dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
2320

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx
·Verizon FiOS
Ubiquiti NSM5
Synology RT2600ac
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

TamaraB to OzarkEdge

Premium Member

to OzarkEdge

Re: [Other] Vonage CableVision Routing issue?

said by OzarkEdge:

Unlocking a device should only be necessary if you are attempting to repurpose a device intended for a specific proprietary usage.

I get it. Like these Supported Vonage Adapters, which are apparently locked to Vonage.

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Netgear CM500
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

NetFixer to TamaraB

Premium Member

to TamaraB
said by TamaraB:

I like the idea of an ATA which can handle 2 providers. It would make for a good test, one port to Vonage, the Other to CallCentric. Is this where an unlocked device becomes necessary?

I don't think you will be able to setup a device to use Vonage on one port and another provider on another port. Unless things have just very recently changed, Vonage will only provision an ATA that uses (or can use) their own firmware -- and once their firmware is loaded into an ATA, it becomes locked and won't allow provisioning for another provider.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx
·Verizon FiOS
Ubiquiti NSM5
Synology RT2600ac
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

TamaraB

Premium Member

Yeah, I figured that out. After looking at CallCentric, and all the neat stuff you can do and control, I think Vonage is a thing of the past. Looks like I am going to learn some telephony in my old age

OzarkEdge
join:2014-02-23
USA

OzarkEdge to TamaraB

Member

to TamaraB
said by TamaraB:

I get it. Like these Supported Vonage Adapters, which are apparently locked to Vonage.

No, those appear to be stock devices recognized by CallCentric to be configurable for their service. Perhaps you posted the wrong link.

OE

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx
·Verizon FiOS
Ubiquiti NSM5
Synology RT2600ac
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

TamaraB

Premium Member

said by OzarkEdge:

Perhaps you posted the wrong link

OOPS..... Vonage Adapters
OzarkEdge
join:2014-02-23
USA

OzarkEdge

Member

There they are... and they show their BasicTalk Grandstream HT701 »support.vonage.com/app/a ··· bA%3D%3D.

OE

josephf
join:2009-04-26

josephf to TamaraB

Member

to TamaraB
said by TamaraB:

Their cost for both inbound and outbound unlimited US/Canada service is about the same as Vonage.

Your costs with Callcentric should be notably less than your costs with Vonage. Especially when factoring in that Callcentric has none of the add-on fees and surcharges Vonage is egregious for.

(I notice you're in NYC. Callcentric offers free unlimited incoming NYC phone numbers with their "Free Phone Number" plan.)

I found it odd that they require both an inbound and outbound account.

Callcentric allows you to use them for incoming only or outgoing only, if that's your preference.
OzarkEdge
join:2014-02-23
USA

OzarkEdge

Member

said by josephf:

I notice you're in NYC. Callcentric

...will charge 8.875% NY State Sales Tax... ouch.

OE

josephf
join:2009-04-26

josephf

Member

Vonage already charges him sales tax...

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Netgear CM500
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU

NetFixer

Premium Member

said by josephf:

Vonage already charges him sales tax...

Sales tax plus a few extra goodies (although Vonage has gotten better than they used to be -- I no longer have an "Intellectual Property Fee" on my monthly bill).


My Vonage Bill

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx
·Verizon FiOS
Ubiquiti NSM5
Synology RT2600ac
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

TamaraB to josephf

Premium Member

to josephf
said by josephf:

Your costs with Callcentric should be notably less than your costs with Vonage. Especially when factoring in that Callcentric has none of the add-on fees and surcharges Vonage is egregious for.

Actually, for the same service I currently have with Vonage -- "U.S. and Canada Unlimited @ $24.99/mo". Callcentric Will charge me $19.95/Mo for OUTBOUND unlimited North America Residential service plus "Personal Unlimited" INBOUND service @ $5.95/Mo for a total of $25.90/Mo. Plus about $2.20 in NY tax for about $28.00/Mo --Essentially the same as Vonage if you discount the initial cost of equipment. CallCentric offers far more than Vonage however.

The purpose of this however is to cure persistent no-ringthrough calls going directly to voicemail. So, if switching to another provider, using different equipment, cures the problem, all well and good. At worst, I get a more modern and more configurable phone system for about the same cost.

The last factor which tilted my choice to CallCentric was that they are a local NYC business, on my subway line, supporting local businesses is a good thing

josephf
join:2009-04-26

1 edit

josephf

Member

Your Vonage bill's total taxes and other fees amount only to about $3?

Also, as I noted earlier, you can choose Callcentric's "Free Phone Number" plan rather than their "Personal Unlimited" plan for incoming thus saving $5.95/month. (The only drawback to the free plan is that they don't allow porting a phone number to it, something I believe you mentioned wasn't critical in your situation.)

Another consideration for outgoing is that unless you are a heavy caller, you may benefit from choosing "Pay Per Call", and paying 2 cents/minute rather than taking the unlimited plan. Or choosing the 500 or 1,000 minute/month plan.
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT
·Frontier FiberOp..

tired_runner to TamaraB

Premium Member

to TamaraB
said by TamaraB:


Actually, for the same service I currently have with Vonage -- "U.S. and Canada Unlimited @ $24.99/mo". Callcentric Will charge me $19.95/Mo for OUTBOUND unlimited North America Residential service plus "Personal Unlimited" INBOUND service @ $5.95/Mo for a total of $25.90/Mo. Plus about $2.20 in NY tax for about $28.00/Mo

I got my parents on the 1000-minute plan, but the same inbound $5.95 plan. It comes out to $21.90 per month for them.

Their service has been set-it-and-forget-it. It always works. No funny business like what you describe with Vonage. And I also have Cablevision.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx
·Verizon FiOS
Ubiquiti NSM5
Synology RT2600ac
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

TamaraB

Premium Member

said by tired_runner:

I got my parents on the 1000-minute plan, but the same inbound $5.95 plan. It comes out to $21.90 per month for them.

I need unlimited service. There are occasions when I spend a long time logged into dialup systems, so a minutes account is no good.
said by tired_runner:

Their service has been set-it-and-forget-it. It always works. No funny business like what you describe with Vonage. And I also have Cablevision.

Yes, I don't think my trouble is due to CV. I have ultra-101 business service and it has been rock-stable, fast, and reliable. I am 99% convinced it's Vonage.

Ken1943
join:2001-12-30
Brighton, CO

Ken1943 to TamaraB

Member

to TamaraB
Obi and Grandstream are good ata's. Stay away from Cisco ( I had two that were dead out of the box). I use Callcentric without any problems except for one hurricane.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx
·Verizon FiOS
Ubiquiti NSM5
Synology RT2600ac
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

TamaraB

Premium Member

Thanks. Obi seems to be the winner. I speak with their tech people tomorrow. They agreed to call me. I have a few questions for them, then off to purchase the hardware.

Nice little summer project which gives me the excuse to stay in the AC
TamaraB

TamaraB to Ken1943

Premium Member

to Ken1943
said by Ken1943:

Obi and Grandstream are good ata's. Stay away from Cisco ( I had two that were dead out of the box). I use Callcentric without any problems except for one hurricane.

I spent an hour on the phone today with CallCentric. They promised to call, and they did. Interestingly, the guy called me on my Vonage line first, and it went directly to voicemail. He reached me on my cell. The rep strongly suggested I purchase the Cisco ATA. It has the best performance and least trouble. There are apparently some minor issues with the ObiHai which no one has figured out yet.

After our talk, I feel much more informed about what all this is about and what you can and can not do. I placed an order for the Cisco SPA122. Should have it by Friday.
Mango
Use DMZ and you get a kick in the dick.
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
www.toao.net

Mango

Premium Member

said by TamaraB:

There are occasions when I spend a long time logged into dialup systems

I would have cautioned you that VoIP is not the best technology to use for a dial-up modem, but if you're already using it and it works, by all means continue.
said by TamaraB:

I am 99% convinced it's Vonage.

Did you get the chance to follow Stewart's suggestion from a couple of days ago and connect the Vonage device directly to the modem? The issues you describe are very often caused by routers.
said by TamaraB:

There are apparently some minor issues with the ObiHai which no one has figured out yet.

Did Callcentric mention specifically what those issues are? In my experience, OBi ATAs have been as stable as a rock.
said by TamaraB:

I placed an order for the Cisco SPA122.

Be sure to update its firmware to the latest version. Early versions of the SPA122's firmware were riddled with bugs.

»software.cisco.com/downl ··· se=1.3.3

m.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx
·Verizon FiOS
Ubiquiti NSM5
Synology RT2600ac
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

TamaraB

Premium Member

said by Mango:

I would have cautioned you that VoIP is not the best technology to use for a dial-up modem, but if you're already using it and it works, by all means continue.

I does work well. My fax also works well. The quality of the sound is outstanding. Bummer I just can't get all my calls!!
said by Mango:

Did you get the chance to follow Stewart's suggestion from a couple of days ago and connect the Vonage device directly to the modem? The issues you describe are very often caused by routers.

That's not really practical.
said by Mango:

Did Callcentric mention specifically what those issues are? In my experience, OBi ATAs have been as stable as a rock.

Not precisely. He mentioned it was having trouble doing some esoteric routing thing. If I knew more about this stuff I would have been able to give you more information. He rattled off some terms which was greek to me. He also praised the ObiHai unit as "very fine" except for those unknown as yet glitches. He did steer me towards the Cisco unit however.

Yeah, the first thing to do with all this stuff is to update the soft/firm-ware. Thanks for the link.
TamaraB

TamaraB

Premium Member

So yesterday I went and picked up the Cisco SPA122. I upgraded the firmware and set it up on the network. I went through the CallCentric setup guide and configured it to my account settings. It worked!

I then hard-forwarded my Vonage number to my new temporary number (I will be porting my Vonage number to CallCentric soon), and turned off the Vonage box. I have connected the Cisco unit up to the same port on the router that the Vonage box was connected to.

I ran many tests, not a single call went to voicemail. The number I got from CallCentric must have been used recently, because I am receiving tons of calls meant for the previous owner. My phone is constantly ringing. This is also a GOOD thing, as it is testing the system very well. Not ONE call direct to voicemail!!!!

The sound quality is a definite improvement over Vonage. Several people have told me my phone sounds clearer and sharper than before. I have yet to test FAX and Modem however, but given the clarity of the calls I don't expect problems there.

While the results are preliminary (only one day of testing), it certainly shows my troubles with calls going directly to voicemail are cured.

Thanks to all who offered their input, it was very valuable, and I learned a lot. Looks like I have a better working phone system, and I know a bit more about telephony.
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT

tired_runner

Premium Member

My parents are happy with Callcentric as well. They have Cadillac pricing, but the product is indeed top notch.

Glad you're good to go.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx
·Verizon FiOS
Ubiquiti NSM5
Synology RT2600ac
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

TamaraB

Premium Member

said by tired_runner:

They have Cadillac pricing, but the product is indeed top notch.

Glad you're good to go.

Yes indeed. I signed up for the personal world outbound service. My GF spent a couple of hours on the phone with her mother who lives in Taiwan. The call was clear and loud and stable throughout. Next, she will call her son in Beijing. I have placed test calls all over the coverage area, and observed clean clear calls.

I LOVE the "Call Treatments". I have set up several to block telemarketers and other pests. It works so well, that I have even been able to disconnect my DigiTone Call Blocker. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.

josephf
join:2009-04-26

josephf

Member

Please keep us apprised how faxing and data transmission works out for you.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx

TamaraB

Premium Member

Ok. Tested Dialup to several systems. One as far as Seattle. No issues connecting at 9600bps.

I am having a bit of trouble finding a fax test service to test with. Still looking.

josephf
join:2009-04-26

josephf

Member

That's cool. I've read that data transmission is often a problem with VoIP providers, so it is quite impressive that it is working well with Callcentric (even though I understand they don't guarantee it.)

Faxing is typically less intensive than a modem call (and in fact is a data call at somewhere between 14.4kbps and 33.6kbps), so I would imagine if data worked fax should too.
josephf

josephf to TamaraB

Member

to TamaraB
You can also get a free incoming fax number with Callcentric that e-mails you any incoming fax as a PDF file.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Da Bronx
·Verizon FiOS
Ubiquiti NSM5
Synology RT2600ac
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

TamaraB

Premium Member

said by josephf:

You can also get a free incoming fax number with Callcentric that e-mails you any incoming fax as a PDF file.

Really? Perhaps I misread their site. I'll have another look. Free?

toro
join:2006-01-27
Scarborough, ON

toro to TamaraB

Member

to TamaraB
said by TamaraB:

I am having a bit of trouble finding a fax test service to test with. Still looking.

1-888-HP-FAX-ME
Send them a page of fax and they will send you back a test page within a few minutes.

josephf
join:2009-04-26

josephf to TamaraB

Member

to TamaraB
said by TamaraB:

said by josephf:

You can also get a free incoming fax number with Callcentric that e-mails you any incoming fax as a PDF file.

Really? Perhaps I misread their site. I'll have another look. Free?

Yes. You can use your regular phone number to setup that Callcentric listens if it's a fax and if it is emails you the fax and if its not a fax it rings your phone. Alternatively you can get a second phone number from them that is dedicated for faxes only and it will email you the fax. For the second option you can purchase a phone number for $1.95/month or use their "Free Phone Number" for free. The Free Phone Number is just as good.
Stewart
join:2005-07-13

Stewart to TamaraB

Member

to TamaraB
In addition to those mentioned, you might test with:

»k7.net/ Free fax number, incoming only, messages delivered as PDF by email/web.

»www.voxox.com/ As above, but also supports outbound faxing. Outbound is not free, though a small test credit is provided at signup.