Alternate VOIP companies in TekSavvy http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20318400 en Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:27:59 EDT Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:27:59 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21056269 anon : FWIW for those of you who need a traditional landline of business use, I use a few Primus business lines for my company.

Pretty much the same features as their residential $19.95 Talk Broadband service, includes an 800 number, and all Canada/US LD calls at 3 cents (same charges on incoming 800 calls). This pkg. costs me $32/month + LD charges with a business billing name.

They also include local access numbers across Canada so you can call in and make LD calls from your cell at the same 3 cents/min, thus avoiding the higher LD charges from the cell carriers (you'd still pay roaming fees though).

I know it isn't the very best deal going but it's a huge savings vs. Bell business landlines and I've never had a problem with the Primus service in the 5 years I've used them. At least with a POTS line I know I'll have service if a blackout lasts past the run-time of a battery UPS.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21056269 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:37:33 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21055697 SHARPSHARK : Since I don't talk alot, I went for the A La Carte plan from Unlimitel. I'm with them since December 2007 and I still have over $22 in my account balance over the $50 it originaly had. So, it means it cost me an average of $6/month + the $15/year fee for Voxalot (I use it for the voicemail and free calls).

I don't have a cellphone and pity my sister when she gets big phone bills. She likes to use my phone when her minutes are nearly depleted. XD
--
SHARPSHARK]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21055697 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:45:28 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21055350 hockeynomad : If you are tired of Teksavvy and yourself in the middle of many VOIP issues with Unitz, please be advised that porting from Unitz is a lengthy process.

Mine took two months and TS informed me it could take up to 6 months which is bizzare.

But a direct communication with the source is worth it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21055350 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:16:41 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20742223 hockeynomad : bump*]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20742223 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:34:42 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20727434 hockeynomad : OK I narrowed it down to les.net and VOIP.ms.

Voip.ms has a servor in montreal, so is a shorter geographical distance a better choice as les.net's servor is in Winnipeg?
Though their tracert (les.net) does appear a little better.

The fact that their tech support at les.net only handles 5 calls per day, as their lonely Maytag type tech support told me translates to me they run a smooth VOIP.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20727434 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:04:52 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20673754 hockeynomad : Any way you can test Link2VOIP.

Just temporarily change to their's

sip:18668035151@vgw1.link2voip.com:5060

and check how many secs to ping?

-----
update, I called a different VOIP, les.net
and their support told me

in Dos, Ping their DID and I got 67 to 72 ms. Average?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20673754 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:33:18 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20667658 anon : I was just wondering from those who mentioned that they used Unlimitel with PAP2T with good success... How did you set it up?

I did the basic config and specified a stun server. How ever i still get choppy out going voice once in a while (while incoming is fine)

I googled arround a bit and some people say to forward parts 163xx - 164xx and 5060-5061 UDP to the pap2t. That doesn't seem to help either. QOS is enabled on the router based on the adapter's MAC address.

Any thought, or if someone can post exactly what needs to be configured from a default config that would be awesome.

Thanks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20667658 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:57:41 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20660649 hockeynomad : I'm not too familiar with Asterisk, so that's probably why I haven't yet made any switch over.

Voicenetwork.ca is portable for me but again their tech support shuts down at 5 EST on weekdays. :(

Maybe they are as Les.net the problems is so few it doesn't warrant it.

VOIP.ms is switching over soon to 24/7 tech support. So is that a mark of problems? you can't win.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20660649 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:58:33 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20651875 anon : Just to add a positive note about voicenetwork.ca

I signed up in 2007 as well .. $1/mth for the 647 number.

They don't have anymore Toronto $1/mth deals, but they do offer some others every now and then (Montreal was the last one I saw.) But even at $6 / mth and current usage chages, I would probably still sign up if I had to do it all over again and got the same service I've been getting for the last 8 months.

The quality is fine for my use, which is not all that great, maybe an hour a month ... the wife uses it to call her family in Thailand and it's much better quality than our average Phone card service (and at $0.02 per minute, it's as inexpensive as it gets.)

I tried using Asterix when I was with Rogers, but the quality was suffering, so I went direct to PC with a soft-phone and the quality greatly improved (my fault, as the Asterix was running on a heavy usage Linux, running MythTV, multiple VNC virtual desktops, and a few other things.)

Recently they've supposedly done an upgrade, and I've moved to teksavvy premium, got a new router loaded with the latest DD-WRT bin, and I'm building a new Linux box. so maybe I'll try asterix again sometime and see if it works better.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20651875 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:04:52 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20649601 hockeynomad : Anyone check VOIP.ms www.voip.ms

And they have been doing VOIP only since 2007.

They have good rates and good web interface, but like les.net their support hours are limited.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20649601 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:48:38 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20645514 hockeynomad : les.net is definitely a good choice except that their support shuts down at 6 EST and none on weekend. Bizarre. :(

But whenever I call for prospective information, I get someone immediately. Asked why support hours stop at 6 PM CST, its because call volume is does not warrant it. The technical support guy said he fields an average 5 phone calls over 9 hours. Maybe this means their VOIP is excellent?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20645514 Sun, 15 Jun 2008 08:07:07 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20557070 vmctec :
said by hockeynomad See Profile :

OK, well les.net does use Asterisk so I gather they can assist in the setting up.

My DSL is TS and my profile is only 2.1 MB.


Well I think I saw a VOIP speed test on this site. It will tell you how many simultaneous calls you qualify for.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20557070 Thu, 29 May 2008 10:44:13 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20557051 hockeynomad : OK, well les.net does use Asterisk so I gather they can assist in the setting up.

My DSL is TS and my profile is only 2.1 MB.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20557051 Thu, 29 May 2008 10:39:48 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556916 vmctec :
said by hockeynomad See Profile :

yes any downloading affect my voice quality. :(
What is SIP? That is your connection?
Well its why I haven't switched as some VOIPs require your own tweaking.
SIP is one of the VOIP protocols. All PAPs and VOIP phones use SIP, including Vonage, Les, voicenetwork and every other VOIP provider.

IAX2 is another VOIP protocol and it was designed for Inter-Asterisk-Exchnage, or trunking between two asterisk servers.

The bottom line is, IAX2 is way better for NATed connections.

With respect to the tweaking, the only tweaking I had to do is to set up traffic shaping on my firewall. This also takes care of downloads affecting your voice quality.

Oh, and my connection is Teksavvy DSL, 5 meg profile.

