VOIP Phones

[makeusvisible]

I have briefly looked into this topic in the past and must admit that I dont find telephony to be my strong point, so I'd just like some general advice (no cold calls or pms please). I may post a tender thread once I know what we need.

Currently we have 1 BT phone line in the office, with 3 phones. We also have one member of staff working from home using his own line and submitting expenses monthly.

I'd like if possible to move to VOIP so that we are effectively (including the home-worker) all on the same line, but different extension numbers.

Firstly...is this possible?
How much (ball park) should it cost?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[GraemeL]

cjd will no doubt help you with technical advice and costs.

Then I would wholeheartedly recommend Voipfone to you as a system supplier.

G

 

[Faevilangel]

as above speak to Colin aka CJD

cost wise you're looking at:

£2 a month for the number (local) more if other types
£1 each per extension (read more)

For 3 extensions and 1 number you're looking at £5 a month

Depending on if you want to use software (on the pc) or a physical phone to answer calls you're looking at £50-£100 per phone depending on type and manufacturer.

 

[cjd]

ine, but different extension numbers.

Firstly...is this possible?
How much (ball park) should it cost?

Yes, it's possible, simple and cheap

From us it would be:

1 x Telephone number £2pm
4 x extensions @ £1pm = £4

So £6 per month plus your calls. All the prices are here:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/prices_new.php

It's all no contract and you can have a free month to try it all.

You'll need phones - what they cost is up to you. You can use your PC and our free softphone and it costs nothing or you can use proper hardware phones. The best small business phone costs about £80 - for business use we'd always recommend proper phones - the quality is much higher and they're always on.

You also need broadband in each location.

Some info:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/PBX_Features.php

Give us a call and talk it through - 020 7043 5555 - they're customer support, not sales.

 

[makeusvisible]

This does sound very good. When you say "proper phones", do you mean as in normal phones like we are using now?

Can we port our current number over?

 

[Faevilangel]

I have a "proper" phone which you just plug into the router or your pc (depending on the router location). It looks and functions like a normal landline except it works only through the internet

It depends on the number, Colin will be able to check for you

 

[cjd]

This does sound very good. When you say "proper phones", do you mean as in normal phones like we are using now?

They're purpose built VoIP telephones. This is the most popular phone on our network:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/shop.php?method=view&pid=25

But the Gigaset DECT phones are also very popular:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/shop.php?method=view&pid=57

Can we port our current number over?

Yes, info here:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/PB_Porting_Numbers.php

 

[leemason]

If you want to run VoIP with a hosted PBX like that provided by voipfone make sure you check your Internet connection speeds using an online speed test tool. Low uplink speeds can affect voice quality especially if are using the Internet connection for a lot of other things. If you find that your Internet connection is not great or you are using it too much to share with VoIP.

Voipfone can provide a second DSL line for VoIP from about £22.00+VAT per month (you need to have an analogue line to activate this on).

 

[makeusvisible]

Well I certainly know twice as much about VOIP as I did 24 hours ago!

Our net connection speed is 7mb down. 0.35Mb up. It that going to be sufficient?

 

[cjd]

Our net connection speed is 7mb down. 0.35Mb up. It that going to be sufficient?

The 0.35 up could be a problem. It's more than adequate for 3 high quality, simultaneous telephone calls but if you also decided to upload an on-line back up or send a massive email, you'd probably have interference.

BUT - you should not have only 0.35 up, it sounds like you're on standard ADSL, if you upgrade to ADSL Max you'll get about .8.

Combine that with Bandwidth Management on something like Draytek 2830 router and you've sorted it.

Alternatively, use a GSM codec in the phone - that uses a third of the bandwidth.

The point is, you can experiment for little or no cost until you work out what works best for you.

 

[PhippsComms]

Hi Guys,

We also supply a hosted VoiP system, and have to admit i would be more inclined to run two separate broadband's one for your voip system and one for your usual emails, browsing etc. It only takes someone to download a big file or watch a video and it can knock the whole lot out.

If you went for a annex m broadband you would get a slightly higher upload speed.

We tend to use Ploycom handsets as they are managed so we can make changes to them.

If you would like a quote or to talk further drop me a pm.

Kind regards

Andy

 

[cjd]

We also supply a hosted VoiP system, and have to admit i would be more inclined to run two separate broadband's one for your voip system and one for your usual emails, browsing etc. It only takes someone to download a big file or watch a video and it can knock the whole lot out.

Ideally that's what you'd do but that means getting a second line as well as a second broadband connection which feels ott for only 3 extensions. We find most people get along fine with managed bandwidth up to about 5 or 6 users.

It depends a lot on what the usage of phone and internet is, of course, but you can adapt as you need to.

 

[Freelancealot]

We've been using Voipfone's services for many years now. Started on a rural BT connection with .5mb!

We use a Draytek Vigor router that has a dedicated Voip socket, which we can plug our standard Philips Dect phone into. On top of that we also use a Snom 360 phone, which gives us 4 separate 'lines' we can set up with different numbers (sometimes we cover client's phones if their PA is going to be away for a while and it's quick and easy to set up via Voipfone's PBX extension numbers).

