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Phone/SMS system for business+personal >Tested sendhub, RC, VoxoxNOTE: In next post I talk about my experience my the tested solutions Hi guys, I'll start to travel a lot in the next few months and I'd like to set up a more functional and versatile phone system. The ultimate traveler's phone system The goal is to have personal and business phone numbers in three different countries/cities. That would give me 6 phone numbers. I wouldn't want to give out my personal number to clients so I can set up forwarding rules for instance. I want to be able to use and manage those 6 different phone numbers in an easy and intuitive way (i.e. manage calling from different outbound numbers. see point 1 below) and a solid SMS/MMS service is essential to my work. Price is not my main issue here. Call quality, reliability, good iOS experience, SMS/MMS and a full-featured solution to manage different numbers are my priorities. Usually, free services have poor call quality and reliability, at least to my knowledge. Here's what I'm after in detail: 1. Multiple numbers in different countries behavior & features By having 6 different numbers, I hope to find a system that will be "intelligent" or advanced enough to determine which outbound number to use by default in different circumstances, while also providing me with a manual way to do so. For instance when I want to call back someone using the call log the system would choose by default the outbound number used to call me. (If I miss a call from someone who tried to reach me on my canadian phone when I'd call them back it would choose the same canadian number the person used to call me, even if my recent calls have been placed with another number). For placing a call without the use of the Call Log, the system would detect if I'm calling someone from my personal or work contacts (thus it will use my personal or business phone number) and detect what country/city I'm calling to and choose the nearest number as the default outbound number. E.g. When placing a call to a friend in NY, the system would select my outbound personal NY number, even though I'm in Europe and last calls I've been making have been for work. I call also manually select or change my outbound number of course. Ideally the system would also detect where I am via GPS and it would use the default number closer to my location, UNLESS I'm calling someone using the Call Log (it would choose number used to call me) or I'm calling someone from my contacts (it would choose my personal/business number closer to the area code of that person) 2. Personal & business numbers I can decide how to route the number and apply "rules" depending on the time of day or person calling. (e.g. I'm unreachable through my business phone number after hours (goes to voicemail), unless the person calling is in my personal contacts or unless that person is listed in a group that acts as a whitelist that allows calls to the business number even after hours. I can also set holiday periods so I'm unreachable on my business numbers and set a different voicemail message for this period announcing my holiday or out of town dates. The "missed" calls during holidays/out of work/do not disturb hours still show up in the Call Log 3. SMS behavior & features Conversations will be initiated with a particular number and the system will continue to use that number from that point forward. So I can easily have multiple conversations going on with many different numbers, personal and business, and I don't need to switch outbound number every time I text people. The ability to set available works periods will also affect the SMS system. If I'm not in my work hours and people text me on my business number, all text messages will be put on hold in the system/cloud until I reenter a work period. Ideally I would have a way to separate business and personal texts. Perhaps two simple panels in Messages section "Personal" and "Business". Ability to also text from your PC/Mac to any phone number in the world and conversations are synced so they're accessible on iPhone/iPad/Mac/PC. E.g. The Messages app in the Mac/iOS ecosystem allows you to text from your Mac or iOS device and syncs (or tries too ) those messages. But that's only with people owning Apple products. MMS messagery enabled Ideally messages aren't broken down in multiple 160 character messages. Sendhub does that and it's not fun to go back to that. Sendhub also sends/receives