Getting Started with VoIP Devices

Kerbo writes "If you have been wondering what kind of devices you need to use a voice-over-ip (VoIP) provider or Asterisk PBX, the guys at Geek Gazette have been doing up some reviews of different devices. These allow you to use a standard phone with VOIP providers. The newest review is of the Sipura ATA-1001 ATA." Before you get too happy with the possibilities, though, note what an anonymous reader submitted: "Several VoIP providers have started adding 'regulatory recovery fees' to their users' bills, even though the entire industry is unregulated. The latest one to do this is Packet 8. The whole reason so many are moving to VoIP is to avoid these kinds of bogus fees; it's unfortunate these providers haven't figured this out yet."

Comments

VOIP is useless

[Anonymous Coward]

We are all going to die anyway (see previous article)

I'd jump to VoIP in a second

[Uptown Joe]

but I can't keep my old phone number... I would love to lose the $50 plus a month fee.

I have a Cox phone number now.

Re:I'd jump to VoIP in a second

[kebes]

Yes, changing phone numbers really sucks... but consider the flip-side: the fact that you can keep your number with VoIP, even if you move across the country!

Seriously, I can take my VoIP box on trips and still receive my local calls anywhere... if I move somewhere new in town, my number doesn't change, and I don't have to pay new installation or connection fees... as far as VoIP is concerned nothing has changed. And even if I moved far away, I could keep my local number (and get a new number in the new city), so all my friends and family can still call me (and it's only a local call for them).

In a sense, VoIP is the ultimate in *keeping* your phone number. I'm glad I made the switch.

VOIP not cheaper...

[DogDude]

... at least for us (a small business). Once you add in all of the per-line charges, the hardware, the setup fees, the broadband, and the fact that if you want to use DSL, you still have to buy at least one phone line from the phone company. Plus, of course, the reliability of broadband still isn't nearly at the level of hard telephone lines. After taking this into consideration, unfortunately, going through the local Ma Bell monopoly was still the cheapest and most reliable option for us (a business needing 3-5 phone lines).

Re:VOIP not cheaper...

[Blapto]

For us (a small business) we use VoIP for telecommuting, I feel that's where the real strength is at the moment. Of course, if you're a larger business (100+ employees) in the middle of a city I think it becomes economical to get a dedicated line which should be very reliable.

Re:VOIP not cheaper...

[gregmac]

After taking this into consideration, unfortunately, going through the local Ma Bell monopoly was still the cheapest and most reliable option for us (a business needing 3-5 phone lines).

Usually there are resellers that will get you a fully-featured POTS line at well below the cost of a line from Ma Bell. Bell Canada is the main carrier here, and I can get lines from either AllStream or Primus for several dollars less than Bell, and they include many features -- call/name id, hunt group, other stuff I don't use -- at less than the cost of a basic line from Bell.

We've been running on Asterisk for a couple of months now, and it's made an impact on our phone bills. Our telephone hardware was aging anyways, so we deployed Asterisk with all new (and low-cost) VoIP phones, at around the same price it would have cost to get a low-end, not very configurable non-VoIP system.

We have 4 incoming analog POTS (plain old telephone service) lines (one is dedicated to fax). We have two VoIP providers (mostly just for redundancy.. outgoing minutes are cheap). Long distance calls are routed through VoIP, and a maximum of two local calls will get routed through POTS lines before using Voip, which for the most part keeps a POTS line free for incoming calls. If our internet is down, long-distance calls simply fail over to the POTS lines, and if they're all used up it tells you "all lines are busy now", which is annoying but not any different than it would be without VoIP.

Since we just moved and were forced to change our number, I'm waiting on getting our old number switched to a VoIP provider. Right now it's call-forwarded to our new number, but when it goes VoIP, incoming calls on it will not use up our POTS lines. I was even considering changing our third line to hunt to that VoIP line, so that when the 3 incoming voice lines are busy, it will use the VoIP line and basically give us a huge call capacity. I think we pay something like $5/mo for the VoIP number, plus 1.1c/min (CAD$). Normally DID's (direct inward dial, which is what numbers that terminate on VoIP are called) are cheaper than that, but this number is in an area not serviced by many VoIP providers.

A lot of providers will also provide some kind of failover if you're not connected, ie, they'll just forward the call to another number. Often this will cost double (cost of incoming call + cost of outgoing call) but it's definately better than customers not being able to reach you.

We've already noticed a decent savings on long distance costs. We were paying something like 4.5c/min on POTS, but now we can call anywhere in north america for 1.3c/min or somewhere in there.

The real benefit (and one of the main reasons we chose a voip system) will be when we setup our first branch office later this year, and calls between them cost nothing. One receptionist (you only get an IVR off-hours, or if the receptionist is busy) can handle calls for both offices, we can have local numbers in both cities that are treated identically, and staff are encouraged to communicate because calling someone in another city is identical to calling someone in the office down the hall.

There's also the possibility of working from home. You can actually take our desk phones home, plug them into an internet connection, and they'll work the same as in the office. You can also install a softphone on your PC/laptop, and have an extension. I'm looking forward to using that when I go to some conferences this summer.

