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:
Line 1:
Voxee, at 1.1 cents/minute, is the cheapest outbound SIP-to-PSTN gateway I know of. (If you make over 1090 minutes of calls/month, use
DialPad ($12/month for unlimited outgoing calls) instead of Voxee.)
Line 2:
NuFone, at 2 cents/minute, is the cheapest 800# provider I know of. You can prepay $5 (refundable), then get a free 800# from their configuration web page ($25 fee if you want to port your existing 800# or choose a particular 800#). Then people can call your 800# to reach you, and it only costs you 2 cents/minute. Outgoing calls are also 2 cents/minute.
3) Inbound calls: Neither Voxee nor
NuFone allow incoming calls through their proxies. However, you can route
LinkSys or Sipura" class="wiki wiki_page">Inbound Calls Directly to your
LinkSys or Sipura, bypassing the Voxee and
NuFone proxies. For example, if Voxee uses port 5060 and UserID 999, then your phone should ring if anyone calls sip:999@yourName.dyndns.org. (Apparently Sipura requires that the userID match so that your phone won't ring if VoIP spam is sent directly to your adapter.)
4) Your phone numbers:
4a) sip:999@yourName.dyndns.org
4b) +1-360-xxx-xxxx --> sip:999@yourName.dyndns.org (set up both at IPkall and e164.org)
4c) +1-866-xxx-xxxx
> sip:yourName@switch-2.nufone.net (and > sip:999@yourName.dyndns.org at e164.org)
Note that you would NOT have a local telephone number. Given the high cost of local telephone service, an 800# is cheaper unless you receive over 400 minutes/month of local calls (in which case, you can get a local number with unlimited incoming calls from Voxbone for $8/month). Then, give out your 866 number instead of a local telephone number. Your cost:
$0/month for local telephone service
1.1 cents/minute for all outgoing calls
2 cents/minute for incoming 800# calls
For example, if you currently pay $25/month for local telephone service (and typically receive 200 minutes/month of calls and make another 200 minutes/month of local calls) plus $5/month for 100 minutes of long distance calls (total: $30/month), your cost would fall to $7.30/month ($3.30 for 300 minutes of outgoing calls + $4 for 200 minutes of incoming 800# calls).
Benefits:
- At 2 cents/minute, 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.
- If you list your 800# in e164.org and set up your friends/relatives with SIP adapters using SIP Broker, then whenever those friends/relatives call your 800#, the call will go through to sip:999@yourName.dyndns.org for free. If you do this for the 2-3 people who call you the most, you will probably eliminate all costs for over 50% of your incoming calls.