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MyNetFone Australia-wide
Approximate $ Savings: $45 per month
Using the online calculator at MyNetFone I entered the details of a normal Telstra bill ($60) and using the SuperSaver plan, I will be able to save $45 per month using VoIP (Voice over Internet protocol). All I need to buy is a VoIP router for around $60. Total annual saving $460.
Contributed by John, Devonport, 3rd July 2009
Website: www.mynetfone.com.au
Using the online calculator at MyNetFone I entered the details of a normal Telstra bill ($60) and using the SuperSaver plan, I will be able to save $45 per month using VoIP (Voice over Internet protocol). All I need to buy is a VoIP router for around $60. Total annual saving $460.
Contributed by John, Devonport, 3rd July 2009
Website: www.mynetfone.com.au
Go Talk for Less
Approximate $ Savings: Approximately $750 per year
If you have a computer drop your land line from Telstra and join Gotalk using a VOIP(voice over internet phone. You pay $20 per month for three hundred local calls, three hundred STD calls and $300 worth of calls to mobiles. I also ring overseas and can talk to my mum in the UK for 30 minutes for about $1. The only disadvantage is that if you have a power cut, you have no phone line as it's linked to your computer, however, if you have coverage on your mobile then this isn't a problem. Set up cost is only the cost of a telephone which you can get from about $50.00. We have been using this system for nearly three years now so have saved a fortune!
Contributed by Helen, Doon Doon, 7th June 2010
If you have a computer drop your land line from Telstra and join Gotalk using a VOIP(voice over internet phone. You pay $20 per month for three hundred local calls, three hundred STD calls and $300 worth of calls to mobiles. I also ring overseas and can talk to my mum in the UK for 30 minutes for about $1. The only disadvantage is that if you have a power cut, you have no phone line as it's linked to your computer, however, if you have coverage on your mobile then this isn't a problem. Set up cost is only the cost of a telephone which you can get from about $50.00. We have been using this system for nearly three years now so have saved a fortune!
Contributed by Helen, Doon Doon, 7th June 2010
Really, Really Cheap Phone Calls
Approximate $ Savings: $30 - $45 per month
When my wife and I bought our first home just recently we wanted to save money on telephone and Internet bills. Before I would hire a line with a telecommunications company and pay for my Internet separately this would cost us around $100 per month with 5000mg downloads. We decided to go VOIP over the Internet and now pay $55 per month which includes 5000 megabyte downloads and uploads and our phone calls. Locally and nationally calls are 12c untimed and when I worked in New Zealand my wife could ring me whenever she wanted for $.09 per minute. We have $5.00 worth of phone calls for us to use each month which works out to 41 calls (untimed local or national anytime) and we still haven't used all that money in any one month and so receive a credit. We have saved over $140 every quarter from our budget and over $560 per year. Best of all we don't pay a phone line hire charge.
Contributed by Darren, Hackham, 14th April 2009
When my wife and I bought our first home just recently we wanted to save money on telephone and Internet bills. Before I would hire a line with a telecommunications company and pay for my Internet separately this would cost us around $100 per month with 5000mg downloads. We decided to go VOIP over the Internet and now pay $55 per month which includes 5000 megabyte downloads and uploads and our phone calls. Locally and nationally calls are 12c untimed and when I worked in New Zealand my wife could ring me whenever she wanted for $.09 per minute. We have $5.00 worth of phone calls for us to use each month which works out to 41 calls (untimed local or national anytime) and we still haven't used all that money in any one month and so receive a credit. We have saved over $140 every quarter from our budget and over $560 per year. Best of all we don't pay a phone line hire charge.
Contributed by Darren, Hackham, 14th April 2009
Slash 60-80% Off Your Home Phone Bill
Last August 2008, I started to look for ways to trim down our expenses as it seems my husband and I can't seem to have any money saved. One big expense is our home phone bill which averages about 50-70 dollars a month. It has been a strain in the family budget. I stumbled upon VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). It is an innovative, low cost alternative to landline phone service. Users can make telephone calls over their broadband Internet connection at incredibly low rates to anywhere in the world. The VOIP service is easy to use, you don't have to spend a heap on equipment and you can even use your existing telephone handsets. I got my analogue telephone adapter (literally for free), plugged in my Internet modem and my regular home telephone handset, and in 2 minutes the service was up and running. Your computer doesn't have to be switched on, just the modem's power. Landline calls anywhere in Australia is charged 10-15 cents per call UNTIMED. Even International calls to certain countries are free! I am so glad I found VOIP, it has saved us a fortune!!!