Hope that helps]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556916 Thu, 29 May 2008 10:14:45 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556853 hockeynomad : yes any downloading affect my voice quality. :(

I presently use Unitz with TS.

What is SIP? That is your connection?
Well its why I haven't switched as some VOIPs require your own tweaking.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556853 Thu, 29 May 2008 10:05:25 EDT Re: more details http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556818 Gokuu : never go porting numbers until you've tested out a provider. And from what others here have been saying, many of them using SIP are noticing throttling affecting their voip. Another reason why testing is vital.

said by hockeynomad See Profile :

Hi vmctec,

But which VOIP company is this?

to emoci: I have a 905 Streetsville (Mississauga) number.
Only a few can port this number, les.net and VOIP.ms are two.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556818 Thu, 29 May 2008 09:57:40 EDT Re: more details http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556810 vmctec :
said by hockeynomad See Profile :

Hi vmctec,

But which VOIP company is this?
voicenetwork.ca]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556810 Thu, 29 May 2008 09:54:46 EDT Re: more details http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556768 hockeynomad : Hi vmctec,

But which VOIP company is this?

to emoci: I have a 905 Streetsville (Mississauga) number.
Only a few can port this number, les.net and VOIP.ms are two.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556768 Thu, 29 May 2008 09:47:03 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556290 neko : I have been using Callcentric for a while now: BYOD/PAYG.

Inexpensive to get set up with them, they also have no contract.

At first the most local number to me was in Hamilton, however, I have noticed they now offer numbers in St Catharines.

Call quality (Incoming/Outgoing) has been great; running it with an unlocked PAP2-NA. They support Asterix/Trixbox too.

Web site is fantastic. Professional, easy to use, loads of features - Call forwarding, number blocking(great for telemarketers), auto block of anonymous callers, etc.

Someone in this thread mentioned no one can match Vonage features? As far as I know, you can't block numbers with Vonage. There are some other features you get with Callcentric (and other VOIP companies) that Vonage don't currently have as well.

$5 a month (that's including cost for DID) for my phone is the best deal I have found so far. They have great international rates.

There are some good providers mentioned in this thread, not any one VOIP company is the best. You just need to find one that suits your requirements. For me that's Callcentric.

Until someone else can offer me a St Catharines number, for approximately $5 a month with DID cost included, with PAYG/BYOD, I am sticking with them.

YMMV
--
...virtue gives you heraldry.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20556290 Thu, 29 May 2008 07:17:20 EDT Re: more details http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20555246 vmctec : To voicenetwork:

Sorry, did not check this thread in a while.

With regards to the money - I have DID with unlimited incoming for $1/mnth, termination is $.01/min in Canada and $.015 in the US.

I use an IAX2 trunk (up to 10 simultaneous calls) with my Asterisk.

Set up my boss's cottage with them - he's on the same money scheme, but he uses Grandstream GXP-2000 (a SIP phone) connecting to them directly. And the Boss is happy as well:)

Their site does look "simple" but I could care less as I look at it once a month to download my raw CDRs :).

Oh yeah, and I did a test once - me and my wifey were on two different calls at the same time as I was receiving a fax.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20555246 Wed, 28 May 2008 23:38:18 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20554207 emoci : What number are you trying to port....?

This is what I've got running right now (as a second line):

PAP2 registered to VoXalot Account with following inside:

1. VBuzzer 416 Number
2. MagicJack (Unlimited US/Canada)
3. InternetCalls (10 Euros every 4 months, gets me 300 min/week to their list of Free Countries + get to use the actual 10 Euros for other destinations)
4. CallWithUs Pay As You Go
5. CallCentric Pay As You Go
6. Bunch of other one-time-try providers

Costwise per year:
VBuzzer:$25 (416 Number + Unlimited Toronto Local)
InternetCalls: $30 Euro (300 min/week to US/CAD + most EU etc.)
VoXalot Premium: $25/year
Pay As you Go expenses: $25-$40 (we call back home a lot and CallWithUs and VBuzzer have been best for calling there)
MagicJack: $45 (don't know if I'll renew though...it doesn't seem worth it to me yet)
Comes to about $100-$130+/year (MagicJack was an extra this year though)

Takes a little work but I've got all the above accessible with CallTru and CallBack for the cellphones, so pretty much the second line handles all long distance as well

Overall it's been working ok, no major issues due to throttling....if I would pick anything anoying is that calls to Eastern Europe are hit and miss sometimes...but I don't think it's all the provider's fault in those cases]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20554207 Wed, 28 May 2008 19:49:17 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20552984 hockeynomad : *bump*]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20552984 Wed, 28 May 2008 16:09:05 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20544902 hockeynomad : Anybody out there use VOIP for their second phone line?

What is your experience?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20544902 Tue, 27 May 2008 09:41:31 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20541198 hockeynomad : As my number was portable to Les.net this was one of my choices, but I have backed off for now as user's expertise is definitely a prerequisite to get most out of this service.

I just determined I can port my number to VOIP.ms »www.voip.ms/. They seem to have the most competitive rates. They have been in VOIP since 2004 and launched VOIP.ms in 2007.
Anyone know about this company?

I would go with Callcentric but as yet my number is not portable.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20541198 Mon, 26 May 2008 12:34:25 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20535566 Gokuu : Unlimitel's pay as you go is geared towards resellers and business, therefore do not expect any/many frills with it. I am waiting to port my main 416 to Unlimitel, and I have tested a DID with them using TrixBox with fantastic voice quality and results. I got my linksys PAP2T working (using SIP), in 30 seconds, but you won't get any features other than incoming CID. This is what TrixBox is for.

I have also tested CallCentric (before Unlimitel) and eventually dropped them b/c of incoming call problems. Their support was good, but they eventually gave up and left me hanging. I have a few bucks left with them and will slowly use it up.

Thanks for your comments.

said by nonsuch See Profile :

Unlimitel - I finally gave in a couple of weeks ago and signed up for the pay-as-you-go service. So far I'm unimpressed - their web site is seriously lacking in details and I haven't had much luck getting any help from them to get my adapter to register with their system. I recognize now that it's mostly aimed at businesses and I would have signed up for their residential service if the pricing wasn't so weird -- long distance with the pay-as-you-go is much cheaper than with their residential plan. I'm going to try one last time this week to get some help getting my adapter up and working but I may just write them off.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20535566 Sat, 24 May 2008 22:37:14 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20535538 nonsuch : I've been floating for a while after leaving Primus but it looks like Rogers could be the culprit for me - I'm getting *tons* of packet loss with them and their support response was basically, "get stuffed - we don't support that on our network". GRR.

