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NytOwl
join:2012-09-27
canada

NytOwl

Member

[TekTalk] Pondering switching from POTS to TekTalk; rCable 25/2 enough?

Hello all,

I currently have TekSavvy POTS home phone.

Lately I find myself pondering about switching to TekTalk Basic (VoIP), since we're not heavy phone users and live in an urban area where power outages are rare. Our Internet has been pretty reliable as well.

For Internet, I currently have TekSavvy rCable, 25/2 package.

Does anyone here use TekTalk with this same cable package? Pleasant experience? Any phone quality issues (assuming your Internet is working well, that is)? My download is not the concern; upload is.

I've long been a proponent of POTS home phone for various reasons, despite the much higher cost. I grew up in a very rural area, and if I still lived in such a setting I wouldn't be giving this a second thought. That not being the case, I'm thinking more pragmatically and weighing my options.

To be clear, I do NOT want this topic to turn into yet another POTS vs. VoIP debate. That dead horse has been beaten beyond recognition. No shortage of valid opinions on either side.

If you're on TekSavvy rCable, preferably in Ottawa, using the 25/2 package and have TekTalk, please provide your feedback. Much appreciated.

Thank you!

-----

TL;DR: TekSavvy rCable 25/2 enough upload for reliable TekTalk VoIP service quality? No ranting allowed about POTS vs. VoIP. Plzkthx!

RizzleQ
Cunningham's Law Enthusiast
Premium Member
join:2006-01-12
Windsor, ON
Ubiquiti UDM-Pro
Ubiquiti U6-LR

RizzleQ

Premium Member

I'm not on rCable nor in Ottawa but location and incumbent provider doesn't matter if you say your Internet connection is stable. I was able to use my TekTalk service with even my Legacy 6 Mbps DSL that came with a 0.8 Mbps upload (resulting in a whopping 0.63 Mbps after DSL overhead was accounted for). I had no issues with reliability and call quality with such a low upload compared to what you've got going on.

I moved my ATA over to my cCable 30/2 line after the DSL had a prolonged performance issue and it was just as high quality and reliable. That upload got bumped to 10 a while back so that's even better for TekTalk but didn't matter since it was fine with over 10x lower upload speed.

The key with any Internet connection and VOIP is also about employing QOS practices to prevent your internet usage to saturate your line and cause issues. I have my router prioritize the ATA traffic over everything else so I never have issues.

-----

TL;DR: 25/2 is more than enough for TekTalk

TSI Kris
Premium Member
join:2013-11-18
Chatham, ON

TSI Kris to NytOwl

Premium Member

to NytOwl
Hello NytOwl,

I know you are specifically asking for other users' experiences, but I just wanted to let you know what our minimum requirements are for TekTalk right now.

Download: 1 Mbps
Upload: 512 Kbps

That being said, TekTalk should perform well on the current connection you have.

Regards,
Reanne

RizzleQ
Cunningham's Law Enthusiast
Premium Member
join:2006-01-12
Windsor, ON
Ubiquiti UDM-Pro
Ubiquiti U6-LR

RizzleQ

Premium Member

said by TSI Kris:

Upload: 512 Kbps

Exactly why TekTalk + the rCable "Cable 6" package was and still is a bad idea, considering that package is "Up to 6 Mbps Down / 256 Kbps Up"

Most of TSI's CSRs are well aware of this by now I hope?

TSI Kris
Premium Member
join:2013-11-18
Chatham, ON

TSI Kris

Premium Member

Yes, this is the standard now.

TypeS
join:2012-12-17
London, ON

TypeS to RizzleQ

Member

to RizzleQ
From a purely technical standpoint, 128Kbps is more than enough per voice stream on G.711u codec. The actual codec itself only uses 64Kbps before overhead.

The most important part is consistency of latency. Lots of other applications send data, so 256Kbps is cutting it close.

512Kbps is good, unless said user is a facebook/instragram/twitter fiend and is always uploading pictures. At that point, QoS is important.

Maxx2006
join:2013-02-02
Guelph, ON

Maxx2006 to NytOwl

Member

to NytOwl
Hi NytOwl

I am not from Ottawa but have 35 / 3 package with Tektalk. Originally we where on 18 / .5 package with no issues. We have had it for close to a year with no complaints. Like yourself we are not heavy users on the phone. We have the ATA behind the Router and it works well. I have a UPS for the Modem, Router & ATA.

Hope this helps!

Mike

NytOwl
join:2012-09-27
canada

NytOwl

Member

Thanks everyone!

rback
@teksavvy.com

rback

Anon

There is one issue that is rarely mentioned about Tektalk. The ability to use it with a fax machine. If you want to send the occasional fax there might be a problem in doing so. This is the reason I'm not switching. Also once you switch from POTS you will have a problem porting back your number if you decide to cancel Tektalk.

dmbcanada
join:2009-06-01
London, ON

dmbcanada to TSI Kris

Member

to TSI Kris
Any idea if new rate centers will be added for TekTalk?

NytOwl
join:2012-09-27
canada

NytOwl to rback

Member

to rback
said by rback :

There is one issue that is rarely mentioned about Tektalk. The ability to use it with a fax machine. If you want to send the occasional fax there might be a problem in doing so.

Thanks, but this I already knew. I don't use fax at home, so that's thankfully a non-issue.
yyzlhr
join:2012-09-03
Scarborough, ON

yyzlhr

Member

25/2 is plenty for VoIP. It works fine with me even when people are downloading, and I don't even have QOS enabled. I've even successfuly used VoIP over HSPA which has lower speeds and higher latency.