Contributed by Elaine, Hoppers Crossing, 3rd September 2008
Contributed by Elaine, Hoppers Crossing, 3rd September 2008
Ditching Line Rental
Approximate $ Savings: $50+ per month
There is a new type of Internet service called Naked ADSL. Naked ADSL is essentially exactly the same as normal DSL except instead of having to pay a line rental, the cost of the line rental is absorbed by the provider. What's even better is these services are generally always ADSL2+ services (the fastest DSL available). There are very few suppliers of this kind of service in Australia but huge savings can be made by getting rid of line rental forever. The only ones I am aware of are www.exetel.com.au www.internode.on.net and www.iinet.net.au In the instance of Naked ADSL you are genuinely getting rid of the line rental (it's not a 'bundled' price). EXAMPLE OF SAVINGS - I'm with www.exetel.com.au. For a flat $50 a month I get 12GB downloads (uploads not counted), 100 free VOIP (Internet phone) calls to any landline in Australia per month and only on a 6 month contract. That's no landline cost in addition...so what once cost me at least $19.95 p/m for line rental has gone, plus I have been able to reduce my mobile cap because I use the VOIP phone for long interstate and local calls. These Naked ADSL plans are much cheaper than the 'fusion' plans the big providers are offering. The one thing to be aware of is your existing ADSL modem must be ADSL2 compatible (most are). If you want to use the VOIP feature you can get an adapter (for about $70) so you can use your normal phone handset.
Contributed by Scott, St. Kilda, 25th August 2008
There is a new type of Internet service called Naked ADSL. Naked ADSL is essentially exactly the same as normal DSL except instead of having to pay a line rental, the cost of the line rental is absorbed by the provider. What's even better is these services are generally always ADSL2+ services (the fastest DSL available). There are very few suppliers of this kind of service in Australia but huge savings can be made by getting rid of line rental forever. The only ones I am aware of are www.exetel.com.au www.internode.on.net and www.iinet.net.au In the instance of Naked ADSL you are genuinely getting rid of the line rental (it's not a 'bundled' price). EXAMPLE OF SAVINGS - I'm with www.exetel.com.au. For a flat $50 a month I get 12GB downloads (uploads not counted), 100 free VOIP (Internet phone) calls to any landline in Australia per month and only on a 6 month contract. That's no landline cost in addition...so what once cost me at least $19.95 p/m for line rental has gone, plus I have been able to reduce my mobile cap because I use the VOIP phone for long interstate and local calls. These Naked ADSL plans are much cheaper than the 'fusion' plans the big providers are offering. The one thing to be aware of is your existing ADSL modem must be ADSL2 compatible (most are). If you want to use the VOIP feature you can get an adapter (for about $70) so you can use your normal phone handset.
Contributed by Scott, St. Kilda, 25th August 2008
Broadband for Great Phone Calls
I am using my broadband connection to make phone calls. Unlike Skype where it is limited but free to other Skype users with the software they have downloaded and the need for a computer I have found something to use where I do not even have to have my computer turned on or have a microphone. I am using mynetfone.com.au It costs me $14.95 a month and this gives me 100 free calls to ANYONE to their land lines. I can call local, interstate, international and it is all untimed. I have spoken to my sister in Hong Kong for 2 hours and it's counted as just 1 call. I am using my normal landline handset and it is connected through my broadband router so it is turned on all the time. When I pick up my handset to dial out it bypasses the Telstra line and uses the broadband(called VOIP - voice over Internet protocol). If I go over these 100 calls in a month, then any call costs me only 10c untimed (local, interstate or international). I have changed my Telstra set-up so that it is on the lowest service fees of $20 a month and I am no longer getting charged for any calls with them. I can go on the Internet at any time and check my usage. It clearly lists every call that you make and the times. My Netfone even have a special feature that is free. They have a global access number they give you. You provide them the other numbers where you will need to make calls from so I can be at my parents house, we ring the global access number and this is the cost of a local call, then ring internationally and it costs them nothing but the local call cost. The call is transferred to my account and it is still only counted as 1 of my free 100 calls a month. Every 3 months my phone bill is now $60 from Telstra for service fees and approximately $45 (14.95 x 3 months) from My Netfone, a grand total of just $105 for 3 months. Now my parents and I talk for as long as we want on international and interstate calls and have no fear of costs as any call over my 100 per month only adds the 10 cents per call.