I'm trying "again" to switch back to Teksavvy after just over a year away as it looks like Bell finally upgraded my neighbourhood (High Park). Fingers crossed.

Here's my experiences so far - I've tried a number of companies!

Vonage - the first I went with, over three years ago. We finally gave up on them after my family out West and others complained of getting a lot of busy signals. We were with Teksavvy at the time.

Primus - Same issue as above - when Primus worked, it was good, but there were too many outages and issues with phone calls not being completed properly.

After this, we moved to where we are now and I had to switch to Rogers as I mentioned.

Callcentric - we have our "official" Toronto number with them right now, and the price is definitely good. Service has beeen up and down but as I mentioned I'm fairly convinced now that it's Rogers that's the issue. We shall see when we switch to Teksavvy. They do not have phone-based tech support but they are very helpful and prompt and I had very little problems getting my Linksys SPA2102 working with their service.

VOIPyourlife.com - I chose this company after reading a number of very positive reviews. They're based in the US but can support numbers throughout most of Canada. As with Callcentric the service has been up and down and most probably for the same reasons. Their tech support is by far the best I've seen - no scripts, no B.S., and they give you full control over the free adapter they provide if you ask for it. I'll update this and the Callcentric review once we've switched back to TSI (assuming that works out well).

VBuzzer - Another cheap service, quality is okay, but the support is pretty weak. I never was able to get voicemail working with their service and it seems from other posts I've read this isn't an unusual issue. They weren't a lot of help. Still, for people on a budget who run Windows and are looking for a "skype"-like replacement, this might work for you.

Unlimitel - I finally gave in a couple of weeks ago and signed up for the pay-as-you-go service. So far I'm unimpressed - their web site is seriously lacking in details and I haven't had much luck getting any help from them to get my adapter to register with their system. I recognize now that it's mostly aimed at businesses and I would have signed up for their residential service if the pricing wasn't so weird -- long distance with the pay-as-you-go is much cheaper than with their residential plan. I'm going to try one last time this week to get some help getting my adapter up and working but I may just write them off.

Another issue that wasn't explained on their site whatsoever is they cannot port numbers at the moment because, according to the woman I spoke to there, "we're in the middle of switching providers". If I had known that ahead of time I probably would have not signed up.

At any rate, I'm sure they're great once you get everything working but they definitely have a long ways to go before they can match CallCentric or some of the other sites for end-user support.

Hope this is useful to someone!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20535538 Sat, 24 May 2008 22:27:05 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20529398 hockeynomad : "After that you can buy a DID. Attach that DID to your peer, and you will receive calls to that DID. You can attach multiple DIDs to the same peer (I have a 613 and a 647 DID to the same peer)."

When you say multiple peers, it that free calls for those calling you from those aread codes?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20529398 Fri, 23 May 2008 13:42:56 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20475489 Gokuu : Being "local" is irrelevant with VoIP and IP based networks. For example, voicenetwork.ca is a local "company" based outside Toronto, but they charge in $US.

I'm sticking with Unlimitel w/ TrixBox.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20475489 Tue, 13 May 2008 13:07:26 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20475271 infamouskid : because the options of regular analog with bell dont match the value and configuration options i can achieve with voip
--
"carpe diem"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20475271 Tue, 13 May 2008 12:24:59 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20474705 Gokuu : why does that matter? Unlimitel is based in Ottawa and the latency is excellent. Why don't you just get a landline with Bell - that's in Toronto! :P

said by infamouskid See Profile :

any voip alterns with pay by the minute and a server in toronto. i want something local.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20474705 Tue, 13 May 2008 10:42:36 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20473620 infamouskid : any voip alterns with pay by the minute and a server in toronto. i want something local.
--
"carpe diem"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20473620 Tue, 13 May 2008 01:55:34 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20473601 SheeB : I have had Callcentric now for about 6 months with TS and quite often I get fast busies when calling out or error messages. Tech support says that its the local routing that is an issue or something yet an hour later it may be perfectly fine. Have not apparently had any issues on incoming calls though. There trouble ticket support system works decent I have found with all the tickets I have logged anyways.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20473601 Tue, 13 May 2008 01:48:26 EDT Re: more details http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20469262 anon :
said by Gokuu See Profile :

IAX2 or SIP trunks?

Glad it's working out.

Their website looks like a 1 man show, with no indication of LNP and even basic company information.

Do you pay as you go? How does their payment system work?

said by vmctec See Profile :

Wanted to share my 2 cents: I am with »www.voicenetwork.ca. Signed up (for just DID, not the flat plan)in August 2007. Back then they had 647 DIDs for $1.00/mnth. Configured my Asterisk (Elastix distro) trunks and NEVER HAD TO TOUCH IT AGAIN. The setup worked flawlessly with both Rogers and now Teksavvy.

Certainly recommend them.
»portal.voicenetwork.ca/PortalUsa···age.html]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20469262 Mon, 12 May 2008 11:06:59 EDT more details http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20451112 Gokuu : IAX2 or SIP trunks?

Glad it's working out.

Their website looks like a 1 man show, with no indication of LNP and even basic company information.

Do you pay as you go? How does their payment system work?

said by vmctec See Profile :

Wanted to share my 2 cents: I am with »www.voicenetwork.ca. Signed up (for just DID, not the flat plan)in August 2007. Back then they had 647 DIDs for $1.00/mnth. Configured my Asterisk (Elastix distro) trunks and NEVER HAD TO TOUCH IT AGAIN. The setup worked flawlessly with both Rogers and now Teksavvy.

Certainly recommend them.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20451112 Thu, 08 May 2008 11:45:50 EDT Re: Callcentric's Dashboard http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20449491 vmctec : Wanted to share my 2 cents: I am with »www.voicenetwork.ca. Signed up (for just DID, not the flat plan)in August 2007. Back then they had 647 DIDs for $1.00/mnth. Configured my Asterisk (Elastix distro) trunks and NEVER HAD TO TOUCH IT AGAIN. The setup worked flawlessly with both Rogers and now Teksavvy.

Certainly recommend them.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20449491 Thu, 08 May 2008 00:30:57 EDT Callcentric's Dashboard http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448889 Gokuu :
Click for full size
main dashboard
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448889 Wed, 07 May 2008 22:39:47 EDT Re: More details please http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448796 Gokuu : Try g711u. Maybe you can post a screenshot of their dashboard for everyone to see?

Keep us posted.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448796 Wed, 07 May 2008 22:24:12 EDT Re: More details please http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448759 vonnaone : I've only used G729a. I am using SIP and a PAP2T ATA. With callcentric I didn't try using the 711 codec...I guess I never really thought to mess with the codecs. I haven't noticed any degredation w/ voip.ms during throttle time. Then again I don't download torrents so maybe I'm targeted for throttling.

I'll probably test voip.ms for another month or 2 and they try porting my number. I did set my ATA to connect to their MTL server which gives me 18ms pings. If your in CDN don't use their Texas servers as the ping times are quite high.

I'll update in a few weeks and let you know how the service goes.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448759 Wed, 07 May 2008 22:15:43 EDT More details please http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448560 Gokuu : I noticed the same delays in placing calls with Callcentric as well. Voice quality was excellent, but you have to be using g711u, whereas they like to get people to configure G729a (lower bandwidth) as their main codec.

What codec are you using with voip.ms? I assume you are using SIP and some ATA?

Other users here have noticed voip call quality issues during throttle times using SIP. Are you calls problem free during this time?



said by vonnaone See Profile :

I've been using voip.ms for a month. I have no complaints with them other than their tech support takes about 24 hours to get back to you. Call quality is great, even on their discount call routing. Features are a bit limited compared to callcentric but I think they are going to continue adding them over time.

Callcentric for me just didn't cut it. The sound quality was poor and there was quite a lag time when initiating calls. SWMBO vetoed the callcentric service so now we're testing voip.ms which seems to be making the grade.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448560 Wed, 07 May 2008 21:36:37 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448070 vonnaone : I've been using voip.ms for a month. I have no complaints with them other than their tech support takes about 24 hours to get back to you. Call quality is great, even on their discount call routing. Features are a bit limited compared to callcentric but I think they are going to continue adding them over time.

Callcentric for me just didn't cut it. The sound quality was poor and there was quite a lag time when initiating calls. SWMBO vetoed the callcentric service so now we're testing voip.ms which seems to be making the grade.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20448070 Wed, 07 May 2008 20:10:26 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447710 ultracat :
said by Guspaz See Profile :

So, with VBuzzer, I would pay less to call a random person in China than my next-door neighbour. Right...

They also seem to require you to use their Windows application (and don't support 911). This can't be used as a VoIP phone line. It's skype-like at best.
This is not true, but I can see how you guessed this since vbuzzer has always had a terrible public website. Not being racist, but I think they are Chinese (not good writing web content in English) and primarly target the Chinese community in Toronto, but of course they'll take anyone's money : )

I've used vbuzzer for my home phone for almost 2 years now. You can use your vbuzzer VOIP number with an ATA (I use a Sipura 1001) and connect your regular telephone to that. It's BYOD with vbuzzer, so you can use whatever you like. A lot of people use an unlocked version of the Linksys ATA that Vonage uses. I pay a flat $25 a year for a (416) number. I comes with a few features like voicemail, caller id, etc. I'm used to paying around $2.00 a month for telephone service now, so even if it has a few flaws, I'm not really willing to pay another company more than say $5.00 a month and leave vbuzzer. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447710 Wed, 07 May 2008 18:55:17 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447649 anon : Unlimitel automatically refills the $50 bucket when it gets to $0 unless you tell them not to]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447649 Wed, 07 May 2008 18:42:18 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447486 morisato : I;ve been Using Vonage for 3 years now I called Recently to Ask about why i am paying 40 when they offer the same service for 25 us. and i barely got the words out of my mouth and they offered me 1 year of Credits, and to reduce my price to 24.99 for the Unlimited. I;ve found the service to be great I;ve even called 911 twice using it and Had no issues My Only real issue is after u call 911 your phone rings for about an hour or so endlessly Until The 911 center has it resolved. Took the firedept 5 mins or so The first time Saved My barn from Burning down and The Second time it was also about 5 minutes Managed to get out of my house before the Gas leak killed us all :) Lovely fun at my place!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447486 Wed, 07 May 2008 18:07:05 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447176 emoci : If you are going to go with MagicJack, check the pricing,I think it comes slightly cheaper if you order from the magicjack.com site....or see eBay

They are not bad, except that there is no Canadian DIDs yet....and if you put in the work it seems it is possible to actually get the SIP Details and use it with your own ATA (pm me if it comes to this)

Lastly read this forum »unofficialmagicjack.forum2u.org/

Experiences seem mixed....it is definitely not a replacement for your landline, but a good sidekick I would say]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447176 Wed, 07 May 2008 17:10:02 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20446753 fourboxers : From their site

quote:
NOTE: When Canadians purchase a magic jack they will be required to register an American number, and will be able to enjoy all the benefits of FREE LONG DISTANCE. When the Canadian exchanges are available they will be able to change there number to suit there area.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20446753 Wed, 07 May 2008 16:00:45 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20446428 delius : »www.themagicjack.ca/about.html
anyone tried this i am very tempted]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20446428 Wed, 07 May 2008 15:09:46 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20446232 ppdh : Currently using Atlasvoice here over TSI dryDSL. Works very well for 15$. I have ported my Bell number to them 1.5year ago. Ping to their SIP server around 17ms ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20446232 Wed, 07 May 2008 14:36:55 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20445434 anon : I have been with Comwave for roughly a year and have been satisfied. Prices range from $10 to $30 a month. Long distance is very reasonable if you don't choose the unlimited.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20445434 Wed, 07 May 2008 12:17:52 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20445232 anon : VoIP.ms use the same carrier than Unlimitel.ca (inside source), and VoIP.ms has a great interface, actually much better than their website. They port fast, they have live chat , and good technical support. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20445232 Wed, 07 May 2008 11:45:23 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20423438 ibean : I've been using Link2VoIP since last year with Asterisk and several Linksys SPA ATAs over my Teksavvy home connection. No real issues so far. It's been reliable and it's inexpensive. They began offering LNP recently if that matters to anyone.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20423438 Fri, 02 May 2008 20:47:27 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20420750 emoci : I think you need to break this down:

Companies that are likely to port your number:

-Les.net - mixed reviews on service,in the sense that it is not as plug and play for the first time user as it should be. However if you know your way around and just want a reliable numbe rfor incming calls, they work well
-Unlimitel.ca - a lot of good words about these guys, but the only option seems to be to use the number with pay=per-minute forincoming

Companies known for relative reliability:
CallCentric.com
CallWithUs.com

Both provide DIDs and a no-nonsense GUI for managment. Chances are you can do some reasonable testing on both before spending any major money

Good Deals:
VBuzzer.com: The VoIP service for VBuzzer is pretty stable (and yes it can be used on an ATA, not just SoftPhone). The Customer Service hasn't always beenthere. Lately though things have been picking up. Requests are being handled within 24 hours, and Call FW and Call Forking features have added. With an DID at $2.26 (with tax in) it is a pretty good deal. If you are in toronto, for $25/year you can get yourself a 416 DID plus Unlimited Local calling for a year (so far that local been confirmed to include 647/416, most 905 in Missisauga and Oakville)

Companies to consider for LD services:
BetaMax: Despite some of the horror stories when things work, they work well....

What if I want to pick and chose:

If you wanna combine things to get the best out of many offers, like and Incoming from Les, with LD from CallWithUs, and US/Canada/LD with one of the FreeDays Offers from BetaMax then look at aggregating platforms:

VoXalot.com
PBXes.com
MySipSwitch.com

Last but not leat, as someone above me said, unfortnately not one single VSP out there is 100% reliable just yet (including Vonage) but some come close]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20420750 Fri, 02 May 2008 11:19:57 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20420446 anon : tried several voip\ i far as i am concerned no one can match vonage.ca 24.95cad unlimited usa/can/w europe
[normally 39.95] best quality u can adjust it yourself as earlier post says 30.60.90kbs no one else offers that
pls so many features the oths dont offer
someone else mentioned their servers/cust service are local in mississauga]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20420446 Fri, 02 May 2008 10:17:04 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20420354 Gokuu : Livadia,

Thanks for digging up the info on voip.ms. I'm not really interested in the lowest dirt cheap rates, since those providers generally don't last long (look at all of the victims in the US), and the service usually sucks.

I'm currently test Unlimitel a la carte with TrixBox CE and using an IAX2 trunk w/ g711u. Fantastic quality and results so far. They are currently undergoing some major upgrades with Bell and will have LNP back in late May or early June. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20420354 Fri, 02 May 2008 09:57:09 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20417214 Livadia :
said by hockeynomad See Profile :

Not yet, but I've heard from one source on VOIP.ms and several on les.net.

Both have been in busienss for around 10 years and for VOIP that may say a lot.
Well, I checked the VOIP.ms (I did not know of them until now). They may be in business since 1999, but in VoIP business only since last year. Their business record shows they started quite a few companies that were sold after a short time and this VoIP business is their latest endeavour.

By this, I do not want to imply they are not good. I just do not know. But they have not been in VoIP business for 10 years, as the previous post implied.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20417214 Thu, 01 May 2008 16:00:42 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20416658 hockeynomad : Not yet, but I've heard from one source on VOIP.ms and several on les.net.

Both have been in busienss for around 10 years and for VOIP that may say a lot.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20416658 Thu, 01 May 2008 13:57:29 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20416474 Gokuu : Are you using/testing them?

said by hockeynomad See Profile :

Another cheap alternate is »www.voip.ms/

They've been i business since 1999.

Good pay as you go rate $1.99 per month + $.0149 inbound

$8.95 per month flat
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20416474 Thu, 01 May 2008 13:23:00 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20416143 hockeynomad : Another cheap alternate is »www.voip.ms/

They've been i business since 1999.

Good pay as you go rate $1.99 per month + $.0149 inbound

$8.95 per month flat ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20416143 Thu, 01 May 2008 12:24:21 EDT Testing Unlimitel now http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20353897 Gokuu : I borrowed an Unlimitel a la carte DiD from my friend and I'm currently testing it with my PAP2T. So far it works great, and only took me 5 seconds to setup. Looking at trying Asterisk now to get all of the features possible, although I could just get away with running the ATA and use my old answering machine.

I was able to receive both caller ID number and name on this test DiD.

I know that Unlimitel charges the $50 blocks for the a la carte. Do they auto "refill" after a certain threshold, or when the balance hits 0?

said by unlimitelisgood :

Unlimitel got their system working with Caller ID (sending and receiving) in January. Only numbers show up on my phone, I don't know if it sends my name correctly.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20353897 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:59:08 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20350980 beamer69 :
said by Livadia See Profile :

said by beamer69 See Profile :

No idea why but I get about 4 beeps before I get a dial tone.
Isn't it a voice mail notification?
:o bloody hell you are right :D Well like I said no one calls my home line but I guess I had left a voice mail while calling myself and testing it. I figured out the voice mail and now no more beeps :p

Thanks!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20350980 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:50:06 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20349987 anon : Unlimitel got their system working with Caller ID (sending and receiving) in January. Only numbers show up on my phone, I don't know if it sends my name correctly.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20349987 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:15:22 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20349833 LittleStone :
said by Gokuu See Profile :

So I guess you are just using a basic voip line a la carte and an answering machine for your "voice mail"? Do you get callerID sent to your phone in this setup?
Most providers targeting Asterisk users would have every possible feature, particularly CID, included. I couldn't find it but back then when I was picking a VoIP provider I came across that Unlimitel's a la carte includes callerID too.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20349833 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:45:33 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20349576 d25m03p :
said by Guspaz See Profile :

So, with VBuzzer, I would pay less to call a random person in China than my next-door neighbour. Right...

They also seem to require you to use their Windows application (and don't support 911). This can't be used as a VoIP phone line. It's skype-like at best.
I use vBuzzer and have been mostly (99%) pleased with their service. Their windows softphone is not a Skype type phone - it is a proper SIP softphone though it is only usable with their service. If you want to use other phones (BYOD) as I do (I started off with a Grandstream BT100, but now use my Asterisk system), their forums are quite helpful in setting up the BYOD devices.

However, to call another vBuzzer user from a non-vBuzzer device, the vBuzzer user should have a DID attached to their account. Which I do.

Their service is ideal for my needs - especially when the wife needs to phone family in China.

