BT's shock new wheeze: Make phone calls from smartphones
BT customers can now make calls over the internet from a smartphone app and have the cost added to their landline bill. The national telco's SmartTalk service is available for iOS and Android, and lets a landline customer register up to four users who can make calls that are added to that landline's bill, or deducted from the …
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Re: Is it that hard to grasp?
5 smart phones (iphone and android) and the landline. The device needs to be able to receive a text message. When you call out, it show's your mobile number on the clip.
All devices and landline can be used at the same time. If you have a free call plan, calls made via the app and landline at the same time (to 01,02,03, 0845/0870) will be free within the 60 period.
Re: Is it that hard to grasp?
> Does it have to be on a smartphone as aposed to a smart device?
IME, the biggest problem you get is with the (lack of) echo cancellation on such devices. It makes the call impossible...
Vic.
Re: Is it that hard to grasp?
So if you're familiar with Android side loading and can access the download area on your phone it should be simple to install remotely. From what has been said I would expect the mobile number to also be checked to be a valid UK mobile phone and not previously registered with the service.
"The national telco's SmartTalk service is available for iOS and Android"
What, not available on BlackBerry? Poor show!
Re: There are enough of those left
You could probably hold a meeting in your local pub and complain then.
Top Stuff
I see this as a bonus and not a service in it's own right. More useful for people on PAYG I'd expect. Most people I know with contracts have tones of minutes, texts and data so don't care about anything like this. I myself have a PAYG phone and so this seems good. Not sure what peoples issue with data is. I only use Wi_fi. You can get on Openzone (free if you're a bt BB customer) as well as plenty of other free Wi-Fi you can get out and about. Being able to make use of the inclusive calls I get will be great as it generally gets wasted at the moment as I'm out more than at home.
And as for people moaning about receiving calls! You can...it's called ringing BT and setting up a divert. And yeah it costs you money but if you so want to receive calls like that I'd suggest getting rid of your landline and just use a mobile. This seems to be about letting you make better use of what you already pay for and that sounds good to me!
Re: Top Stuff
"Most people I know with contracts have tones of minutes, texts and data so don't care about anything like this."
It's actually useful for those people as well. Free minutes, texts and data isn't free when abroad. And 0800/0845/0870 numbers tends not to be free at all on mobile networks even in the UK either.
So I can get all of the disadvantages of using Skype and the disadvantages of using a landline.... Wow.
If you think getting free landline calls when you don't have access to a device with no free landline calls, or cheap landline calls when you're abroad and only have access to wallet-gouging phone services a "disadvantage", then you're clueless.
I get unlimited mobile calls as it is. As for abroad, I'm either paying through the nose for data, or having to find a wifi hotspot... Makes more sense at that point to simply look at a local solution... Calling cards ususally offer rates of around 1p per minute.
Or some people actually have wifi when abroad, maybe at the house of the person they are visiting or the many wifi points around. Why pay 1p per min and faff around with changing SIMs when you can simply use what you're already paying for (your landline calling plan - which gives you free UK landline calls at the weekend at the very least)?
And not everyone has unlimited mobile calls.
In fact, I have £180 worth of UK AND international landline AND mobile calls (effectively unlimited for me) and I would still find this app useful considering that the mobile package I have means nothing the moment I step outside the country.
So clearly it's not a solution that is intended to usurp every single other VOIP/call app out there or cover every single permutation of use, but it'll work for some people, which is great.
For the others, carry on with your existing method.
its all about the 0800
Will be nice being able to call 0800 numbers from my phone for free.
Isn't it easier to opt for the cheapest available landline service and use services that are available rather than the "convenience" of a brand you recognise?
We pay £11 for line rental + evening/weekend calls (+ caller display) at home, and i get 3000 minutes/3GB data for £15 with Orange. To call freephone numbers i use 0800 buster via my allowance, and saynoto0870 for all else.
Standard line rental with BT is £15.45, with caveats of minimum-calls-or-we-charge-you-a-month, plus your mobile allowance on top.
Do you get to call UK landlines, 0845, 0870 and 0800 for free using your mobile? No? There you go then.
Specific use case for specific people - obviously BT SmartTalk isn't going to be for all.
Re: Saynoto0870.co.uk
Actually, I expect to see app's such as "0800 for Free" be updated to take advantage of the BT app - so a user just dials (using their normal phone app) and the 0800 app sorts out whether to initiate the call over the mobile voice service or the third-party app.
It's a shame BT didn't do this in the initial release, perhaps this will be in an upgrade.
Potential problem with BT SmartTalk
I have International Freedom on my landline account. Seems that it doesn't apply to calls made via BT SmartTalk (international call comes up with a charge on Recent Usage for the mobile that it was dialled on - same international number under the landline number comes up as £0.00.
Nowhere does it say this on their webpage, in fact it implies that whatever calls you make via BT SmartTalk is charged according to whatever you have on your account.
So best to check this first before assuming that your addons that you may have on your account also apply to calls made via BT SmartTalk (it may not).
Re: Potential problem with BT SmartTalk
There shouldn't be an issue. The call should charge as if you are calling from the landline. I have the international freedom and that hasn't charged me when used from the SmartTalk app.
Re: Potential problem with BT SmartTalk
@Chris Church - really? I got charged nearly £5 for a 30 min call to the Republic of Ireland (landline). It's on my bill under "Recent Usage".
The exact same number is billed as £0.00 under the landline number in the same section online.