Anyway, the possibilties are really endless, and there's no reason that "going VoIP" means ditching all your analog lines. I'd even say that combining them gives you the best solution.

Recovery fees

[0kComputer]

Sound almost like the Spanish American War Tax that we've been paying for the last 100 years on our telephone bills.

How the hell do thes companies get away with these idiotic taxes?

VoIP phone recommendation

[grasshoppa]

The Polycoms IP500 are decent phones, I love them.

re: Voip

VoIP's main draw isn't that it's cheaper, or at least, it shouldn't be. It may be, but that can change on a dime ( heh, hat trick pun! ). It's a matter of usability. My asterisk server is far more useful to me than the old partner ACS system we used to have.

I have my voicemail emailed to me. I can record conversations on the fly. I can move my phones and have my number follow me. I can make any changes I need on the fly ( within minutes, typically ). I can train others to do the same with little trouble.

And when people say VoIP ( and asterisk in particular ) is difficult to learn, they are really referring to the POTS aspects of it. Old phone lines are complex, no doubts, and the parts of asterisk that are carry overs from a traditional pbx are similarly complex. However, asterisk itself is incredibily easy to work with. Have you ever setup samba? Apache? Asterisk is easier.

my voip experience...

[kebes]

I recently switched to Vonage from a standard phone, and I'm very happy. With regard to hardware, they ship you a Linksys router that is pre-configured with your details, so all you have to do is plug it in and it works. The router replaced my previous router for my home network, and seems to work great. The hardware hasn't caused me any problems.

The harder part was re-wiring my house so that all the phones would work using voip (instead of just having one phone plugged into the Linksys router). Even this is not too bad: just disconnect your internal wiring from the Telco, and then plug the voip router into a wall-jack, so that all wall-jacks are now connected to it. (Be sure to disconnect from Telco wiring properly, or you'll fry your voip hardware!!) Even getting my alarm system to work with voip was pretty easy (just had to invert its wiring...).

Serious geeks may want to shop around for the coolest hardware, but honestly the box that Vonage ships is good enough for most people. I think voip is fast becoming accessible to the "average consumer" and I'm now recommending it to everyone I know. For a low price you get every telephone service imaginable, free long-distance calling... The Vonage ads (phone bill going from 60$ to 20$) are not exagerations. So my hardware review is: you can use whatever the voip provider ships and you won't have any hassles!

Extra fee's

[John Seminal]

Several VoIP providers have started adding 'regulatory recovery fees' to their users' bills, even though the entire industry is unregulated.

If VoIP is really Voice over IP, why are there any fee's, why are there any regulations? Why can't someone make a device that records my voice in real time, sends it to a different computer, where it is played?

I am suprised there is not some DNS type scheme where people use their computers like a phone. Instead of calling a land line or cell phone, you use your computer to call some IP. What else would we need? Voice mail? Someone could make a program to watch a port for calls, and if not anwsered, then the stream is recorded into a mp3.

The only thing which worries me is abuse. People sniff networks. People try and gain access of computers using open ports. VoIP would require some trust.

If people wait for the telcom companies to take command of VoIP, we can expect another phone bill. Maybe comcast will offer a combined package that is difficult to opt out of, like the $10 off broadband if cable is purchased. Maybe they will add $10 more to your bill if you don't buy their VoIP.

Re:Extra fee's

[the unbeliever]

Have you never heard of Skype? It's exactly what you describe.

However, the vast majority of people are still attached to the old telephone, myself included. I can't see using a PC with a headset or a microphone as a normal communications tool.

stick with sipura

[Lumpy]

the linksys stuff is all doorstops if you chance from the provider that has branded it. There are thousands of linksys voip boxes on ebay that are worthless because they are vonnage or packet8 locked.

the spa-2000 is the best module I have ever used, and after you are done with the voip provider it can be resold or used with asterisk or FWD.

I also will not use a provider that will not let me control the hardware or use asterisk, but then I'm not a typical customer.

Put the line in, but with the right amount

[DumbSwede]

Instead of in anticipation of future regulation, why not just tack on a "regulation fee" line that is currently $0.00. Tack on a $0.00 tax line while you're at it.

Then and if regulation or taxation occurs, these lines get filled in with an actual amount that is the correct amount. Not only that, but users would know right away that the government has added fees as they shows up in the bill.

I'm betting all hell would bust loose when a $0.00 line suddenly clicks upward.

Yeah it's cheaper, but that doesn't mean they can't write an honest bill.

Re:If I may interject

[Monkelectric]

WHAT? Way to drink the VOIP koolaid! They need money NOW because they MAY need it in the future? That makes no sense whatsoever. Are they going to refund the money if they dont need it?

Regulatory fees...

[wiredlogic]

You just know they're going to add a $4.00 surcharge for that new-fangled touch-tone service.

I am interested in more than what Asterisk has

[bayerwerke]

I want a PBX replacement with voicemail, call accounting "for hotel guest phone charges". The last item is where I don't see an Asterisk based solution is workable. I would like to be wrong, any suggestions?

You may be able to port your number

[lorcha]

From this page, go about halfway down the page to "Check Portability" and.. well.. you know what to do from there.

I'm sure other VoIP providers have as good or better number porting abilities.