Regard vBuzzer as a second line VoIP provider, not a primary line.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20349576 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:59:48 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20349501 Livadia :
said by beamer69 See Profile :

No idea why but I get about 4 beeps before I get a dial tone.
Isn't it a voice mail notification?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20349501 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:45:01 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20348409 Gokuu : So I guess you are just using a basic voip line a la carte and an answering machine for your "voice mail"? Do you get callerID sent to your phone in this setup?

said by unlimitelisgood :

I agree that unlimitel is not interested in your device. You are on your own there. Especially for Unlimitel's a la carte. They obviously provide most of their service to businesses. It was pretty easy to set up my pap2. I had to fool with the hang up settings to get my radioshack answering service to work right, but besides that everything worked fine.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20348409 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:08:13 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20348267 LittleStone : I have considered Unlimitel too. The $50 was the reason I didn't go with them.

Anyway, these VoIP providers geared towards Asterisk users usually focus business and wholesale customers. You can still use ATAs with them as long as you know what you are doing. Some of them do go for the extra mile to debug problems with you. I use ATAs (IP8100 and SPA3K) and the default settings usually work (minor adjustment to improve call quality).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20348267 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:39:53 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20348085 anon : I agree that unlimitel is not interested in your device. You are on your own there. Especially for Unlimitel's a la carte. They obviously provide most of their service to businesses. It was pretty easy to set up my pap2. I had to fool with the hang up settings to get my radioshack answering service to work right, but besides that everything worked fine.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20348085 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:54:24 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20346757 beamer69 : Well right now I am using two providers. »www.acanac.ca and »www.callcentric.com.

This is how I use my land line. No one ever calls it or even knows it, everyone calls my cell. I use it simply as it feels better holding a normal phone then my cell plus during day time to reduce my minutes on my cell.

So considering that I only need voip for out going calls I have only very limited testing of incoming calls on acanac. However they have worked fine for my limited testing. They can't port my number.

Here is what I have found:

Callcentric if you don't use your phone much is about the cheapest. Didn't work at all till I changed the codec to one that used more band with. No 911 but they can port your number.

Acanac I got a free number for a year, with some limits (local calls only and LD to a few cities in Canada) but heck it is free for a year so not complaining. No idea why but I get about 4 beeps before I get a dial tone. Sound quality is like a land line and a bit better then Callcentric.

One voip provider I am interested in (not for my home line) is »www.peopleline.net if you happen to live in Vancouver they have a real store on Main near 15th. You can give them a credit card imprint and they will give you a PAP2 voip adapter for a couple days and charge you $5 so you can try out their service. They sell unlocked voip adapters or you can use your own. They also have the feature where you can set it up so you can call into a number they give you and from your cell then place a LD call through their service.

I emailed a very complex question about converting a small office including PBX and questions about faxing. I was surprised, I got a very detailed reply answering all my questions and still plan to test them out.

I have found little info or reviews about them but their customer service from my emails and going into the store has been very good.

I can't comment on how good their service is as I haven't tried them yet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20346757 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:50:40 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20346423 Gokuu : A friend of mine uses them as well with good results, but he's running an Asterisk box 24/7 - something I want to avoid.

Unless you plan on using Asterisk/Trixbox, don't bother. When I emailed them about using an ATA, they didn't seem interested in my business.

said by unlimitelisgood :

I use unlimitel's a la carte service out here in ottawa. You pay per minute for both incoming and outgoing. But I found it the most affordable for my phone use.

Their call quality is good. Their website is OK, and has been upgraded lately. They always email with any problems they are having with their system. (which really isn't that often). There can port numbers for lots of locations in Ontario.

One note, they aren't tester friendly. You need to pre-pay $50 for minutes and that is not refundable. I took the leap and they have been great. -- If you dont want to port your toronto # right away, you should be able to get a number to try and then just switch it.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20346423 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:56:06 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20345867 anon : I use unlimitel's a la carte service out here in ottawa. You pay per minute for both incoming and outgoing. But I found it the most affordable for my phone use.

Their call quality is good. Their website is OK, and has been upgraded lately. They always email with any problems they are having with their system. (which really isn't that often). There can port numbers for lots of locations in Ontario.

One note, they aren't tester friendly. You need to pre-pay $50 for minutes and that is not refundable. I took the leap and they have been great. -- If you dont want to port your toronto # right away, you should be able to get a number to try and then just switch it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20345867 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:21:03 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344827 codecx : At any rate, keep this convo going.. I'm gonna ride TS VoIP into the ground....but one day I will need alternative. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344827 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:04:57 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344783 Guspaz : So, with VBuzzer, I would pay less to call a random person in China than my next-door neighbour. Right...

They also seem to require you to use their Windows application (and don't support 911). This can't be used as a VoIP phone line. It's skype-like at best.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344783 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:57:59 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344729 codecx : I heard someone mention »www.vbuzzer.com/ Might be worth checking out.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344729 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:48:19 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344558 LittleStone : Les.net does have it's small share of outage and a short period when the service level went down a bit. I wasn't too happy for a couple of technical issues (one DID was out for the whole weekend because of the upstream provider from hell) but that's the exception. My company's PBX went down more often than that.

Given that it's basically a phone company (I think they offer landlines in Winnipeg area) they are gonna to be here for a long time. I signed up when I lived in Winnipeg, so if things went wrong I could literally walk down to Les's office and smacked him. :-) You can't say the same thing about 90% of VoIP companies.

Gokuu's experience is not unique though. LNP was relatively new in Canada, there would be issues. The reliability could be close to landlines, but not surpassing landlines without significant cost.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344558 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:15:03 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344344 Ikarasu : I find quite the opposite actually.

Les.net is more for the advanced users, who don't want a simple plug-play device. They're the most configurable, and with an Asterisk box...you can pretty much do whatever you want. their lack of Website GUI reflects on this, as Asterisk has most of it's features built into it.

If you can get past the billing options, and willing to invest in some time setting up your VoIP, Les.net is one of the most customizeable/reliable ones you can get. They've been around for a long time, and will probably still be around when Vonage and all the other plug and play VoIP operators dissapear. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344344 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:36:59 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344248 hockeynomad : and another VOIP in Mississauga

»voipgo.ca

$18 per month, or $12.95 if pay annually

no idea on quality]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20344248 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:20:44 EDT VoIP..will it ever improve? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20336601 Gokuu : From my limited experience (~1.5 months), there is no single voip provider that can/will satisfy everyone. I originally wanted to port my 416 number to voip, since I only make a few calls each month, and very little LD. The idea of a pay as you go scheme looked like the best way to go. CallCentric was one of the *few* voip providers that provided this, and allow one to BYOD (bring your own device). Their dashboard was wonderful, and I was setup in no time. Alas, I noticed incoming busy signal problem (using 647 DID). While support worked with me for almost 1.5 weeks, in the end they sent it to their "provisioning deepartment", and nothing ever happened. That ticket was basically abandoned. I asked them 3 times what was going on, and I was ignored.