these broken messages in the wrong order. Landscape view for SMS/messages panel. All of the apps I've tested up to now don't offer that and you're stuck texting without landscape mode. 4. Great to excellent call quality and reliable service. I've been testing out solutions like sendhub, voxox, rigncentral and others and call quality has been disappointing. It might be internet issues, bad latency or data allocation of my bandwidth, I'm not sure. Calls made through data 3G/LTE have been disappointing as well. If the system would automatically switch to a more compressed audio codec when on 3G or when it detects poor connection it would be a big plus. 5. Visual Voicemail on smart phone and access to voicemail on web portal / App transcription of voicemails a plus. 6. Good iOS app and web or PC/Mac app. Good SMS experience. Some solutions offer SMS via their app or web portal but the integration is poor or execrable. (i.e. You should have an overview of all your current conversations and quick way to toggle between them. e.g. Facebook Messages, Messages app Mac) 7. Ability to switch from using wifi/data to using your cell plan minutes when placing a call in situations where internet is poor while using your virtual number instead of your real cell number as outgoing DID. That's essential for making the system work and remain coherent. 8. The ability to hook this system up to regular Home Phones or IP phones would be a plus. I could then pick and make calls from other phones besides my iPhone. Thanks guys and I hope my in depth post wasn't too long! | | JeromeM 3 edits |
**Here are the solutions I've been testing & why they've not been working for me**
. SENDHUB
dealbreaker: bad voice quality up to now and no way to manage all my DIDs. poor SMS experience (web issues and broken up messages in wrong order)
Pros - You can switch between VOIP call and cellular network call, both using virtual number. - Good features - SMS on web portal is nice, but UI issues (see below)
Main Cons - No Call Log & activity info. No way to find out who called, dial a number from recent calls and see missed calls easily. - Unreliable call quality - Doesn't seem like there's a way to manage different numbers, decide outbound DID, etc. - The voicemails are mixed with SMS messages instead of being on their own - SMS messages get broken up in multiple smaller messages and are sent/received in wrong order - No landscape view for SMS in iOS - No MMS (they say it's coming) - SMS on their web portal is unintuitive to use: listing the conversations on a separate panel so you can easily switch back and forth between them would correct the issue (FB, Messages app Mac)
. VOXOX
Dealbreaker: No way of managing multiple numbers like I want No customer support to help me with my questions and set up. Left multiple messages and no call backs from them. And you can't write 'em!
Pros - MMS support - nice iOS app
Cons - No SMS via web. Mac app is highly unintuitive and has terrible UI issues. - No landscape view for SMS in iOS
. RINGCENTRAL dealbraker: - Call quality remains to be seen. Price would be a dealbreaker if it hasn't the most reliable voice service out there. - calling with cellular network shows your cell number instead of your virtual number. (update: it's working fine now. it doesn't show your real cell number)
Pros - I seem to be able to manage my different numbers like I'd like, although it's a bit unintuitive. i.e. not intelligent and dynamic as described in previous post.
Cons - Call quality hasn't been great up to now, but it might be my wifi. More testing needed. - disabling VOIP calling uses your real cell number as outbound ID instead of your virtual number - iOS app needs a iOS7 refresh (+icon refresh). + please get rig of the big ringcentral logo up top. It uses screen real estate.
VESTALINK Dealbreak: No numbers in Canada. iOS app doesn't do SMS.
CALLCENTRIC dealbraker: no SMS
. VOIP SOLUTIONS The problem with VOIP solutions is usually the lack of SMS/MMS and lack of suitable iOS app to manage your phone system. VOIP solutions like VOIPo or voip.ms seem to offer SMS support, albeit limited or in beta.
I might favor the VOIP route in some situation as I could choose my preferred service to ensure best possible quality and reliability and more tweakable than prepackage solutions. But then I'd need to see how it would be possible to manage all the numbers I have, then wait for suitable SMS capabilities, and try to find softphone app that answers my needs.
Apparently Bria offers SMS messagery through the SIP SIMPLE protocol. Would need to try it out by setting up account with Anveo or others but unfortunately you can't try Bria before buying it. | |
2 recommendations |
to JeromeM
IMO your post has gone unanswered, because you submitted a very tall order; the chance of fulfilling it completely is between slim and none. Though retired, my situation is similar to yours, with three locations and DIDs in each that can reach me anywhere. I also demand excellent voice quality. I've not focused much on SMS, but have learned a little about it by helping some friends. It would indeed be great if some company offered a decent travel "package" (service with well integrated apps), but you need to realize that many important factors are beyond their control. In each location I have decent IP desk phones and quality Internet service (with QoS where needed). Also, DECT IP secondary phones (kitchen, living room). Mobile phones are used only when necessary. See comment » Re: When will POTS plotz? . I just say "no" to mobile VoIP. IMO, it works well in only two cases: over Wi-Fi that is unloaded or properly engineered for such use (though if it's your own Wi-Fi, you can use a fixed phone), and over 3G/4G when stationary and in a location with good coverage. A high-rise hotel room is usually not one of them. Good commercial "single number reach" systems, e.g. Cisco, use the cellular voice path when off campus. To reach your contact, the app calls into the cloud- or company-based system, which then completes the call, sending the desired caller ID. When more economical, the system can do callback instead. On a (non-jailbroken) iPhone in particular, the above process cannot be seamless, because Apple does not permit apps that significantly modify the behavior of the native phone. Also, no Apple phones accommodate two SIMs, which can be desirable in many travel situations. When calling another mobile via a routing service, limitations imposed by the cellular carriers result in two cascaded compression codecs. Like dubbing an analog tape, this is a generation loss that degrades quality. An issue common to many services is that calls are relayed through their server, the location of which you cannot control. For example, if your call from Thailand to China goes through a server in New York, latency will be awful. Combined with the double codec and at least one party likely not being a native speaker, it can be very frustrating. I'll try to provide more specific information if you can please post some details: In which countries will you be located? Will you be owning (or long-term leasing) your homes / offices? If you will be in hotels or serviced apartments, your choices are more limited. Also, you probably won't be able to leave hardware there, e.g. a GSM gateway. Do you deal with businesses (mostly landlines) or consumers (mostly mobiles)? Is most phone use from your office or home office, or are you usually on the road? Do you need to make or take many calls while driving (some systems require two-stage dialing or other operations that would be unsafe)? Are you married to the iPhone? If so, have you jailbroken it, or are you willing to do so? If you use a lot of cellular data (and are not willing to pay an arm and a leg for it), that may restrict your choice of carriers. Also, can you estimate your cellular voice minutes and SMS usage? | | |
to JeromeM
As Stewart said, this is a tall order.
Could you live with having one provider for SMS, and another for everything else? | | N9MDToo busy to chat Premium Member join:2005-10-08 Boca Raton, FL |
to JeromeM
said by JeromeM:... VOXOX ... No customer support to help me with my questions and set up. Left multiple messages and no call backs from them. And you can't write 'em! ... CALLCENTRIC deal breaker: no SMS ... Although I totally agree with the unsuitability of VOXOX for your complex (to say the least) needs, I have found their response to support queries to be prompt, complete and on point. On the » assist.voxox.com/ page, select 'SUBMIT A REQUEST'. In re CallCentric, is the absence of SMS the only deal breaker? I ask because, in view of strong competition from Voip.ms and Anveo ... both of whom have an SMS feature ... I suspect that CC has been (secretly) working at a furious pace to be able to offer SMS. (Conjecture on my part.) | | | maziloFrom Mazilo Premium Member join:2002-05-30 Lilburn, GA
1 recommendation |
to JeromeM
Sounded like you need to setup an IP PBX System, i.e. Asterisk, FreeSWITCH, YATE, etc. Good luck with the Item #4. You ought to be able to achieve iterm #7 using virtually any smartphone with a proper softphone. Sounded like you already have an iPhone and that should do. If not, get an (octa-core?)Android smartphone. | | |
to JeromeM
In addition to N9MD has stated regarding Voxox support, they have support forum at » getsatisfaction.com/voxox that you can expect response within 24 hours during weekdays. | | 1 edit |
JeromeM
Member
2014-Mar-29 11:22 pm
Thanks a lot guys for your feedback and input. I know I made a MEGA post and I'm really grateful you took the time the read it (or some of it ) and post back here. My second post concerning my experiences and tests was maybe too much but I thought it could serve others in their quest. So anyhow, some precisions in regards to your comments. (Stewart you got your own answer in next post!) I wouldn't mind if the solution doesn't make calls through VOIP and simply becomes a routing service. After all unlimited plans are common these days and as I said I'm not after the most economical solution but the solution that will respond to my needs the most. So if I can find a solution with virtual numbers and routing service that will fulfill all or most of my needs listed in the first post then I'm all for that. A solution that will make it possible to manage multiple SMS outbound/inbound numbers and a way to manage the outbound number used