Contributed by Annette, Oatlands, 15th June 2008
Contributed by Annette, Oatlands, 15th June 2008
My Net Phone
Approximate $ Savings: $30 - $200
I am a uni student living in a share house until I finish my studies. Our share house does not contain a landline as it is too complicated to set up, too expensive for our uni budgets and too difficult to keep track of who made which calls. My mother introduced me to my net phone. This is how it works: you purchase a special net phone from the website, which connects to your computer through the internet. You pre-pay however much credit you want on the phone, which means no nasty surprises when the phone bill arrives. There are a few different plans available, the one I chose meant the phone cost me $24.95, with which I received $20 credit. There is no line rental on this plan and calls to any landline in Australia cost me 10c for the entire call, mobiles cost 27c a minute (with NO FLAGFALL) some overseas calls are as little as 1.9c a minute and calls to other Net Phones are FREE! The rates get cheaper on some of the other plans. My parents also use this service so when I'm away at uni I can call them as often as I want FREE! This has saved me HUGE amounts on my mobile bills (My Net Fone mobile rates are cheaper than my mobile phone company's rates.) I have told all my friends at uni about this, they have signed up and we can now all call each other for as long as we want FREE! Best of all if I move house I don't have to set up a new line/ phone number to the new house. For details go to www.mynetfone.com.au Hope I can save you all some money!
Contributed by Sandra, Noosa, 24th February 2008
I am a uni student living in a share house until I finish my studies. Our share house does not contain a landline as it is too complicated to set up, too expensive for our uni budgets and too difficult to keep track of who made which calls. My mother introduced me to my net phone. This is how it works: you purchase a special net phone from the website, which connects to your computer through the internet. You pre-pay however much credit you want on the phone, which means no nasty surprises when the phone bill arrives. There are a few different plans available, the one I chose meant the phone cost me $24.95, with which I received $20 credit. There is no line rental on this plan and calls to any landline in Australia cost me 10c for the entire call, mobiles cost 27c a minute (with NO FLAGFALL) some overseas calls are as little as 1.9c a minute and calls to other Net Phones are FREE! The rates get cheaper on some of the other plans. My parents also use this service so when I'm away at uni I can call them as often as I want FREE! This has saved me HUGE amounts on my mobile bills (My Net Fone mobile rates are cheaper than my mobile phone company's rates.) I have told all my friends at uni about this, they have signed up and we can now all call each other for as long as we want FREE! Best of all if I move house I don't have to set up a new line/ phone number to the new house. For details go to www.mynetfone.com.au Hope I can save you all some money!
Contributed by Sandra, Noosa, 24th February 2008
Phone Call Savings
Approximate $ Savings: approx. $500-$1,000 / year
Like most people living in regional Victoria and have friends and family all over Australia and overseas, keeping in contact with them all used to be very expensive. We would try calling for the cap time amount and in the cheap calling times offered by the phone companies however the cheap calling times always seemed to change and it wasn't always convenient. We recently changed to a 'VOIP' system, which has more than halved our phone bills. We found a great company called Netspace that offer 10c un-timed calls to anywhere in Australia at anytime of the day. That means we can call who we want when we want. No more waiting for 8pm and only talking for 20 minutes. We love it and we love guilt free phone calls!!!
Contributed by Charlie, Beechworth, 1st April 2007
Like most people living in regional Victoria and have friends and family all over Australia and overseas, keeping in contact with them all used to be very expensive. We would try calling for the cap time amount and in the cheap calling times offered by the phone companies however the cheap calling times always seemed to change and it wasn't always convenient. We recently changed to a 'VOIP' system, which has more than halved our phone bills. We found a great company called Netspace that offer 10c un-timed calls to anywhere in Australia at anytime of the day. That means we can call who we want when we want. No more waiting for 8pm and only talking for 20 minutes. We love it and we love guilt free phone calls!!!