So I decided to drop my DID before and use up the remaining balance I had for outgoing voip calls, since their rates are some of the lowest around.

During my Voip learning/research, I stumbled upon many people in the USA who were on their 3rd or 4th Voip provider in a few years. It seemed that companies would start something, but then fade as customers joined and used the cut-throat priced service. Eventually the companies went out of business, or their service degraded heavily. Even Google's Beta GrandCentral voip phone service had a major outage over the weekend.

Even large players like Vonage are on the verge of disappearing. There are a few people on these forum with TSI who have had problems with Primus as well.

I was quite excited and interested in going the voip route, but after my experience, I have come to realize it really is no substitute for a landline with dial tone. Until things change, I'm probably keeping voip only for outgoing LD calls.

Good luck with your les.net trials. Keep us posted on your results! :)

said by hockeynomad See Profile :

Callcentric has been one of my first options; but at this point they cannot yet port my 905 number and they may not have 911 dialing in my area, though I am not certain on this.

Either way, I have already gone the VOIP route and the current VOIP provider I use Unitz has been less than stellar. Its not wonder Teksavvy no longer takes additional VOIP business.

At least with les.net I can have a low cost DID, for my hassles. Or I can wait till when Callcentric enters my 905 way.

Thanks for all the input. :)
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20336601 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:37:10 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20336331 hockeynomad : Callcentric has been one of my first options; but at this point they cannot yet port my 905 number and they may not have 911 dialing in my area, though I am not certain on this.

Either way, I have already gone the VOIP route and the current VOIP provider I use Unitz has been less than stellar. Its not wonder Teksavvy no longer takes additional VOIP business.

At least with les.net I can have a low cost DID, for my hassles. Or I can wait till when Callcentric enters my 905 way.

Thanks for all the input. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20336331 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:23:41 EDT Re: Les.net - my thoughts http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20335490 LittleStone : If you want to try the call quality, you can try using another sip device to call directly to sip:xxxxxxxxxx@sip-in.les.net. That should be free.

I haven't used CallCentric so I can't compare. Your description of les.net is quite accurate though. After two years, I still haven't seen the TOS. Well, more than 2 years ago when I signed up there were not many choices to get Canadian DIDs dirt cheap.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20335490 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:53:37 EDT Les.net - my thoughts http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20335386 Gokuu : Ok. I registered an account and logged in to check things out. My first impressions were that of disappointment. I managed to get my PAP2T to register with their service, but I have no way of testing, unless I plunk down $25. Which then brings me to payments. Unless you are willing to use Paypal (as a registered and verified user) you are stuck waiting for 14 days for payment to "clear". Should you wish to use a credit card, you have to print and fax (long distance to Montreal), this credit card authorization form. They then add $0.25 + 3% to your bill. Also, if you go this route, you have to notify them in WRITING, otherwise they will occasionally charge your credit card. You can also use EMT money transfers, but most likely you will get dinged with a service fee from your bank.

As others have noted, their website is horrid, and ironically you have a link to a survey after you login, asking for input about their interface and options.

Activating your account requires you to phone toll free and enter your account and ivr codes. Confirmation system emails were significantly delayed. I received an email confirming my activation over 30 minutes later. While the site does have toll free phone support during business hours, the site has very rudimentary support information available to configure your devices. Once you, one gets the feeling this operation is dealing with a very small and limited client base.

Would I invest my time and risk $25 to try them. Nope. Would I port my sacred 416 land line over. God no.

Sadly, les.net looks like another voip hobbiest style site, catering to voip "tinkerers" who want no frills and low pricing. You can find lower rates and superior web interface/experience from other voip providers.

After using and trialing CallCentric, les.net is joke. You would think a business operating since 1996 would have a more professional payment and e-commerce arrangement.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20335386 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:28:25 EDT Codecs http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20334711 Gokuu : Thanks for the info. What codes are supported? Which codec have you been using thus far?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20334711 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:21:33 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20334527 LittleStone : You can just sign up an account (free) on their website and you will see what they have after you login. All configurations are done on the website. Nearly all basic features like call Display, voicemail, are included. One feature les.net offer is you set your own CID. It's a prepaid service. You send money by Paypal, credit cards, or email money transfer (check the payment tab after login). Minimum deposit is $25.00. GST for all Canadians and also PST if you are in Manitoba.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20334527 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:58:20 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20334414 Gokuu : Can you elaborate on what calling features you have with les.net? Is there some kind of "dashboard" to configure/check settings? How do you pay for your service?

said by LittleStone See Profile :

From the Sympatico's account, the ping time to did.voip.les.net is 23ms.
Click for full size
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20334414 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:39:33 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20334387 LittleStone : Sorry, I haven't switched to TSI yet (still shopping for dsl modem). From the Sympatico's account, the ping time to did.voip.les.net is 23ms.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20334387 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:34:51 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20331332 hockeynomad : TS no longer offers the Dry DSL/VOIP and when I call tech support, only two of entire staff is still knowledgable of VOIP, and one of those is defineitely not always in. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20331332 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:18:49 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20331317 theninjasqua :
said by hockeynomad See Profile :

Gokuu,

I havn't signed up yet. I have some more questions to ask the suppport about calling features, etc, but what tech support questions should I ask?

With TS dry-DSL I will still be able to monitor the line stats?

I need to move to another VOIP carrier as TS is supporting this less and less now.
What do you mean about TS supporting less and less Voip?
--

-theninjasquad]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20331317 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:15:42 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20331111 hockeynomad : Gokuu,

I havn't signed up yet. I have some more questions to ask the suppport about calling features, etc, but what tech support questions should I ask?

With TS dry-DSL I will still be able to monitor the line stats?

I need to move to another VOIP carrier as TS is supporting this less and less now.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20331111 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:27:58 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20330948 Gokuu : You are right about the website! Doesn't exactly inspire confidence. ;)

The total lack of information is surprising. I don't see anything mentioned about features such as CID or even a means of controlling your account settings and features. How do you pay, and what are the minimum acceptable payments?