for placing calls? I didn't think it could be possible to find a solution that did that using the cellular network for calls. I wouldn't even mind using desk phones when I'm home or at the office and use my cell only when on the road. Indeed desk phones give you a better phone experience. And if I can text from my computer like I hope to, then I wouldn't even touch my cell for most of my day and that would be OK. Only thing I prefer with cell phone is the fast access to contacts and the ability to place calls with features like Siri. I could make VOIP calls from the cell phone only when calling out of the country and some other mostly rare situation. With that in mind, does that change your recommendations? Does it make your life easier in helping me out with this? said by PX Eliezer1:Could you live with having one provider for SMS, and another for everything else? If everything can work seamlessly yes. In fact I'd rather have a texting app separate from the Phone app. Unless you meant having phone numbers and *different* SMS numbers? I think most people around me wouldn't able to deal with two numbers: one for calls and one for texts. That would create problems. said by N9MD:In re CallCentric, is the absence of SMS the only deal breaker? I ask because, in view of strong competition from Voip.ms and Anveo ... both of whom have an SMS feature ... ) Probably not. I just meant that I didn't even consider it because they don't offer SMS. I don't even know if they could provide me with half the stuff I want. | | JeromeM |
JeromeM
Member
2014-Mar-29 11:28 pm
RE: Stewart Thanks a lot Stewart for taking the time to provide feedback and input. Very grateful for your willingness to help out. said by Stewart:Good commercial "single number reach" systems, e.g. Cisco, use the cellular voice path when off campus. To reach your contact, the app calls into the cloud- or company-based system, which then completes the call, sending the desired caller ID. When more economical, the system can do callback instead. And how do you choose from which caller ID you want to place the call? Do you have an intuitive app to deal with that? Can it be somewhat intelligent and dynamic like I described in my first post? said by Stewart:On a (non-jailbroken) iPhone in particular, the above process cannot be seamless, because Apple does not permit apps that significantly modify the behavior of the native phone. You mean to create single number with multiple virtual numbers system, using the cellular voice path? Like using an app from a jailbroken phone that makes it possible to choose the outbound number you want to use when placing a call? Or you meant it couldn't be seamless to try and make it work through VOIP? said by Stewart:When calling another mobile via a routing service, limitations imposed by the cellular carriers result in two cascaded compression codecs. Like dubbing an analog tape, this is a generation loss that degrades quality. An issue common to many services is that calls are relayed through their server, the location of which you cannot control. Now we're still talking about using "high end" PBX system like Cisco? Even if the system only reroutes calls, if I'm on the go on a cellular network it will never be optimal? I'll never get the same quality by placing the call through the system (so it will show the caller ID I want), instead of calling direct from my cell? That still would be miles ahead of VOIP no? said by Stewart:'ll try to provide more specific information if you can please post some details:
In which countries will you be located? Will you be owning (or long-term leasing) your homes / offices? If you will be in hotels or serviced apartments, your choices are more limited. Also, you probably won't be able to leave hardware there, e.g. a GSM gateway. 75% or more will be from Canada and US in permanent locations. 20% or less will be on the go in US/Canada and in Europe and the remaining 5% anywhere else I'll travel to where I'll want to be reached. I can leave a GSM gateway in my US and canadian locations. FYI I'll have both a home and separate office in these places. = 4 different locations. said by Stewart:Do you deal with businesses (mostly landlines) or consumers (mostly mobiles)? Is most phone use from your office or home office, or are you usually on the road? Do you need to make or take many calls while driving (some systems require two-stage dialing or other operations that would be unsafe)? I'd say I deal with both landlines and mobiles in equal ways. 60-75% of my time I'll phone from home or the office. (two different places) Yes I need to place/take calls while driving but not frequently like a real estate would. I'm not always on the go in my car. said by Stewart:Are you married to the iPhone? If so, have you jailbroken it, or are you willing to do so? I wouldn't say I'm married to the iPhone/Apple as there is a lot of things I dislike about their products and "DNA" but I wouldn't see myself using something else. Apple products feel more intuitive and enjoyable to use for me and I prefer the experience. I've had jailbroken iPhones in the past. I've stopped doing it because I was tired of waiting for the jailbreaks to come out, started having issues and wanted to embrace a simpler system. But I'd be open to do it again if it would help getting me where I want. said by Stewart:If you use a lot of cellular data (and are not willing to pay an arm and a leg for it), that may restrict your choice of carriers. Also, can you estimate your cellular voice minutes and SMS usage? I don't use much data, maybe 1-2GB per month. Cell minutes usually hover a lot. From 500min to 1500min. Sometimes less or more. | | nunyaLXI 483 MVM join:2000-12-23 O Fallon, MO ·Charter
1 recommendation |
to JeromeM
You are asking a lot. I'll interject a few comments and questions mixed together in no particular order. It's late. They may be of little to no help or just firm up what others have already said.
I'll second the prior comment: What you are looking for is a PBX combined with a magical iOS app that I could never find.
Next a question / comment: I can understand different numbers for different countries - that's a gimme. In this day and age, how important is it to your line of work to have multiple numbers in multiple area codes? I'm not asking to be a smartass... to me and my business - it's important. For other people it may not be. Is it truly a necessity in your case? Especially for personal calls. You might be able to pare down to 4 numbers.
I'd even be brave enough to say that a PBX could take care of all your phone requirements; you are going to have one hell of a time with your SMS / MMS requirements. If it's vital, I'd expect that you will have to pay someone to custom fabricate a solution. For me, the 'coup de grâce' for VoIP and SMS/MMS integration has been the simple fact that the same number you want to use for SMS is married to a voip provider who doesn't give a rats ass about SMS. Something that should be simple, isn't. In my search for a VoIP provider who is SMS / MMS freindly, I came to the conclusion that my time would be better spent searching for Sasquatch.
The word of VoIP made two big mistakes in my book: 1) They assumed FAX would die (it's 2014 and still an issue), and 2) they assumed Texting was a fad.
Why little to no effort has been made on these fronts is beyond me. | |
1 recommendation |
to JeromeM
I do about 90% of the stuff you want with my own PBX. said by JeromeM:1. Multiple numbers in different countries behavior & features By having 6 different numbers, I hope to find a system that will be "intelligent" or advanced enough to determine which outbound number to use by default in different circumstances, while also providing me with a manual way to do so. For instance when I want to call back someone using the call log the system would choose by default the outbound number used to call me. (If I miss a call from someone who tried to reach me on my canadian phone when I'd call them back it would choose the same canadian number the person used to call me, even if my recent calls have been placed with another number).
For placing a call without the use of the Call Log, the system would detect if I'm calling someone from my personal or work contacts (thus it will use my personal or business phone number) and detect what country/city I'm calling to and choose the nearest number as the default outbound number. E.g. When placing a call to a friend in NY, the system would select my outbound personal NY number, even though I'm in Europe and last calls I've been making have been for work.
I call also manually select or change my outbound number of course. Ideally the system would also detect where I am via GPS and it would use the default number closer to my location, UNLESS I'm calling someone using the Call Log (it would choose number used to call me) or I'm calling someone from my contacts (it would choose my personal/business number closer to the area code of that person) I have 3 different numbers. The PBX prefix the DID the caller used on the CID. So if Jones(555-5555) called me on 555-1234, I would see 1234Jones on my CID. I add them to my access book as 1234555-5555 so that whenever I call them, it uses my 55501234 number. It's all set as the outbound route in the PBX. In short, I override my CID with a prefix I put on the number. You can have it auto do it for EU or NY numbers. If the number you are dialling starts with 01144, then use the EU CID. It's not GPS or geo location, but it does the job. said by JeromeM:2. Personal & business numbers I can decide how to route the number and apply "rules" depending on the time of day or person calling. (e.g. I'm unreachable through my business phone number after hours (goes to voicemail), unless the person calling is in my personal contacts or unless that person is listed in a group that acts as a whitelist that allows calls to the business number even after hours.
I can also set holiday periods so I'm unreachable on my business numbers and set a different voicemail message for this period announcing my holiday or out of town dates. The "missed" calls during holidays/out of work/do not disturb hours still show up in the Call Log I setup something similar for a client using a call routing module in PIAF. The call routing was determined by a two digit prefix on the callers name in the address book. After that, it went into a Call Flow Control module that they would toggle with an feature code for after hours work. Missed calls do not get displayed on the phone as missed calls never make it to the phone. However, VM do. said by JeromeM:3. SMS behavior & features Conversations will be initiated with a particular number and the system will continue to use that number from that point forward. So I can easily have multiple conversations going on with many different numbers, personal and business, and I don't need to switch outbound number every time I text people.
The ability to set available works periods will also affect the SMS system. If I'm not in my work hours and people text me on my business number, all text messages will be put on hold in the system/cloud until I reenter a work period. Ideally I would have a way to separate business and personal texts. Perhaps two simple panels in Messages section "Personal" and "Business".
Ability to also text from your PC/Mac to any phone number in the world and conversations are synced so they're accessible on iPhone/iPad/Mac/PC. E.g. The Messages app in the Mac/iOS ecosystem allows you to text from your Mac or iOS device and syncs (or tries too ) those messages. But that's only with people owning Apple products.
MMS messagery enabled Ideally messages aren't broken down in multiple 160 character messages. Sendhub does that and it's not fun to go back to that. Sendhub also sends/receives these broken messages in the wrong order. Landscape view for SMS/messages panel. All of the apps I've tested up to now don't offer that and you're stuck texting without landscape mode. This is a tall order. Vitelity has an XMPP to SMS gateway along with an SMS Android app. On my phone, I use the Android App for one number, and IM+ for the other. So I can text from both numbers. What app I use depends on what number it goes out on. In theory, I can add more numbers to IM+, but I only use two numbers for SMS. On my laptop, I use a IM client with XMPP support for sending SMS from both DIDs. Note that the apps don't sync. Sending an SMS on my laptop, does not show up as sent on my phone. And the SMS are not handled by my PBX, so no routing or work periods. MMS support is not existent. said by JeromeM:4. Great to excellent call quality and reliable service. I've been testing out solutions like sendhub, voxox, rigncentral and others and call quality has been disappointing. It might be internet issues, bad latency or data allocation of my bandwidth, I'm not sure. Calls made through data 3G/LTE have been disappointing as well.
If the system would automatically switch to a more compressed audio codec when on 3G or when it detects poor connection it would be a big plus. Calls over 3G/LTE are junk in general. The data network part of the cell network is not designed for voice. Don't bother unless you have full bars on LTE and don't move. said by JeromeM:5. Visual Voicemail on smart phone and access to voicemail on web portal / App transcription of voicemails a plus. I have my PBX send me the VM as an attachment in a email. I can then play it from that. Not perfect, but better then dialling into VM to get the messages. said by JeromeM:6. Good iOS app and web or PC/Mac app. Good SMS experience. Some solutions offer SMS via their app or web portal but the integration is poor or execrable. (i.e. You should have an overview of all your current conversations and quick way to toggle between them. e.g. Facebook Messages, Messages app Mac) If you can find an app that supports XMPP in addition to Facebook, then you might be good, but I don't use this so I don't know. said by JeromeM:7. Ability to switch from using wifi/data to using your cell plan minutes when placing a call in situations where internet is poor while using your virtual number instead of your real cell number as outgoing DID. That's essential for making the system work and remain coherent. Some VOIP apps can do this. I have my configured to not register for VOIP with on cell service since call quality is poor. When I am on cell only, I use a DISA for outbound calling so I still use my PBX. said by JeromeM:8. The ability to hook this system up to regular Home Phones or IP phones would be a plus. I could then pick and make calls from other phones besides my iPhone. Any IP phone or ATA is good here. I prefer to use them for calling because I get better sound quality and less lag then using my cell phone and VOIP client. | | nitzan Premium Member join:2008-02-27 |
to JeromeM
said by JeromeM:Apparently Bria offers SMS messagery through the SIP SIMPLE protocol. Would need to try it out by setting up account with Anveo or others but unfortunately you can't try Bria before buying it. For SMS via SIP SIMPLE to work the provider has to support it. Most providers probably don't. I have no ETA, but we are looking into adding SMS ability to our DIDs, and when we do we also plan on making it compatible with SIP SIMPLE so you can send and receive SMS straight from the softphone. Again- no ETA as we're just starting to look at it seriously. | | |
to JeromeM
Alternative to Porch 's own PBX method, check out hosted PBX solution such as one offered by PBXes or i-p-tel that can do the same. You can certainly start with a free account to test out how much it will fit your need. | | |
to JeromeM
Should you decide that having your "own" PBX is the best choice, there are many options you might explore: Buy an appliance, possibly one managed by the dealer. Install FreePBX, FreeSWITCH or 3CX software on a server that you own, possibly one also performing other functions. Run PBX software on a cloud server, e.g. Amazon AWS; pre-built PBX images are available. Run PBX software at a hosting service, e.g. Rackspace, Linode, ChicagoVPS; these companies also offer pre-configured PBX installations. Rent from a company specializing in VoIP hosting, e.g. RentPBX. Rent a virtual PBX, e.g. PBXes. Get a PBX bundled with phone service, e.g. RingCentral, onsip. Some also permit third-party services.
I'm presently on ChicagoVPS, though that's primarily to integrate some FXO and GSM gateways. If you don't need to connect your own trunk hardware, you may be better off with a VoIP provider that includes PBX features. Take a look at Anveo and VoIP.ms; both offer SMS-capable DIDs in US, Canada and a few other places.
IMO, Anveo can meet all your voice requirements when using fixed phones at your homes/offices. Calls that pass your routing filters can also ring your mobile, no app needed. There are two ways of making calls from the mobile: Click-to-Call and DISA. The former works by initiating calls to both your mobile and your contact; the calls are bridged together. The latter functions similarly to a calling card service. Unfortunately, Anveo does not offer any iPhone apps. I know little about iOS, but suspect that you can find third party apps that will integrate well with Anveo's service. Though somewhat cumbersome, you can manually initiate click-to-call via the web interface, or do DISA by setting up contacts with a "pause" between access number and destination. For testing, this would allow you to evaluate quality, caller ID delivery, logging, etc. It could also be your backup system if something went wrong with the app.
I need to go now but will make another post regarding SMS. | | |
Thanks a lot guys for your input. It is indeed a tall order and my head is spinning while figuring out how to answer to most ongoing things in this thread. Further tests and your input convinced me that I don't want to deal with VOIP calling. Calling from cellphone = callback feature / DISA.
I think I have some exploration and evaluation of PBX solutions to do. In the meantime, let's perhaps focus on how to make SMS work since I'm still confused with that.
1. Please tell me if I'm getting this right. In order to get SMS to work with PBX system I would need to get SMS enabled DIDs like voip.ms, VOIPo or Anveo? No PBX system, even the most advanced solution, offers SMS capabilities, let alone MMS? So that means SMS feature is built at the DID level?
2. Is XMPP the only way to enable SMS with a system as discussed here? What about SIP Simple? What are the differences?
3. Porch said he was using IM+ to text with his number via XMPP. So basically that would mean I could get XMPP DIDs and use any XMPP enabled messengers service out there to text? It's the first time I've heard of IM apps being able to text. Is this reliable? Would you be able to text with multiple numbers with the same app as described in the first post: "Conversations will be initiated with a particular number and the system will continue to use that number from that point forward"
4. When solutions like SendHub or GV would say MMS is coming, how are they planning to make this work? That means it's possible. So wouldn't it be theoretically possible to implement it as well in more feature packed PBX solutions?
5. PX Eliezer asked me if I'd mind having one provider for SMS and another for everything else. Would that mean having a number for SMS and another one for everything else? Or he meant something similar to what Porch is doing by managing SMS with IM+ ? Are XMPP enabled messengers app the only way to do that? | | JeromeM |
re: PORCH Thanks a lot for your in depth post and for sharing your workflow. It's really appreciated and it gives me hope I'll be able to achieve what I wish to do. What PBX solution have you set up?
What 10% are you not able to do with your PBX that I wish to do?
re: STEWART Thanks again for posting about the different PBX options. I had answered your previous questions point by point in a previous post. You were definitely going somewhere with this so it would be great if you could develop this more. Also your feedback on SMS would be most welcomed. | | 1 edit |
to JeromeM
I've done some searching but have come up short. I was hoping to report that you could use company A for voice and B for SMS, perhaps with a little "glue", such as simple adaptation between SMS protocols, or reformatting a web page to work well from a mobile device. If you don't have programming skills, perhaps you have a kid or associate who could provide the glue.
Unfortunately, there are two key pieces of information that are not readily available from most SMS-oriented services: First, can you send a message with a specific Sender ID? With many (most?) services, outbound messages have the Sender ID of their gateway, or a third party's. That's fine if you e.g. want to receive a reply by email, but it prevents the recipient's native message app from associating the message with the proper Contact, or threading the conversation properly. Also, can you inject a message from an outside source (another provider's DID) and have it correctly entered in the data base and ultimately displayed?
I hope that other members reading this can fill in the info for their providers, and you can find a combination that works well. | | |
to JeromeM
said by JeromeM:3. Porch said he was using IM+ to text with his number via XMPP. So basically that would mean I could get XMPP DIDs and use any XMPP enabled messengers service out there to text? It's the first time I've heard of IM apps being able to text. Is this reliable? Would you be able to text with multiple numbers with the same app as described in the first post: "Conversations will be initiated with a particular number and the system will continue to use that number from that point forward I have had no problems texting using xmpp on Pidgin. I have all my different IM accounts come in on it. When someone sends me a text, the number is added as a "buddy" and I can text them back. It will use the same "account" or DID they texted me from. It does have some downsides. 1) No history. Once I close Pidgin down, I have no history of the messages I sent or received. 2) No contact lookup. Pidgin does not interface with my address book, so new people who text me just appear as phone numbers until I rename them with a proper name. I think I can upload my address book to Vitelity and it will lookup from that, but I need to find an automated way to do this. 3) Some people I text once a year, yet I have to keep them as a "buddy". My list of people is 30+ long and growing, but I only text about 10 on a regular bases. Just makes it more cluttered. I would really like a GV like sms solution, but so far, this is the best I have found. | | Porch |
to JeromeM
said by JeromeM:Thanks a lot for your in depth post and for sharing your workflow. It's really appreciated and it gives me hope I'll be able to achieve what I wish to do. What PBX solution have you set up?
What 10% are you not able to do with your PBX that I wish to do? I am running PBX In a Flash on my own box. But a PBX on RentPBX would work too. I really want MMS. Also, better SMS. See my above post. | | |
to Porch
said by Porch:... I would really like a GV like sms solution, but so far, this is the best I have found. Have you looked at Jitsi: Jitsi (formerly SIP Communicator) is an audio/video and chat communicator that supports protocols such as SIP, XMPP/Jabber, AIM/ICQ, Windows Live, Yahoo! and many other useful » jitsi.org/ | | |
Hey guys thanks for last inputs and suggestions.
A little update, I have decided to put this big endeavor on hold and let technology mature a bit so hopefully in a year or so the solutions will be available. Or I'll consider building a PBX box then. (perhaps with your help Porch? You mentioned having clients?)
I'm looking right now at a barebones SMS/calling solution. I will use my US cell phone number normally and port my canadian cell number to a service or DID where I'll be able to place calls and send/receive SMS via that number as well. The goal for now is to manage the canadian number via a softphone app and manage the US number normally through my cell phone.
The canadian number will be rarely used so I'm looking at a cheap pay as you go solution. I have an account with voip.ms but the SMS feature is in beta and it seems SMS is not supported at this time with external software.
Any recommendation for a pay as you go SMS enabled DID that would work with apps like Zoiper? | |
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