As I mentioned in part 1 of this article, I have recently set up Skype as a fully integrated standalone phone system for my everyday use. While many Skype users in Europe or the US have access to great Skype functionality and features, we here in Canada are a little limited by what we can use, but we can still have a fairly workable solution for a decent price. What was my motivation in this little experiment, aside from my incessant need to advance my knowledge and explore new technologies? Money was a factor. I mean, who doesn’t want to save money on phone bills right? Another major factor was my disappointment in current VOIP offerings (both in sound quality and services) and a drive to “make things better”.

If you would like to know more about my thoughts on the state of telecommunications, and you haven’t read part 1 of this article yet, I recommend you go read it first. It contains my analysis of the state of telecommunications, what technologies are available to us, and why these are not in use yet.

This article will deal more specifically with how to setup Skype to use as your home phone. First, let’s review the advantages of this Skype setup:

• Better call quality than VOIP
• Free long distance anywhere in North-America
• Free calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world!
• Cheap calls to normal phones anywhere in the world.
• Selectable address book to make calls
• Identify yourself and call others by nickname instead of 10-digit number
• Video conferencing and chat capabilities built-in
• “Status” options to let other Skype users know if you are available
• Digital voicemail system (no need to listen to 5 messages before getting to the sixth)
• Entire solution, including all features above AND MORE, for less than $15 a month!

Before we get started, it’s important to note the limitations of this offering. This Skype solution should NOT be used to replace your main emergency line. It does not offer 911 services, and if your internet goes down, so does your phone. With that said, we live in a world where mobile phones are so common place this is no longer really an issue. If your internet goes down, you still have your mobile phone as a backup. And your mobile phone will also make emergency 911 calls. Home phones are being used less and less, which is why it’s important to try and lower our home phone costs and bridge the gap between our technology enabled world and our communications.

So let’s dive right in to the guide and I’ll walk you through the process. First, let’s take a look at what you need.

1. A Skype account: Your initial Skype account will be free. This allows you to select your Skype ID (nickname, alias, etc… how people reach you) and make calls to other Skype users.
2. The Skype software: The software allows you to use your computer to make calls, and allows you to setup your preferences. The software is available for Mac and PC (and even the iPhone!).
3. The Skype Pro bundle: For $3 a month, you get unlimited calls in North America, Voicemail, and other features we’ll need.
4. A Skype-in number: This will be the normal phone number attached to your account. Cost is about $2.50 a month. Note that this feature isn’t available in Canada, so you will have a US number. It is required nonetheless to forward your Canadian number to the US number.
5. VOIP: In order to get your Canadian phone number, you will need to sign up with a Canadian VOIP provider. This cost varies from around $10 a month to $25 a month.
6. A Skype enabled phone: This is the most costly investment, but is perhaps the coolest, and at least, the “safest” (i.e. if your project flops, it can still be used as a really great phone with any other phone service). Cost is about $150 + $80 for each additional handset (up to 4)

That’s it! Now the tricky part is setting it all up.

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Tags: canada, canadian, future, number, phone, skype, skype-in, telecommunications, voip

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 10:13 pm and is filed under Geek. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.