Not IMHO, there is an awful delay, the codecs produce terrible quality audio, that's assuming the signal is strong and stable enough for enough data to arrive for the audio to be reconstructed in the first place.
Power failure at local cell and the service stops and may not return when the power comes back. One cell around here was off for weeks recently after power problems. That's not the first time that power glitches have knocked out cells for a while (days) after the power has been restored. Varies randomly by network so you can't say that network X will come back with the power as next time as it might not.
Mobiles should be treated with a lucky if it works and pure convenience attitude and should not be relied upon.
I wrote sect in UK Selfbuild FAQ that may be of use.
For myself I decided on a Node zero position ... Ran 2 x Cat6 to every room Ran 2 x CT100 terminated on F-connector front plates
In Lounge I ran extra 2 x CT100 to every corner, plus 4 x Ct100 & 4 x Cat 6 at position I wanted Home Cinema.
Put in extra Cat 6 in study.
I installed in Node zero an 8U minirack ... 2 x 24w patch panels ... modified one of these so that 2 of the groups of 4 w sockets were connected to telephone lines .. so I could patch around telephones, and used PABX adapters on each outlet where I wanted a phone. I used the modified BT front plates to separate out Data & POTS
I fitted 3 x 1U blank plates with 10 f-type bulkhead connectors .. terminating all the CT100 there .. (30 seemed a lot at the time) I can then patch any CT100 faceplate to my aerial distribution amp (Antiference)
All the CAT5/6 cable was free .. they were rewiring office, and after each big ruin they would dump part used boxes .... my car went home with many of these.
It's surprising how many CAT5 runs I have in use .... just put ina new TV .. that has Ethernet connection, as does my PVR and my new Home Cinema amp also takes one .. Plus I use an extra 3 to provide aerial feeds to DVD recorder, PVr & TV ... I could use loop in ... but then there are issue when they go into standby ... this way any can be in very low consumption standby without causing problems.
I also run 3 x Cat 5 to each external door .... these hook into Comfort Alarm system (door keypad, bell, video camera)
Into every room I also put in a ceiling Cat5 above each door - wired to PIR detector and back to Comfort system.
I also put in a Cat6 run to each room ... currently only a faceplate at moment, along with a pair of speaker cables .... intent is to have distributed audio throughout the house ... an MP3 jukebox & radio ... just not decide what to put in yet.
External I also added Cat5 runs to 8 separate PIR external sensors .. again back to comfort system. In 4 location I have also put in a CT100 plus 6 core flex ... currently just to wall mount boxes - intent is to install video camera back to web accessible Digital recorder.
Although I had included the built in double garage and wired accordingly ........... I had missed out, since main build went in I have also added a separate quad garage outbuilding ... if I had thought in advance I could have allowed CT100 & Cat5 runs for that.
All in, a large quantity of cable into Node zero .... but all needed :-)
We get our BB via VM co-axial (20 meg to go up to 40 before long) )and I must say its been very good and reliable. We also have a backup feed to that via a radio link. We now use VoIP for the landline phone and its been excellent. If for any reason the BB should fall down it will automatically divert to the mobile which is on 24/7. I can now configure a lot on this system and get charged sod all line rental around a quid a month ported our number, calls that are charged by the second and cheaper than most any other carrier, mobile to landline rates much cheaper and best of all no "connection charge"
I can access my account for billing and see who has called etc if required, and their VoIPfone customer service is streets quicker than the major carriers. And best of all they have a very useful divert line;)...
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I really don't know what the service is like up there Dave or what network your on but I use a Nokia 6303 and its fine. OK their might be times when calls break up a bit but its very few and far between and only these days right out in the country...
Well seeing where you live and how remote that is I expect you'll have to accept that. Here mains failures around three in 10 years one of them caused by the builders next door and I've yet to see major faults around this way of the main mobile carriers..
Well they work for us and we use them all the time and I sometimes wish they hadn't been invented as I have to pay the bl^^dy bills for them;!...
That last bit worked in our favour when we were tenants in the US, the clothes dryer was making loud screeching noises and not running, the landlord (owner's brother-in-law) just bought a new one, and was happy when I said I would keep the old one. It needed a new belt idler, and for $10 I had a good working machine, which travelled with us to several places. So sometimes things work out ok!
Someone related to a friend of my mum heard about me skills in IT and installation whatnot, and had heard about this distributed network, TV and telephone malarky. He was gutting and almost rebuilding his house, a geeky friend of his had done this kind of thing, so this fellow though it would be a must to have it done as well.
I got an emergency call a couple of days before the plasterboard was going up, would I help him thread through some cables? He hadn't a clue what was going where, so I concocted a plan and flood wired the place with 2 pairs of CAT5e and 4 lots of CT100 to each room. At the patch panel he could decide what was going to be phone and what ethernet.
And then the daft questions started.... he really had no clue what he was meant to do with it. Distributed media, VOIP, security, Satellite TV, multi-switches, servers, routers etc. Whoosh.... The labeled patch panel he found particulary confusing. In and out. Phone or LAN, Whoosh......
I pointed him (a youngish engineer type) at a few websites and left him to it. Perhaps his geeky friend will aid him in a bit of spoon feeding.
I've done me bit. A system like that I would really enjoy learning, tweaking, and configuring. With him, hopeless - he wants callout... :-(
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