[asterisk-users] Really Silly Question From Total Newbie

[UIT DEVELOPMENT]

Steve-

Got an iPhone but no SIP client that I am aware of.  I just make
regular calls to other others/receive calls as usual.  Nothing fancy.
 I was hoping to create the fancy stuff in my home here.

As I got to reading I began to see things like "provider", as you've
said here, and unfortunately if that is the only way then I will have
to stop here as I do not have funds to further this little experiment.
 I guess I was under the impression that with a lot of configuring and
reading and technical assistance, etc - I could create what I suppose
the VoIP provider is basically doing, trying to avoid yet another
monthly charge...

I checked the link you provided but no pricing info and I started to
search on "VoIP Service" and found this, amoung hundreds+ others,
http://www.whichvoip.com/Cheap-VoIP-Phone.htm  and see monthly charges
as I feared.    As I said, I was hoping to create it all in-house (not
have to create an account anywhere or pay fees for fooling around with
a test setup, etc) but it is beginning to appear that I have not
researched enough.  Its much bigger an experiment than I had imagined!

Thanks!
-M

On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 3:30 PM, Steve Edwards <asterisk.org at sedwards.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 5 Jan 2010, UIT DEVELOPMENT wrote:
>
>> CAN I make call from that box to my cell phone using a soft-phone?  If
>> so, how can I do that?
>
> You need to get an account with a VOIP provider -- someone to accept your
> call via the Internet and place a call on the PSTN to call your cell
> number -- or any other number.
>
>> Also, can I use my cell phone to call into that box?  I dont know if I
>> have to get a phone number, or do I NEED a phone number?
>
> With the same account you can rent a PSTN number. When someone calls that
> number, they will "call" your server over the Internet.
>
> This is assuming you don't have a fancy-dancy smart phone with a SIP
> client.
>
> I use www.vitelity.net. I don't know their current pricing, but outbound
> calls are less than US$0.015 per minute and renting a PSTN number is
> around US$1.50 per month.
>
> --
> Thanks in advance,
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Steve Edwards       sedwards at sedwards.com      Voice: +1-760-468-3867 PST
> Newline                                              Fax: +1-760-731-3000
>
> _______________________________________________
> -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com --
>
> asterisk-users mailing list
> To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit:
>   http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
>