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A Complete Plan for DIY VoIP

1) Hardware: DSL/cable modem (must operate in bridge mode, or support dynamic DNS and be a full cone NAT) > router #1 (must support dynamic DNS and have only the Sipura plugged into it so that the Sipura can handle QoS) > Sipura SPA-2100 > router #2 (optional) > all computers.

2) Outbound calls:
Voip.ms at 1.05 cents/minute, and Voxee at 1.1 cents/minute, are among the cheapest outbound SIP-to-PSTN gateways for US calls. However, there are many other options out there, and some of them offer "unlimited calling" for residential users. This can be useful if your family consistently talks a lot.

3) Inbound Calls:
There are many incoming providers. When choosing a provider, consider not only cost but reliability. Can you afford to lose your incoming number, if there is a problem? For example, NuFone was one of the cheaper inbound "toll free" (800/888/877/866) providers at 2 cents/minute. But through mis-management and disdain for their customers, their service has had EXTENSIVE outages, along with repeated (unkept) promises to get things working again. So keep in mind that your number may not be stable, when choosing a deep discount provider. Sometimes it works well (especially when you can easily shift to a different service if/when there are problems), in which case you may wish to consider free DID services such as IPKall or sipgate one. But sometimes you "get what you pay for". And for many people, switching to a new number is harder than switching to a new outbound calling provider.

4) While some providers will allow inbound calls through their proxies, many others (including the previously mentioned Voxee) won't. However, you can route Inbound Calls Directly to your LinkSys or Sipura, bypassing your provider's proxy. Or, you could simply sign up with the VoXaLot service, add your outbound services to the VoXaLot web portal, and register your adapter with VoXaLot. This often works, as VoXaLot allows inbound calls via its proxy, and most (but not all) outbound providers work via your VoXaLot account. So you can then just point your incoming DIDs to sip:123456@voxalot.com (where you replace 123456 with whatever your 6-digit VoXaLot number is).

5) Your phone numbers:
5a) sip:123456@voxalot.com
4b) +1-360-xxx-xxxx --> sip:123456@voxalot.com (set up both at IPKall and e164.org)
4c) +1-866-xxx-xxxx > sip:yourName@someservice.org (and > sip:123456@voxalot.com at e164.org)

NOTE: In many cases the extra cost per month to have an "unlimited incoming" number local to you, is higher than the cost of a toll free number (that you pay less per month for, and then pay by the minute). If you are in that situation, you would get the toll free (800/888/877/866) number, but would NOT get a "local number". An unbundled pay-by-the-minute inbound local number is also often a less expensive alternative to "conventional telephone replacement" service plans if you are an infrequent user and most or all of your calls are coming from the same city.


Benefits:

  • At 2 cents/minute (assuming you get a toll free provider that cheaply), an 800# is cheaper than a local telephone number unless you receive a very large number of local calls. Also, you can keep your 800# for life. (You could also keep your local number for life by porting it to a VoIP provider or cell phone when you move, but how useful is it to pay a monthly fee for a local number where you no longer live? An 800# is useful wherever you are, and you don't have to change phone numbers when you move.) If you have a business, an 800# is even more useful if it matches your web site (1800YourName.com), because it reinforces your branding every time someone uses it.




Created by voip247. Last Modification: Tuesday 03 of April, 2012 01:14:06 AEST by teofeel.

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