Cheers,
Tracy

 

[makeusvisible]

We spent a couple of last week trying to get the voip working after signing up for a trial. The support guys were not able to get it working for us and said it must be our router. We are using a pretty standard NetGear DGND3700 which has never caused a problem before.... but if this router doesnt work with VOIP we will evidently need to change it.

Does anyone else use a DGND3700 with voip?

 

[leemason]

It's more likely to be the router configuration than the router itself. Are you able to log onto it?

This router support something called SIP ALG (sometimes called SIP Helper as well). This should be switched OFF. I don't know why most firewall manufacturers include SIP ALG as more often than not it does anything but help!

 

[makeusvisible]

Yes we are able to login to the router configuration page.

They did get us to change one thing in the router setting, and as you say....it was the SIP ALG setting.

 

[leemason]

Who is your ISP? What sort of VoIP end point are you using (e.g. desk phone, ATA, PC soft phone)? What sort of problem do you have (not registering, no dial tone, one way audio, etc)?

 

[makeusvisible]

Who is your ISP? What sort of VoIP end point are you using (e.g. desk phone, ATA, PC soft phone)? What sort of problem do you have (not registering, no dial tone, one way audio, etc)?

The ISP is BT Business.

We are on a trial with VOIPFone, so we are using a software phone which VOIPFone suggested (Zoiper).

The problem is that it wont register, it just comes back with a 102 connection timeout error.

 

[Faevilangel]

I am running on BT fine but I don't plug my phone into the router (I am a long way from the router).

The timeout error could be down to a firewall blocking the connection to the VF servers?

 

[debbiem]

I went with Voipfone when we moved premises in January this year and am very pleased with the outcome.

I keep hearing awful stories from others about problems with BT and I have always found them difficult to deal with. Voipfone were excellent and helpful when I was setting up, and I haven't had to speak to them since (touch wood!).

At the moment I rent one number from Voipfone (having transferred my old BT number to it) and I rent two lines which is all we need. I also get Broadband from them and have had no issues at all, speed is very good.

I have the Gigaset A510 handsets which I'm also pleased with.

Overall much cheaper than BT too.

Don't forget you do still need to rent one line from BT for the voip to run on, but from experience it seems even BT can get this simple task right!

 

[makeusvisible]

I went with Voipfone when we moved premises in January this year and am very pleased with the outcome.

I keep hearing awful stories from others about problems with BT and I have always found them difficult to deal with. Voipfone were excellent and helpful when I was setting up, and I haven't had to speak to them since (touch wood!).

At the moment I rent one number from Voipfone (having transferred my old BT number to it) and I rent two lines which is all we need. I also get Broadband from them and have had no issues at all, speed is very good.

I have the Gigaset A510 handsets which I'm also pleased with.

Overall much cheaper than BT too.

Don't forget you do still need to rent one line from BT for the voip to run on, but from experience it seems even BT can get this simple task right!

I'm sure that VOIPFone are very good...but sadly their support guys haven't been able to get us up an running... more than happy to go with them, but if it wont work with our router its a tough one.

 

[debbiem]

I'm sure that VOIPFone are very good...but sadly their support guys haven't been able to get us up an running... more than happy to go with them, but if it wont work with our router its a tough one.

I'm not sure what you mean ' it won't work with OUR router'? We got a router from them when we signed up.

 

[skh]

Routers can sometimes cause problems with VoIP working correctly.

More often than not some changes on the routers settings or a change of firmware can resolve the issues. In some rare cases some routers can be a big challenge in getting things working correctly.

As you've got BT broadband it's very likely they supplied you with a router, are you able to temporarily swap to that to help prove where the problem is?

I'd also suggest you try another firmware version on your current Netgear to see if that resolves the issue.

 

[makeusvisible]

As you've got BT broadband it's very likely they supplied you with a router, are you able to temporarily swap to that to help prove where the problem is?

I'd also suggest you try another firmware version on your current Netgear to see if that resolves the issue.

BT Didnt supply the router...it is a Netgear DGND3700v2.

We did test going via the zoiper software on an iphone...and it would connect via 3G, but not when going via the router. So it definitely seems like a router config issue. I don't really want to have to replace the router though, as it's dual band and very good for purpose.... I see people do use this router with VOIP systems, so it sounds like just a config issue.... but beyond me on how to fix it.

 

[Faevilangel]

Googling it, it's a known issue with your router, do you have the manual?

On page 47 it says to disable SIP ALG which can be disabled under the WAN setup.

 

[makeusvisible]

Googling it, it's a known issue with your router, do you have the manual?

On page 47 it says to disable SIP ALG which can be disabled under the WAN setup.

Yes we have already done that.

 

[cjd]

Yes we have already done that.

If we sent you a free router that we know works, would you try it and then use it instead of your Netgear?

 

[makeusvisible]

If we sent you a free router that we know works, would you try it and then use it instead of your Netgear?

Yes sure I would be willing to give that a go. I'm very keen to go with yourselves.... so I'll drop you a pm.

Many thanks

 

[That Guy]

I can recommend Voipfone along with the Snom 300 Phone.

This setup is working great for me.