Not sure if this is allowed here or not but been looking for a VOIP provider that is essentially free (excluding paying for call costs). I've looked around at a few but most of them seem to be rip offs; I came across this one - VoiceHost.co.uk, just wondered if anyone else uses them and if they're any good? Just mainly want one VOIP line so I can have clients contact me (as I'm a web developer) over the telephone, and having a proper telephone number would be more professional.

The 1p per minute on calls to UK numbers both on/off peak sounds too good to be true, so I'm really not sure?!

They provide a free 0843 number (unusual!) and then you can purchase optional premium rate numbers or geographical numbers at your own desire. Not sure if there are any other service charges other than those besides the calls you make and how easy it is to set up or if possible, to run through my PC with headset.

Anyone any ideas on cheap providers?

s375d wrote on Jan 15^th, 2011 at 12:54am:

The 0843 prefix is an extension of 0844. As a member of this website, I would have thought that you would wish to use such a covert-premium number. 

There is another thread called Getting your own 03 number in which some VoIP providers have been suggested, which also offer geographic numbers.

For INCOMING calls Sipgate will give you a geographical number free of charge. You can also make outgoing calls at reasonable rates, but can receive incoming without ever giving your payment card details.

For OUTGOING calls Voipcheap give up to 300' per week free calls to many destinations (including landlines in UK, US, Argentina, etc.) if you have bought credit in the last 60 days. So if you make a lot of calls you pay no more than €10 every two months, more if you often call non-free numbers such as mobiles, 0871, etc. Voipcheap don't give you a number for incoming calls, but if you get a number elsewhere you can register it with them. Sipgate in, Voipcheap out works.

Another way to make calls at low cost without setting up your own VoIP is to use services such as 18185, 18866, 1899; calls to geographic numbers cost a flat ~5p (varying with provider and over time) plus zero p/minute.

As this appears to be an up-and-coming area, it would be useful for saynoto0870 to start listing VoIP "numbers" for companies. Calls between two parties both using VoIP (without an ordinary phone number) are free. You typically have to call something like 123456@sip.gradwell.net from a computer or set up in the phonebook of a VoIP adaptor (you can't dial letters from a phone handset).

Gradwell is a well respected provider although I do not use them my self because I call mostly 01 02 03 numbers when I researched  them all the feedback was very good

s375d wrote on Jan 25^th, 2011 at 11:18pm:

Other telephone providers should take a leaf out of Gradwell's book by making the rates easy to find. I went to the home page, and a link near the bottom goes to the call charges page:

http://www.gradwell.com/phoneservices/callcharges

Geographic call charges 1.5 pence per minute peak (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm UK time) and 1 pence per minute at all other times.

Mark_s wrote on Apr 28^th, 2011 at 5:28pm:

It does work in UK too on standard landlines and mobiles.