Nothing New
The same functionality was already provided by Fring in 2007, which could be installed for free on the N95 running Symbian: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/31/fring_launched/
...which brings me to my usual reminder about how lean and advanced Symbian was at a time when Apple's iOS could not even do copy and paste, but seriously, I don't think we will need a SIM for making phonecalls in the future, maybe only to establish an internet connection over which we then do our browsing, bookings, payments, messaging, and voice calls.
I foresee a problem.
If you are using SmartTalk on a mobile then you are more than likely going to be in breach of your carrier's terms and conditions.
These usually ban "third party VoIP" applications.
Re: I foresee a problem.
Depends on your data plan's restrictions. Some do (ban VOIP), some don't. Obviously it's up to you to find out and stick to the rules and regulations.
Re: I foresee a problem.
True, but it is wack-a-mole at the carrier level. If you connect to a VPN, say as a corporate user or you have a public/private one you can get to, then the mobile carrier loses pretty much all control of what apps you are using over their network.
Not new at all, just not quite as good
Way back when i first got a bt landline with the bbtalk package, you could install an app on a win xp (only xp alas, not compatable with vista/7/8) machine and could make and recieve calls using your landline number.
There are a few guides floating about online that explain how you set the service up on a rooted android phone. It involves some file editing and quite a bit of faffing about to get it up n running, but it works a treat.
You basically have to clone the bbtalk handsets unique id from your bbtalk account along with all the server details, and then edit a few config files in the Android phones sip settings, than it works on any data connection and doesnt have to be paired with a bt homehub.
Unfortunately, bt are killing the bbtalk service in 2 months time which is a pisser as the new service sounds worse and more restricted (no incoming calls, really?) than the perfectly good old one.
Gosh, what a lot of fuss this has caused!
I get my landline and broadband from BT, so this ought to be quite a useful service when combined with the free WiFi that I get bundled in with the other services. If not (and I've yet to even setup the WiFi access), well, I've not lost anything, have I?
Late, Lame and Laughable....
Another classic BT product 'innovation'. 5 years to late to be interesting, and less than half the service you need to really make it useful.
Exactly who is the target audience for this? Who has a mobile and it is not now their primary phone? If you have a minutes plan then it's not in your interest not to use all the minutes you have paid for, and if you have an unlimited plan then why do you care.
But what about 0800 etc numbers you cry. What about them........ ? The EU is bring the pricing for these over mobile to the same as landline, Ofcom is well underway with sorting this.
Who is going to call you on it? No one. For two reasons, we wish to call the person not the premise and if they have a mobile this is the default number to call them on....and dial in does not work anyway for this, which will be defended by BT with their usual quality assurance argument.
Yes it will likely save you some pennys if you are abroad, but this is hardly reason to keep your landline as well as your mobile at the every increasing line rental cost. Unless of course you either have no choice but to take a copper based broadband product with the still compulsory WLR element, which is frankly a scam that BT still lobbies Ofcom to protect.....
Re: Late, Lame and Laughable....
Why a thumbs down?
BT has completely failed to deliver a VOIP or any Next Gen voice product, despite having bet the farm on GCTO's 21CN design which was supposed to move the entire legacy voice network on to the new shiny IP network over 5 years ago.
They have no mobile network, having sold the license, not just for the cash but also a massive lack of foresight at the executive level.
Lets not forget, BT made promises to the financial markets that they would deliver on 21CN, and these promised filter down to the customers, who have been woefully delivered to.
There is still NO VOIP solution over fiber approved at BT, something that you have been able to find at most other national carriers for the last 5 years, NTT, Comcast, etc.
The lack of fiber in the UK is not just a cost or regulation issue, it is also down to massive failure from the national carrier who still spending and supporting a legacy network as they continue the internal management landgrab battles at the expense of the customers.
Re: Late, Lame and Laughable....
You have some good points although I do think you're being a bit hard on how useful the app is.
I strongly agree about it being a bit of a rip that BT still enforce compulsory WLR for those of us who just want to use the line for internet. Many other countries let you use the line for internet only, without forcing you to pay 'line rental' for telephone services.
Re: Late, Lame and Laughable....
As of this afternoon "Facebook Messenger Now Supports Voice Calling for U.S. Accounts" and it's coming to the UK soon too, naturally.
This is the type of voice App that around 1 billion users will soon have. Socially integrated, not dependent on having a fixed line somewhere in their life.
BT was approached about backending something similar, but the response was that Apps and Social Networking where neither important to customers or would catch on. The same BT that only a few years ago had a BT Retail exec telling the media that he could see no demand for more than 2meg to the home....
It is hard to be kind....
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/01/16/facebook-messenger-now-supports-voice-calling-for-u-s-accounts/
So Vodafone's OneNet for punters then without half the features. Yay BT....
Good old BT, finding new ways to rob the public. I bet they miss the old days of dialup and £400 a quarter phone bills.
As this is free to register and then lets you use the free/inclusive elements of your BT package, just how is this a "new way to rob the public"?
Tried it - nice idea, poor implementation
I tried it recently - pretty poor call quality compared to Skype etc (using WiFi on a fast connection). The price for 08xx calls is very nice, but the lack of incoming call support along with using your mobile number rather than landline for caller ID are both irritating to me.
Allow me to answer calls to my landline on the mobile app (as I think Vonage does now in some form?), present my landline not mobile number for caller ID, get the call quality up, I'll be happy.
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