Skype as a business 'landline' - reliability?

[zazou]

I have a Skype 'landline' number to use as my main contact number for contracting. I have a strong feeling that it isn't as reliable as I'd like it to be though and the apps tend to be buggy.
What are your thoughts, is Skype reliable enough for business use? Are there better alternatives (for Android)?

It can sometimes be a bit of a circus when all three devices (tablet, phone & laptop) are ringing at the same time. Then you answer one of them and the rest keep making noises.

[SimonMac]

I have a Skype 'landline' number to use as my main contact number for contracting. I have a strong feeling that it isn't as reliable as I'd like it to be though and the apps tend to be buggy.
What are your thoughts, is Skype reliable enough for business use? Are there better alternatives (for Android)?

It can sometimes be a bit of a circus when all three devices (tablet, phone & laptop) are ringing at the same time. Then you answer one of them and the rest keep making noises.

I have 0845 Numbers, 0845 Number, Free 0845 Numbers, Cheap 0845 Numbers - Just 0845 Numbers - Free Local Rate 0845 Numbers, No Set-up Fee routed to my persinal mobile

[Contreras]

I have a Skype 'landline' number to use as my main contact number for contracting. I have a strong feeling that it isn't as reliable as I'd like it to be though and the apps tend to be buggy.
What are your thoughts, is Skype reliable enough for business use? Are there better alternatives (for Android)?

It can sometimes be a bit of a circus when all three devices (tablet, phone & laptop) are ringing at the same time. Then you answer one of them and the rest keep making noises.

I have used Skype with a geographical landline number and found it to be genuine tulipe. Normal Skype-to-Skype is ok, even for business use, because both parties know to accept the pops, squeaks and drop-outs, but as a telephone line it is a total fail. Caller ID presentation is also unreliable with outbound calls often showing as international or unavailable. It requires proprietary software and/or hardware and the service is not cheap when compared with alternatives either.

The solution that works for me currently is a 0845 number (TTNC) routed to my home BT landline for inbound calls, and SIP line (Voipfone) with dedicated hardware (Draytek router) for outbound calls, thus neither is tied to the PC. To be fair it doesn't get enough use to notice outages if there have been any but I can say that call quality has never been a problem and customer service with both services has been good. There are no ongoing costs except for outbound call charges.

Another thing I that have tried but failed with is VoIP/SIP over Wifi. It would be neat to get this working to use while on client sites but I couldn't find a setup that would work reliably.

[darrylmg]

I have a Skype 'landline' number to use as my main contact number for contracting. I have a strong feeling that it isn't as reliable as I'd like it to be though and the apps tend to be buggy.
What are your thoughts, is Skype reliable enough for business use? Are there better alternatives (for Android)?

It can sometimes be a bit of a circus when all three devices (tablet, phone & laptop) are ringing at the same time. Then you answer one of them and the rest keep making noises.

I use Voipfone.co.uk as my VOIP service provider and the Zoiper app if I need to call from my Android phone. Otherwise I use the Zoiper application on the laptop.
I have very rarely had any issues and that includes working from abroad for 9 months and dialling in for 2 hour long conf calls almost everyday.

Edit: Colleagues didn't believe I was abroad, the line quality was that good.

[v8gaz]

+1 for voipfone, used with a descent hardware IP phone its as good as a landline but much more flexible.

[DirtyDog]

Incoming calls - mobile phone number

Outgoing calls - mobile phone or Virgin smartcall app if absolutely desperate.

[d000hg]

I use Skype as my 'phone' to call people in the USA and it is generally very clear, as good as a phone line.

If the OP wants to test, I suggest they use it to call some friends/family on their mobiles/landlines for a chat and see how it goes.

[petergriffin]

Most of my ex-clientco's customers were in Asia and using Skype as their landline. Awful!!!!

[ThomserveBAS]

If you are looking for a "out of the box" solution, then I can fully recommend Vonage.co.uk - we have our home "landline" with them, paying £6/month for an amount of calls we'd never actually use. The range of add-ons that most companies charge you for that come free with Vonage is impressive, and you can run two lines from a single adapter.

You can't tell the difference between a PSTN and a Vonage line in my experience - but then I have QoS set up to ensure the adapter has full access to bandwidth when required (the maximum it needs for full quality is 90kb/s IIRC).

I started off using VoIP back when Tesco launched their service (dire) then moved on to Skype (not much better, bad latency etc.) and then Vonage. If you want a fully bespoke package the Voipfone and a Draytek or Fritzbox router is the way to go but the upfront costs put me off.

[d000hg]

Most of my ex-clientco's customers were in Asia and using Skype as their landline. Awful!!!!

It might have been awful because they were in Asia, not because they were using Skype. If the inter-continental connections are crap this could affect both...