How is your latency to their SIP server from your TSI connection? How many hops do you see?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20330948 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:54:47 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20330820 LittleStone : That's just terminology. The setup of Les.net is quite flexible, suitable for people using Asterisk.

You need to create a SIP peer first. That will be your SIP registration account. It handles all outbound and inbound traffic (format of sip:xxxxxxxxxx@sip-in.les.net where xxxxxxxxxx is the peer name) If you want the details of how to set up your ATA, create a peer first. Then you will see the Sipura/Linksys/Asterisk example settings for your device.

After that you can buy a DID. Attach that DID to your peer, and you will receive calls to that DID. You can attach multiple DIDs to the same peer (I have a 613 and a 647 DID to the same peer).

It's the most basic set up. There're more things to play around (like PSTN peer, simple PBX, etc.) The web page may not have all the details, but you can always call the support during work hours (not 24/7 though).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20330820 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:24:28 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20330710 hockeynomad : Les.net uses DIDs to receive incoming calls and
outgoing calls use Termination.

Is this a similar setup to other VOIPs?

Never heard of Termination.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20330710 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:50:35 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20319091 hockeynomad : OK, I just contacted Les.net, thanks for that info, and they DO port my Mississauga number! No signup fees, and rates in Toronto area are $3.50 + .011 cents for outbound and 0.015 for inbound calls. Flat rates are $8.88 per month.

Definitely a great deal, and no signup fees.

www.les.net

My quick web search seems to conclude an overall satisfaction with their service.

I called their tech support and was there in two minutes.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20319091 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:28:54 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20319059 kbray : Primus is available for cheap, if you don't want unlimited LD... $29 is just their best deal.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20319059 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:24:17 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318974 Guspaz : Another to consider: Téliphone (»www.teliphone.ca/en/)

Yeah, umm, they sponsored a LAN party I was at a few years ago, and that model they use in their advertisements was there... *cough*]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318974 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:09:26 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318921 codecx : ok, yea here was the page that I originally signed up from...dated March 10/07

As far as I know, only my internet has increased in price. But an email went out about that when it happened.

»web.archive.org/web/200703091556···ombo.htm

Still, I'll check my bill and see if its increased at all.

I remember that I was originally signed up for Premium but I reversed it when I realized there was a cap.. but it remained bundled.

It really really sucks that Teksavvy gave up on VoIP. But I was under the impression that it was too finicky to support a large user-base. Our loss really :(

But I plan to hold out on it til the bitter end..]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318921 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:58:50 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318888 anon : using vonage for 4yrs 19.95cad nobody can match their features
19.95 restricted to 500 min outbound/unlimited inbound
free l/d canada/usa
never had a quality issue even with bell thottling
u can set bandwith to 30/60/90 kbs which i dont think anyone else offers]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318888 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:49:56 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318836 codecx : I think its 14.95

I'll check my invoice! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318836 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:40:15 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318782 hockeynomad : You are paying $14.95 for the same Unitz VOIP I am using? I currently pay $19.99. am I being ripped? ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318782 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:29:12 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318728 codecx : I've had no real issues with my Teksavvy VoIP... Sometimes calls go straight to voicemail, or... if I am heavy downloading torrents (something tells me this won't be a problem anymore...) the bandwidth sometimes makes the call crackle out.. but if I moderate my usage everything seems fine.

Honestly, it sucks that they turned away from it and towards residential phone. I hate paying that large cost for such an antiquated system.

free calls to anywhere in Ontario (..where all of both my wifes and my family live) and all those extra call features like forwarding, caller ID.. call waiting etc etc for 14.95.. its freaking awesome.

I've yet to encounter any service that compares.

IrisTel looks to give unlimited minutes for all of N. America for an extra $20/mo on top of whatever package you get.. I don't know how they are with customer support, but one good way to find out is calling their tech support up before you've subscribed and seeing how long wait times are, how knowledgable the tech is... and just outright asking them "I'm a potential customer, just seeing what level of service I can expect from you."

They'll be honest and you'll be able to judge their intelligence by how they answer.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318728 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:17:48 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318662 LittleStone : A Winnipeg company, les.net. I think you can port numbers to them. This company sponsored many dial-in numbers to sipbrokers.com. It was a small company, the website is not very business like, but it has been serving me okay for the last 2 years. You can use anything SIP/IAX with them.

But there were instances their upstream providers are not as stable as one would like, so don't port your extra critical numbers there.

»www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/les.net]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318662 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:06:18 EDT Re: Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318533 Gokuu : Babytel is not $5/month. More like $10.95/month for pay as you go.

Callcentric has a pay as you go plan with $5 minimum top ups and $1.95/month DID's for incoming calls.

I tested a 647 number with Callcentric and discovered incoming busy problems with them during certain times of the day and night. This was before the throttling btw. I ended up ditching the Callcentric DID and will only use the service for outgoing calls. Their minute rates are consistently lower than most providers - Canadian VoIP providers are much higher.

One thing to keep in mind with Callcentric is that you are billed in $US, they have no e911 for Canada, and no voice support. Their online dashboard and ticket system is excellent.

I tried to give voip a chance, but given all the throttling and potential future Internet problems, I'm going to stick with my landline. Who knows, I may even pay the $25 fee to transfer to TSI Home Phone, just to stick it to Bell.

said by hockeynomad See Profile :

I know Babytel and Callcentric start at $5 per month, but I cannot port my number as yet, but I just may get a new number.

There are two other VOIP companies, G3 Telecom »www.g3telecom.com/talkIP.aspx and
Iristel with HD VOIP, whatever that is; »www.iristel.ca/browse.php/page/49

Anyone had experience with those two chaps?
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318533 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:39:21 EDT Alternate VOIP companies http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318400 hockeynomad : I am one of those few souls who still has TS dry-loop and VOIP combo packages, but with the intermittent troubles with the Unix VOIP, I am looking at other options, that have to be cheaper as well. That was the whole point.

I know the Primus Talkbroadband is probably one of the best but it comes at $29 per month, even though loaded with features.

I know Babytel and Callcentric start at $5 per month, but I cannot port my number as yet, but I just may get a new number.

There are two other VOIP companies, G3 Telecom »www.g3telecom.com/talkIP.aspx and
Iristel with HD VOIP, whatever that is; »www.iristel.ca/browse.php/page/49

Anyone had experience with those two chaps?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20318400 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:11:40 EDT