I understand there is a 'raging debate' whether VOIP phones are better
than DECT phones. AIUI, the former work using the home Wi-Fi network
and the latter have their own radio link. Does either offer
advantages?

On 24/04/2024 21:20, Scott wrote:
> I understand there is a 'raging debate' whether VOIP phones are better
> than DECT phones. AIUI, the former work using the home Wi-Fi network
> and the latter have their own radio link. Does either offer
> advantages?

VoIP phones work with any IP network. Most of them are connected using
twisted pair Ethernet, not Wi-Fi. The main use of Wi-Fi is with soft
phones, running on mobile phone devices. There are DECT phone systems
that present a VoIP interface towards the exchange
<https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/45025-yealink-w70b/>

Wi-Fi is probably the worst option, although there have been
enhancements to better handle streaming media, which have improved
thing. With Wi-Fi you are contending with other traffic and with other,
nearby users of the same radio channel, which can delay the audio
significantly. DECT reserves a channel for the duration of the call,
and has low intrinsic delays.

The main technical advantage of VoIP is probably that it allows a range
of codecs, some of which are much higher than traditional telephone
quality, whereas DECT is, I think, limited to one codec, which is
slightly worse than standard line quality but should be better than
standard mobile quality. (It is possible that DECT has been enhanced to
be able to use high bandwith codecs; I haven't researched that point.)

DECT base stations act as mini PABXes, so can do transfers, three way
calls, and local calls. VoIP systems need a, separate, PABX for these.

Up market DECT systems can do mobile phone type handoffs within a site
<https://www.yealink.com/en/product-detail/dect-phone-w80>, allowing one
to move around a site without any breaks in the call. I guess that may
be possible with some Wi-Fi equipment, although I haven't experienced it
myself.

The standard BT retail solution for Digital Voice has a, presumably, IP
based DECT base station integrated into the hub. I'm not sure if their
wall warts are DECT, Wi-Fi, or even something else, based.

On 24/04/2024 23:15, David Woolley wrote:
> On 24/04/2024 21:20, Scott wrote:
>> I understand there is a 'raging debate' whether VOIP phones are better
>> than DECT phones. AIUI, the former work using the home Wi-Fi network
>> and the latter have their own radio link. Does either offer
>> advantages?
>
> The main technical advantage of VoIP is probably that it allows a range of
> codecs, some of which are much higher than traditional telephone quality,
> whereas DECT is, I think, limited to one codec, which is slightly worse
> than standard line quality but should be better than standard mobile
> quality.  (It is possible that DECT has been enhanced to be able to use
> high bandwith codecs;  I haven't researched that point.)

My old, cheap DECT phones have better audio after being moved to Digital
voice from standard line. Obviously not as good as VOIP on a PC and
bluetooth headphones, but I don't have a VOIP phone to compare with.

(When i received a call recently from someone using some form of Cisco
VOIP it was garblage).

On Thu, 25 Apr 2024 17:24:48 +0100, Nick Finnigan <nix@genie.co.uk>
wrote:

>On 24/04/2024 23:15, David Woolley wrote:
>> On 24/04/2024 21:20, Scott wrote:
>>> I understand there is a 'raging debate' whether VOIP phones are better
>>> than DECT phones. AIUI, the former work using the home Wi-Fi network
>>> and the latter have their own radio link. Does either offer
>>> advantages?
>>
>> The main technical advantage of VoIP is probably that it allows a range of
>> codecs, some of which are much higher than traditional telephone quality,
>> whereas DECT is, I think, limited to one codec, which is slightly worse
>> than standard line quality but should be better than standard mobile
>> quality.  (It is possible that DECT has been enhanced to be able to use
>> high bandwith codecs;  I haven't researched that point.)
>
> My old, cheap DECT phones have better audio after being moved to Digital
>voice from standard line. Obviously not as good as VOIP on a PC and
>bluetooth headphones, but I don't have a VOIP phone to compare with.
>
> (When i received a call recently from someone using some form of Cisco
>VOIP it was garblage).

Did you get your phone answering machine to work or did you use the
server's voicemail facility?

Nick Finnigan wrote:

> When i received a call recently from someone using some form of Cisco
> VOIP it was garblage

You never know if their broadband is wet string, they have someone
streaming 4K netflix at the same time etc ...

On 25/04/2024 17:41, Scott wrote:
>
> Did you get your phone answering machine to work or did you use the
> server's voicemail facility?

BT enable their voicemail automatically, I had to use their website to
switch it off. I don't use the phone one, but I could try it.

On 25/04/2024 18:47, Andy Burns wrote:
> Nick Finnigan wrote:
>
>> When i received a call recently from someone using some form of Cisco
>> VOIP it was garblage
>
> You never know if their broadband is wet string, they have someone
> streaming 4K netflix at the same time etc ...

From a large company, possibly via an overseas cloud; bandwidth itself
should have been fine.