VOIP advice

[scmhogg]

I am PO'd at ATT and would like to move to VOIP. We have three cell phones here so power failures don't worry me. Also, I leave my computer on 24/7 so that's not a problem.

My questions are:

1. I need three lines, one work, one FAX and one LOML. Does that pose a problem?

2. I need to keep the numbers that I have now.

3. I need to economize.

Any info would be appreciated.

Steve

[jackellis]

I've tried VOIP systems - one called Skype and another that's professionally managed. My advice is to get a separate broadband circuit just for VOIP. Otherwise heavy web surfing or downloading tends to mess up the VOIP. It's not unusual for people to e-mail me 10 MB attachments and you may have the same situation. When that happens, I've had dropped calls and garbled conversations.

IMHO VOIP is fine for casual conversations but not for work.

[bmyers]

There isn't enough information in your post to reply with a qualified, credible answer but that won't stop me from commenting.

Depending on your comfort level with computers, you could roll your own with something like Asterisk (*) and a VOIP provider. It's Linux made for VOIP. You'd need a computer and 2 MTA's since you want 3 lines and your old phones. This is the most work but also the most flexibility and features. This is what I do with a company call iconnecthere.com. They were cheap but in the end could not port my old # to my new account. Get what you pay for there..

You could go with something like Vonage or Packet8 and let them do the Asterisk stuff for you amd send you the MTA's. They'll use your bandwidth for the calls. This means your network will need to be optimized to prioritize you VOIP traffic or face problems like jackellis mentions. But their devices usually only provide 2 lines.

There is also CostCo that sells small business voice service over a data connection they provide. Small biz stuff usually 5 lines or more but they might do 3 lines.

2 lines is common home user stuff. 3 lines is almost small biz but maybe not quite depending on the provider. Bringing you old number REALLY shouldnt be a problem with decent provider.

There are more options available and these are just a few. I am assuming that you don't want to buy new phones. Otherwise you could buy IP phones and skip some other hardware. But then you'd need a network connection any place that you wanted to put an IP phone. If you are happy with cell phones just use those!

Clear as mud now? Phun with phones....

Bill

[crokett]

I have Vonage running across DSL. The MTA only has 2 lines but I suppose you could get another box to get your 3. As for voice quality, we've had it for a year and have had no issues. I talk and surf the web all the time with no problems. I work from home 1-2 days a week and many times have been on 1hr+ conf calls while fetching and/or uploading work files, replicating my mail, etc with absolutely no issues. All of that includes the overhead of a VPN client. The most useful feature for Vonage is call forwarding. I can forward calls to my cell and/or my dad's number so I don't miss any work calls if I have to leave the house.

[gerti]

I tried a few VoIP products, quality varies from company to company and sometimes from day to day. We finally gave up and went cell phone only.

Because I could basically get it for free I currently have a Comcast VoIP line. They do use a separate modem (at least in my case they did), so it is independent of my internet usage. But even so every now and then you get a sub-par connection, so I mostly use it for fax now and use my cell for voice.

(BTW: with decent internt service on both ends I have found iChat on OS X to have exceptional voice quality, even with video).

Number portability to/from VoIP works, but during the switch it may leave you number in limbo for quite some time (best I have seen was 10 days), and typically the message playing during the changeover is not one that I would want a customer to be exposed to unless he/she knows why.

Hope this helps.

[poolhound]

The first thing to consider is wether your internet connection will support it. Do you know what bandwidth you have both up and down. Some services are configured to give you good download speeds but minimal upload. You need good bandwidth in both directions if you are to have quality voice traffic or else you can have broken transmissions. You also need a "quality" connection i.e. minimal packet loss. It doesnt really matter if a few packets need to be resent with data is it just takes a bit longer but it all still gets where its going. But with voice a lot of packet loss will also cause bad call quality.

Check out your connection using the Voip test on this site it will give you a reasonable idea if you have a chance of using Voip on your connection.


http://myspeed.visualware.com/voip/

[cgallery]

I've tried VOIP systems - one called Skype and another that's professionally managed. My advice is to get a separate broadband circuit just for VOIP. Otherwise heavy web surfing or downloading tends to mess up the VOIP. It's not unusual for people to e-mail me 10 MB attachments and you may have the same situation. When that happens, I've had dropped calls and garbled conversations.

IMHO VOIP is fine for casual conversations but not for work.

Routers with QOS (Quality Of Service) will help in this regard.

[scmhogg]

Bill,

I ran the test suggested by Jon. Here are the results. So... can I do it?

Download speed 4291 Kbps (socket test)
Upload speed 1778 Kbps (socket test)
Quality of service 74 %
Maximum delay 76 ms
Round trip time 2335 ms
Upstream jitter 0.4 ms
Upstream packet loss 0 %
Upstream packet order 100 %
Upstream discards 0 %
Downstream jitter 1.2 ms
Downstream packet loss 0 %
Downstream packet order 100 %
Downstream discards 0 %

Steve

[kevincan]

For the fax line have you looked at some of the internet fax companies. I don't have a need for a fax line these days but I used myfax.com for a while and liked it better than having a dedicated fax line/machine. It eliminated paper and I was able to get faxes if I was out of town.

[JR]

So... can I do it?

Yes, that kind of performance is well within tolerances. Although >2sec round trip time is kind of mystifying. If the rest of the specs are accurate you're good to go.

JR

[scmhogg]

Kevin,

Can I keep my present FAX number with such a service? Changing numbers means changing a lot of expensive stationary and business cards, etc.

JR,

Do you use a VOIP out there in TO?

Steve

[kevincan]

Steve,

When I switched to myfax.com I changed over to a new fax number. Their web site says to call about porting over your existing number.

www.myfax.com

Kevin

[bmyers]

Do you have a DSL connection or cable internet? From the looks of your max delay and the roundtrip times you're either on cable internet with lots of folks in your neighborhood during a busy time or you are on DSL thats pretty far away from the CO (big phone company box on the road). Have you ever used Skype or something similar? What were the results? With a 2 sec pause between you hearing the end of a sentence and starting to talk might be annoying. The quality of service suggested by the test was only 74%. That's marginal for what you are used to (99.9%). Try running your test at a different time of day. Might give you an idea of the avg thruput of your connection.

Web surfing and VOIP have entirely different needs when it comes to bandwidths. VOIP doesnt really need big bandwidth like browsing. You really only need about 64kb/sec per phone line (actually only 56kb) but it needs very small ms times, round trip and delays must be quick or it'll be like when they talk to a over seas reporters in Iraq and have to wait until they hear the whole sentence. I dont think you'd be happy with the results.

It might be better off for you to go with a fax service thats has been mentioned above to get you down to 2 lines. It'll be easier to find a VOIP provider because most home MTA have 2 line plugs. Avg price for VOIP is around $200 for a year of service if you pay up front. Draw back of that is if your provider goes belly up like Sunrocket did, you're SOL. It shouldnt be twice that for a sec line but even if it is that about the price of a POTS line per month. (plain old telephone). Otherwise expect to pay about $25 per month for 1 line. A little more for 2.

By the time you pay for the fax service and two lines it may not be much cheaper than what you're paying now. But if you want ATT gone you can do it. You're certainly have more features and flexibility.

Bill

[Lee4847]

I have had Vontage for a couple of years with no problems. I love the web page interface so I can set call forwarding, voice mail, look at call detail ect. When I am on call I just go log in and forward the house to my cell. Plus we have saved a ton of $$$ with all the relatives being long distance.

Lee