OBi110 & Mediatrix 2102 & GV ... HELP !!!!!

[jtplayte]

First of all I am a complete newbie with Voip (but technically knowledgeable with computers/networking etc.)

I want to get rid of Bell Canada (phone company)

Right now I have my Obi110 and my regular home phone line working flawlessly (with Bell).

I want to signup with www.iristel.ca as they are the only company I found that is able to port my local phone number to a voip solution. (want to keep my local number and have people call me without long distance charges).

From what I gather, I can have GV on one line, and Iristel on the other. Fine. BUT, they charge me a one time fee of $40 to use my own equipment with no guarantee of service or technical support and a monthly cost of $19.95. If I rent their device (Mediatrix 2102) for $4/month, no one time fee, and only $15.95 a month.

Obviously they want you to use their own equipment. So, can I use the Mediatrix 2102 (local calling with my ported phone number) and the Obi110 (GV) on the same network and using my regular home phones !?!?

If so, is this difficult to setup?

Any help/direction would be appreciated. I have not confirmed with Iristel which route I will take and would like to as soon as possible.

Thanks In Advance,

Jason

[QBZappy]

From what I gather, I can have GV on one line, and Iristel on the other. Fine. BUT, they charge me a one time fee of $40 to use my own equipment with no guarantee of service or technical support and a monthly cost of $19.95. If I rent their device (Mediatrix 2102) for $4/month, no one time fee, and only $15.95 a month.

Obviously they want you to use their own equipment. So, can I use the Mediatrix 2102 (local calling with my ported phone number) and the Obi110 (GV) on the same network and using my regular home phones !?!?

Jason,

The best deal for Canadians (price wise is Freephoneline). A one time $50 charge will buy you the sip credentials to register to their service. 911 service is included. $25 is charged for porting your number. No other charges for incoming/outgoing after that, unless you want to make calls to cities not covered under the Canadian plan. Note they have the worst Customer Service you can imagine. Hopefully you will never need to talk to them, since once the OBi is working you shouldn't have any reason to call them. There are many others in Canada to choose from. Voipms is also another reliable one to consider.

The $40 charge for using your own device will pay for the FPL credentials. LOL

[jtplayte]

Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, freephoneline and voip.ms are not able to port my number. My wife wants to keep the same local phone number.

I have been looking at several companies for years now, and iristel.ca is the first one I have found able to port my local number so we can keep it.

Thanks though. Take Care.

Jason

[QBZappy]

What town/city and area code?

[ProfTech]

Not difficult to set up at all and you save $5 month by using their equipment. You would, however need a second port available on your router. Simply connect the port on the Mediatrix where you would plug the phone to the "Line" port on the Obi. I'm assuming you already have GV set to be the primary line. If you only want to use GV for outgoing calls it is extremely easy to set up. One thing to note, though. When you call people on GV they won't see your "standard" home telephone number on their caller ID. If that is important to you, then you would need to come up with some other set up.

*edited* I just noticed you said there is a $5 a month rental fee. Pretty hinky of them. That eliminates the saving of using their equipment. So it might come down to a matter of convenience / reliability. If you're not comfortable with setting up and possibly experimenting with settings in the Obi to get it to work you may be better off using the Mediatrix. An added plus might be that you could simply plug your telephone into the Mediatrix at any time and bypass the Obi altogether, if needed.

[zapattack]

Although you cannot port to the VoIp provider you want, you may be able to go through a two-step method.
By this I mean port to a cheap prepaid cell phone plan (Koodo/Fido/Virgin) and then to the VoIp provider of your choice.
While the initial cost would be higher, you would not have the Iristel monthly fee. Assuming your home is in a good cell coverage area, you would still have service on your old number during the process.

[zapattack]

When you say you have checked other providers, could you list them for us?
Have you tried CallCentric?
At present Anveo has free porting.
Many other American companies have a Canadian Presence, but in any case may still be able to port your number.
You might try looking here also:   http://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip

[jtplayte]

What town/city and area code?

Owen Sound, Ontario

Area code 519

[jtplayte]

Thank you very much for your reply !

I just tested putting Medeatrix Phone#1 line into line of Obi device...worked great.

E-Mailed customer care to get required proxy settings etc. to configure SP2 on Obi110

Would like to eliminate their device, then talk to someone "higher up" as to why I have to pay more for the service with my own equipment?? Especially when they then don't guarantee the service or support you.

Not difficult to set up at all and you save $5 month by using their equipment. You would, however need a second port available on your router. Simply connect the port on the Mediatrix where you would plug the phone to the "Line" port on the Obi. I'm assuming you already have GV set to be the primary line. If you only want to use GV for outgoing calls it is extremely easy to set up. One thing to note, though. When you call people on GV they won't see your "standard" home telephone number on their caller ID. If that is important to you, then you would need to come up with some other set up.

*edited* I just noticed you said there is a $5 a month rental fee. Pretty hinky of them. That eliminates the saving of using their equipment. So it might come down to a matter of convenience / reliability. If you're not comfortable with setting up and possibly experimenting with settings in the Obi to get it to work you may be better off using the Mediatrix. An added plus might be that you could simply plug your telephone into the Mediatrix at any time and bypass the Obi altogether, if needed.

[jtplayte]

Way too many to list!

Owen Sound, Ontario ..... 519 area code

Yes I tried CallCentric and many many many others.

Thanks for your feedback though. Take Care.

When you say you have checked other providers, could you list them for us?
Have you tried CallCentric?
At present Anveo has free porting.
Many other American companies have a Canadian Presence, but in any case may still be able to port your number.
You might try looking here also:   http://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip