NTL and VOIPTalk

fmfm20j · 29-08-2007, 14:59

I've recently started working from home as part of a cost cutting drive from my employer.

I'm using a 4M Virgin Media Broadband cable connection and my company has purchased a Draytek2910VG router and encourged me to take a VOIPTalk VOIP phone package. I'm using a Panasonic DECT TGA810E phone (but have tried a standard POTS as well). As they are are paying for the subscriptions as well as the hardware I have little choice but to accept what is being offered.

Initially I had a few issues with DTMF but these have been resolved and, in the main, the service is quite reasonable.

I am, however, finding that the call quality can be a little chopped at times and this is especially noticable when calling the USA in the afternoons. Most people claim that they can hear me properly but I sometimes hear chopped conversations from others speaking to me. I have put this down to bandwidth limitations and the volume of traffic using the web once America starts up. Certain people within my company use the choppy service as a dig regarding home working. I'd like to nip this type of politics in the bud before it becomes a major issue and, as part of this, I'd like to be sure that I have done everything possible to make the service as good as I can and then, if it still proves to be an issue, to consider another approach to home telephony.

So, I'd like to get your perspective if you have experience with any of these hardware and VOIP service providers:

Have you used VOIPTalk and how good has the service been?

Are there any settings from within the Draytek firmware that I could set to optimise the call quality?

Are there any settings that I could request through Virgin Media to improve the call quality?

If I was to upgrade the broadband speed, am I likely to get better call quality? Speed tests indicate a download speed of about 3.6MB/s and an upload speed of about 360KB/s.

I would normally approach VOIPTalk directly. However, while faults get fixed in the end, the only way to communicate with them seems to be through email and this is a very slow and frustrating process.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions that you may have.