Help my small biz say adios to phone co.
Baller:
I have an old and reliable PBX that I'd like to continue using. I currently have Comcast internet and phone service. I'm paying about $600/month for it. Our EIGHT phone lines are digital, but look like POTS to my phone system. As far as numbers go, only one of the numbers that Comcast provides is important, our main local number. (I also have a toll-free incoming number -- and pay $.04 per minute -- which rings the main local number.) The other phone numbers associated with my Comcast lines are immaterial. The important thing is that they are part of a hunt group, so if the main line is busy, a call goes to the second line, third line and so on until it finds a free line. Whatever line it finds, it goes into our PBX, which takes over from there.
So to recap, I need:
* Eight lines in a hunt group (hopefully created by me using Obitalk). I would port my main number into this group, and it would be first in the group.
* My toll-free number ported to the service provider, and forwarded to my main line.
I am thinking of purchasing the OBi508vs to help accomplish all this. It seems like it can act as an ATA right now, and if and when I decide to dump the PBX, it can facilitate a move to a virtual PBX.
Here what I need help with:
* Confirmation that I'm not barking up a tree here.
* Confirmation that Obitalk can create the "hunt group" by setting up busy call forwarding on each of the ports/lines.
* Recommendation on a service provider. I am inclined to use one of the certified Obi providers, but I know there are others out there. Opinions on Google Voice, which I use at home with a small Obi unit, would be appreciated.
* Recommended minimum specs on an Internet service to support this. We don't do much heavy lifting on the Internet otherwise, and are happy with non-phone speeds in the 20Mbps range. Also, how much should I expect to pay for the Internet service?
* Recommendation on how to handle the toll-free number. I am assuming that somebody (but maybe not Google) can accept an incoming port of this number.
I hope this thread can help others as well as me in moving to a more cost-effective solution. In your reply, please let me know your experience, so I have a reference point for your response. Thanks!!
LTN1:
Lots of business related technical advice to ask on a volunteer based forum meant to target towards the residential users...or at the most, those running small businesses with a few lines.
Out of curiosity, what type of PBX is it?
Assuming it is just an analog PBX, it would be cheaper in the long run to invest in a SIP based IP-PBX, or a hybrid one.
I have an estimate of around $60 to $80 per month of SIP based telephone line charges if you had 8 SIP channels.
Baller:
Thanks. The system is an old (c. 1997) Altigen. I am happy with it. So I just need to emulate 8 analog lines. Seems like the 8-port Obi would do the trick. I'm not sure what you mean by, "SIP based IP-PBX, or a hybrid one," which sounds pretty technical. If that would replace my Altigen, I'd rather just figure out how to get 8 new, less expensive dial tones into my system.
BTW: I found a site called Number Barn to which you can port a toll-free number and get unlimited forwarding for $19/month. So that part of my problem is solved.
If forum members can help, great. I'm guessing Obi tech support trolls the forums occasionally. If my questions are beyond your (as in anyone reading this) expertise, I'd rather get no response than an uninformed one.
azrobert:
All OBi ATAs support call forward on busy or on no answer after x number of rings. I don't own a 5 series OBi, so I only tested this function with a single forward.
The OBi508 supports hunt groups.
See:
https://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=9451.0
and on page 144 here:
http://www.obihai.com/docs/OBi508AdminGuide.pdf
Baller:
Thank you SO much. That was my biggest, most pressing question, and you nailed it, az!!
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page