Ubuntu
ekiga package

how to call a landline

Asked by kiridude

Hi. Strangely there is only one other similar question here and the answer was to use skype.

I am fed up with skype and looking at alternatives. I have been looking and looking, but cannot figure out if I can call land lines and mobiles with ekiga, and if yes, how? In other words, how do I pay? I have opened the pre-installed Ekiga on Jaunty but can find no payment options.

Thanks for your time.

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Yannick Defais
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Best Yannick Defais (sevmek) said : 		#1

You, you can.

In the min ekiga window, follow the menus:
Edit->Accounts->Accounts(the top menu)->Add an Ekiga Call Out Account

Then click the link to get an account with the default provider for landline and cell phones. AFAIK you can send SMS too (but not receive).

You can also get an account with any other SIP provider which bridge with landlines and cell phones (there is many). e.g. see here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Ekiga section "Register to a commercial VoIP provider (landline and mobile phones)"
or this list of SIP provider:
http://www.sipbroker.com/sipbroker/action/providerWhitePages
or this price chart (one of the cheapest provider for SIP):
http://backsla.sh/betamax

In case you choose another provider than the default, use this menu:
Edit->Accounts->Accounts(the top menu)->Add a SIP Account
And ask the provider how to fill the fields...

Make your choice, SIP is a free market. ;-)

Best regards,
Yannick

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kiridude (kyriacov) said : 		#2

Thank you for your informative reply Yannick. It is strange that I did not come across the ubuntu documentation page in my searches that you suggested.

I will work on getting Ekiga functioning today. As a Linux user, I refuse to give anymore money to Skype - their Linux version is seriously lacking and so is the support.

By the way, does Ekiga make money from the calling out option, or are those profits collected by a third party? I ask because I would like to donate to Ekiga if it works well and does not have a source of income.

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kiridude (kyriacov) said : 		#3

Thanks Yannick Defais, that solved my question.

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Yannick Defais (sevmek) said : 		#4

Using the default provider for Call Out; "when signing up for a DiamondCard account, a small amount of the subscription is given back to the Ekiga project."
Ref. http://wiki.ekiga.org/index.php/Calling#The_default_provider

You can donate directly to the Ekiga project here:
http://ekiga.org/ using paypal.

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dotancohen (dotancohen) said : 		#5

> You can donate directly to the Ekiga project
> here: http://ekiga.org/ using paypal.

Ironic, as PayPal is owned by the same people who own Skype.