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. (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.)
Another inexpensive termination provider is
Globotech Communications: also 1.1 cents/minute to US numbers, and competitive on non-US destinations (China 1.7526; UK 1.19 etc.)
3) Inbound Calls:
There are many incomming providers. When choosing a provider, consider not only cost but reliability. Can you afford to lose your incomming 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 the fact that your number may not be "stable" in mind, when choosing if you want to go with a deep discount inbound provider or not. Sometimes it works well (especially when you can easily shift to a different service if/when there are problems). 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 incomming 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 incomming" 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".
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.
- 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.
Note:
SuperNetTel.com offers USA calling at 2 cents per minute through a high quality SIP/IAX to TDM gateway.
SuperNetTel.com also offers toll free numbers work from ALL 50 States and Canada, with no extra charge for calls from pay phones.