1c a minute

Exetel already offers some cheap NBN and ADSL plans, with unlimited data plans across both NBN and ADSL offerings. NBN plans are offered on no lock-in contracts at the NBN 50 and NBN 100 speeds, with prices starting at $69.99 and going up to $89.99.

The below table features a selection of published Exetel NBN plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost from lowest to highest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a wider range of providers.

iPrimus VoIP Plans

iPrimus’ range includes a number of Lingo VoIP plans, which can be purchased separately from its broadband plans, and can be used in conjunction with a plan from another provider. These plans comprise its:

• Lingo Starter plan, priced at $9.95 per month
• Lingo National plan, priced at $19.95 per month
• Lingo Australia plan, priced at $34.95 per month
• Lingo 50 Countries plan, priced at $39.95 per month

Local and national calls are priced at 10 cents per call for the Starter plan (unlimited for the other plans), with calls to iPrimus mobiles costing 12 cents per minute for the Starter and National plans (unlimited for the other plans) and calls to other Australian mobiles costing 26 cents per minute for the Starter and National plans (unlimited for the other plans).

International calls are priced from 3 cents per minute for the Starter, National and Australia plans, while the 50 Countries plan has unlimited calls to standard fixed numbers to 50 countries.

Customers will receive a Lingo ATA Box with their service, costing $99 with no contract, $59 with a six-month contact, and provided for free with a 12 or 24-month contract. It should be noted that many of iPrimus’ ADSL2+ plans still rely on the included landline telephone bundle, while its NBN plans are a little more forward-thinking.

The below table features a selection of published iPrimus NBN plans from Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost from lowest to highest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a wider range of providers.

Where can I get free VoIP?

A range of free (and a combination of both paid and free) VoIP services have emerged amid the high-speed broadband and mobile connectivity boom and are now well-established in the market. Referred to as over-the-top (OTT) services – being delivered over the user’s network service, but not directly from their ISP – these services encompass a combination of functions in addition to voice calling, including video calling, along with text and picture messaging. Among some of the bigger and better known services are:

• Skype
• Messenger (Facebook)
• FaceTime
• Viber

All you need with these services is a data or internet connection, and away you go. These apps are available via both desktop and mobile devices, across the Windows, Android and iOS platforms. Such services typically allow users to communicate with each other for free within the application, yet cannot be used to contact mobile and fixed line numbers, and in this regard are limited when compared to the paid VoIP services on offer from ISPs.

However, it should be noted that some free services also offer paid functionality, charging users to make calls to mobile or fixed line numbers and operating in a similar manner to paid VoIP services. Indeed, in the case of Messenger, you have the choice to put all your mobile phone contacts into the app and text from the app. It uses data, and not your text credit. This is done by sending text as MMS, instead of SMS. However, text MMS likely does not use much data.

It should also be noted that while these services are free, users will need to pay for the broadband used to deliver them. While many of these texting functions do not use much data, the fact is they employ a lot of multimedia tools that can eat up data. So, keep track of how much data you are using!

These free VoIP services do have their limitations, so it can be worthwhile looking into paid services as well to get the most immersive VoIP experience.

Paid vs Free VoIP: What’s best?

For people in the market for a paid VoIP plan, keep in mind that these services often come with a broadband plan. It may well be worthwhile consolidating your broadband and VoIP needs as one. While you may not be able to rely exclusively on free services, you should certainly explore your options and tailor any paid VoIP plan accordingly. The free VoIP services mentioned earlier seem to work best as an option when you’re out and about, while the paid VoIP services through broadband providers work best at home as a replacement to your home phone.

Certainly, a paid VoIP plan provides further flexibility when used in conjunction with other services, and amid a variety of options, it may well be a case of mixing and matching your various free and paid services. Whatever the case, VoIP services are likely the way of the future, and whether you spell ‘phone’ with an ‘f’ or a ‘ph’, there’s likely a VoIP service out there to suit you.