Contributed by Charlie, Beechworth, 1st April 2007
VOIP
Engin VOIP box is just $39 at the moment, after $100 cash back. Then you can make 10c calls local and national, un-timed. http://www.techsus.com.au/Services/Engine/engin.html
Contributed by Jess, Kyabram, December 17th 2006
Contributed by Jess, Kyabram, December 17th 2006
Phone/Internet Savings
Just read tip on phone savings - very surprised..... with aapt, you get the usual call discounts (on par with other companies) but if your phone-STD/local is with them - you can get unlimited dial-up internet for $10 a month, and if you have the dial-up, you can then go one step further by getting all your local calls free (for a small fee).... but here is the beautiful part - once you are on unlimited, download and install Firefly-Freshtel (did not like Skype or Yahoo) and go on a $5.95 monthly plan - and you can make as many STD phone calls (within Australia) for as long as you want for 10cents over the Internet (also Firefly to Firefly over the computer is free). You will need headphones and microphone plugged into the computer - you can buy headsets for about $20. Please be aware - make sure the phone number has the prefix code 08,03,07 etc - as I forgot one call without prefix number and it tried to call Iran. To try Firefly is free, just don't put any money into it and they can't take money off you.... hope this helps - we are not Cheapskates but we are budget conscious.
Contributed by Michael, Augusta, 11th December 2006
Contributed by Michael, Augusta, 11th December 2006
Saving on Phone Bill
This is the easiest way to save on phone calls, especially international and long distance. My parents live long distance and aunties etc live in England so you can imagine the cost of phone calls. Well we all use the Internet but sometimes email just isn't enough and you want to talk. So we downloaded Skype for free and can now talk or chat on line whenever we want and no cost. You can also phone landlines using Skype and the rate is so much cheaper. (The only cost a headset if you need one, $12 from Big W). Most computers already have speakers and microphones built into them nowadays otherwise buy a cheap headset and away you go. Now my friends and I are even on Skype chatting most nights for free. Simply visit www.skype.com and start talking for free.
Contributed by Vanessa, Wakerley, December 6th 2006
Contributed by Vanessa, Wakerley, December 6th 2006
Overseas Calls via Computer
If you have regular contact with friends or family overseas you can talk to them for the cost a local call. All you need is headphones with a microphone that connect to your computer, you can then log in to most chat rooms (eg. Yahoo) and talk to anyone, anywhere in the world for as long as you want. Contributed by Zac, Kotara, March 24th 2005
Skype
I have found this fantastic way that is a cheap and easy way to talk on your computer. It is actually FREE computer to computer and on average .02 euro cents computer to telephone worldwide. All you need is Windows 2000 or greater, a microphone and speakers. We have saved a fortune with family spread around the Country and the World. Go to www.skype.com to read all about it. We have been able to keep in contact with family in Canada which would have been too expensive otherwise. With kids it is great too because you can all talk together - I was able to decipher my toddlers talk to their grandparents while we all chatted together. We even use it now we have moved back to the same suburb as my parents - we have broadband and so do they so it saves on the phone call. Certainly worth a look at.
Contributed by Terilee, Arana Hills, March 10th 2005
Contributed by Terilee, Arana Hills, March 10th 2005
www.voipcheap.com
Here's a opportunity to make free landline calls to 40 odds countries free. All you need is a DSL modem. Bring up the website www.voipcheap.com and make a free call by entering your phone (+country code, area code and your phone number) and enter the destination number in similar format. Press 'call' button. Your phone will ring...pick it up and when destination answers...talk for free for an hour.
Contributed by Hari, The Gap, July 24th 2006
Contributed by Hari, The Gap, July 24th 2006
Internet Phone Calls
www.voipstunt.com allows you to use your landline handset for free interstate and overseas calls. Contributed by Elizabeth, Birrong, September 7th 2006
Skype
If you want to make telephone calls for free, use www.skype.com.au. All you need is Internet access, a microphone and headset, and you are on your way to free calls for all over Australia and the world. I have used it to contact friends overseas and it is fantastic. Check it out at www.skype.com.au to see if it suits you.
Contributed by Susan, Norwood, September 3rd 2006
Contributed by Susan, Norwood, September 3rd 2006