Groundwire: what is it?

It’s a new App for the iPhone which allows you to make and receive calls via your VoIP account, rather than your regular iPhone telecoms provider.

What’s the advantage?

There are number of advantages:
1. if you are exceeding your iPhone monthly allowance, making calls via VoIP is significantly cheaper
2. you can provide your customers (or friends/family etc) with a single landline number to call, and receive the calls on your mobile at no charge. This is cheaper for them and provides continuity for your customers.
3. you get all the flexibility of a VoIP phone – call transfers, simultaneous multiple calls etc that you would get on a proper deskphone, but on your mobile.

What does it cost?

At the time of writing, it costs £5.99 to buy, plus it is recommended that you pay an additional £2 for the G.729 codec which provides better quality voice lines over limited bandwidth. There are no recurring charges towards Groundwire. You do need a VoIP account separately, if you are interested in setting one up please contact us for more information.

Do you recommend it?

Overall, it is a product that we would recommend for anyone who wishes to expand their VoIP capabilities. It is ideal as a portable extra to an existing office phone which you can take with you as and when to remain in contact.

We tested it on an iPhone 3 which doesn’t have multi-tasking and so would be of limited use as a ‘main’ phone as you’d be forever switching from Groundwire to whatever other Apps you use and back, but it may be more feasible to use it as a full time option on the iPhone 4.

Sound quality wise we went for the jugular and called a foreign mobile via Groundwire, using the 3G network. We also had the G.729 codec installed. If that worked OK we figured anything would – the result was excellent, there was no time lag, no echo, and the sound quality was as good as a regular call.

As far as functions go, transfering a call couldn’t be easier and there are other options such as recording a call which may be useful.

The one downside we found was setting it up to access the VoIP account – full marks for the range of configurable options, but we found that you had to go through a succession of pages to get to a particular setting, then back through the pages to test to see if it worked. We had to do this several times before getting it right – an improvement would be to either bring all the options onto one page, or have a global ‘register’ button on each page.

Overall, 9 stars out of 10.

Are you confused by your BT call charges? We’re not surprised, we’re trying to put together an easy reference guide as to how our charges compare to our competitors but we’re finding it very difficult to find out exactly what they charge. Now why could that be?

Globe2 have a very straight forward charging policy and because we are confident that it compares favourably with any of our competitors we actively want you to find it.

See our pricing

What do road conditions have to do with VoIP?

Consider that the effect of the recent snow conditions are expected to cost more than £1 billion, with up to 20% of the UK’s workforce unable to get into work – and that this could be minimised by providing workers with the tools they need to work from home. Voice over IP (VoIP) telecommunications is just one way in which the effect of the annual winter weather conditions canbe minimised.

VoIP telecommunications allows users to make and receive calls as if they were in the office; internal calls between VoIP phones are free and calls can be transferred from one extension to another seamlessly, regardless of where the phone is located, allowing businesses to offer customers an unaffected level of service whether employees are at home or at work.

If you think that this weather is a ‘one-off’ take a look at the following chart showing that every winter there is a significant number of searches relating to the snow and road conditions:

As well as providing additional functionality, VoIP is siginficanly cheaper than regular landline phones, with standard rates being up to 5 times cheaper than the standard BT day rate with costs up to 25 times cheaper depending on packages – so you don’t really need the snow to give you an excuse to consider VoIP for your business – contact Globe2 today for a no-obligation quote on 01858 898236 or via our contact us page.

Associated Links:

• Businesses counting cost of snow
• Workers warned to limit travel as snow sets in across UK
• Snow hell shuts firms and shops
• Unions and management groups urge firms to allow snow-hit employees to work from home

Delivery Policy

How much does it cost?

A Standard Delivery charge of £8 ex VAT is added to most orders to UK mainland addresses (excluding Northern Ireland, Channel Islands & Eire).

Overseas delivery may be arranged by prior agreement and notice of an appropriate delivery charge upon which you agree to before the order is processed.

How long does it take?

Within the UK, you can expect delivery within 7 working days. International orders may take a little longer. Please contact us for information on overseas charges and deliveries.

Who do we use?

Orders are sent by TNT Express. You must arrange for someone at your address to be in and sign for the parcel on the expected delivery date. Where a parcel cannot be delivered, (e.g. no-one at home), you will be notified by TNT Express with details of the whereabouts of the delivery . TNT Express will attempt one re-delivery, after which the goods will be returned to Globe2. However we can accept third delivery and redirection charges to ensure delivery of your parcel. Please contact our Customers Services Department on 0151 6018056 for further details. If your parcel is not delivered it will be returned to Globe2. Your credit / debit card will be credited your original total cost less the agreed delivery charges, plus any costs incurred in returning the goods to Globe2.

How to Track your parcel

Once you have placed an order, you will receive an email confirmation that the order is being processed, with a tracking link. You can then visit the TNT Express Website where You can view the status of your delivery.

What to do if there is a problem with the delivery

If the parcel does not arrive when you expect it then please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 0151 6018056. We will contact TNT Express and call you back to let you know what’s happening.

If the goods are damaged upon receipt please call us on 0151 6018056 or e-mail: supportglobe2net within 7 days of delivery.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Prices on the Website are updated periodically and cannot be guaranteed for any period of time and every effort is made to ensure prices are correct at the point at which the consumer places an order.

Any complaints should be sent in writing to 26 Victoria Avenue, Market Harborough, LE16 7BQ.

A consumer will be entitled to cancel these Conditions by serving a written notice of cancellation on us at any time during the following periods:

- In the case of Goods, return postage must be made within seven working days after the day on which the consumer receives the Goods;

- In the case of Services, within seven working days after the date you enter into a contract with us, provided the performance of services has not begun. The cancellation of services that have started will be allowable according to the minimum period stipulated against the relevant service.

In the event of cancellation by the consumer Goods should be returned to the supplier’s correspondence address. The consumer will be liable for the costs of returning such Goods or the costs of the supplier in recovering such Goods unless the consumer has a right to reject the Goods under a term of these Conditions or under statutory right (including any right under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations).

Returns Policy

‘No fault – No quibble’ returns within 7 days.

Acceptance of your order and completion of the contract between you and us will take place upon dispatch to you of the products ordered unless we have notified you that we do not accept your order or you have cancelled it.

If you change your mind about your purchase for whatever reason, you may return the item, unused, in its original condition along with full packaging and proof of purchase. Proof of return postage must be within 7 days of delivery for exchange or a refund.

STEP 1 Contact Customer Services on 0151 6018056 or e-mail supportglobe2net.

STEP 2 We recommend that you use a Recorded Delivery service, as proof of shipping is not proof of receipt. We can not accept responsibility for any items that are lost in transit.

STEP 3 If you require items in exchange, please include a note with your returned item detailing the product you would like to exchange for. Please include a contactable telephone number in case any additional payment is required. If the new item costs less than the one you have returned we will refund you the difference.
# The goods must be in original condition & returned with full packaging including user guide, power supply unit, leads and any other accessories that were originally supplied with the goods. Please remember to send your return by Recorded Delivery. This is for your own security and insurance against items lost in transit.
# Credit/Debit card refunds will be made providing we are satisfied that the goods are in an acceptable condition as mentioned above.
# Only the cost of the goods will be refunded, you will have to pay the carriage costs unless the reason for return is due to an error on our part where we will arrange for the collection of the goods at our cost.

Return of faulty goods.

If there is a fault with your product you may return the product within 28 days of delivery for replacement or refund

STEP 1 Contact Customer Services on Contact Customer Services on 0151 6018056 or e-mail supportglobe2net. Proof of return postage must be within 28 days of delivery. Please provide a full written reason for the return. This makes it easier to confirm any claim.

STEP 2 Please remember to send your return by Recorded Delivery from the Post Office or your chosen courier when returning goods, as we cannot be held responsible for goods lost in transit without it.

We will replace the product or refund your money when:

* The product is confirmed to be faulty.
* If no fault is found then the product(s) will be returned and a charge of £11.75 (inc VAT) per product, plus carriage costs will be made to cover technical inspection costs.

Manufacturers’ inspection charges for ‘no fault found’ items are far higher than ours, and, if the item requires a full inspection from the manufacturer, their charge will be passed on to the customer. Please bear in mind that, if you have any technical queries or you think that your item is faulty, our customer support number 0151 6018056 has resolved many setup and installation problems. Most manufacturers will also have a Product Helpline in the User Guide provided with the item.
* The product is otherwise in original condition.
* It is returned complete, together with any accessories and free gifts offered with the product, in the original box and all packaging

Our promise to replace products or refund your money does not apply to faults caused by accident, neglect or misuse.

Privacy Policy

Globe2 Ltd has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy.

The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for these websites: http://www.globe2.net and https://globe2.voip-system.net/

We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our Web site. Your IP address is used to help identify you and to gather broad demographic information.

Our site uses cookies to deliver content specific to your interests, to save your password so you don’t have to re-enter it each time you visit our site, and for other purposes.

Our site’s registration form requires users to give us contact information (like their name and email address). We use customer contact information from the registration form to send the user informationabout our company. The customer’s contact information is also used to contact the visitor when necessary. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-out section below.

http://www.globe2.net/ may contain links to other sites. Globe2 Ltd is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites.

Our sites use an order form for customers to request information, products, and services. All payment information (such as credit or debit card numbers) is taken over the phone, entered into our banking provider (Paypal) where it is stored for billing purposes. Globe2 does not store customer payment information directly.

This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control.

Supplementation Information

This site supplements the information that you provide with information that is received from third parties.

Choice/Opt-Out

Visitors who submit their information to Globe2 by default agree to receive periodic newsletters from Globe2. All newsletters contain an unscubscribe link which will unscribe the recipient from receiving future mailings if clicked on.

Correct/Update

To change or modify information previously provided please send corrections to supportglobe2net

We’ve been look at ways in which we can offer the same excellent call quality and call cost to private individuals as well as to businesses and are pleased to offer the following call plans:

* subject to a fair use check of 1,000 minutes per month.

Contact us to sign up.

The Globe2 phones work on a similar prinicpal to Skype in that calls are routed over the Internet, but that is where the comparison ends. In our experience Skype is fine for personal use but not recommended for business use. Additionally Skype does not offer the same level of configurability of a non-Skype VOIP phone.

Please contact us for more information on how our phone system differs from Skype.

It will ultimately depend upon your Internet connection. For ‘normal’ use it is possible to share a entry-level broadband connection between a computer and a phone. If the computer user starts to download videos or similarly high bandwidth media call quality may suffer. If you have mutliple phones and multiple computers the problem can be compounded. We suggest a single user and computer is fine, going above that we recommend a dedicated line for your phones to ensure optimum and consistent quality.