Google Sets the Date for the End of XMPP with Google Voice

[drgeoff]

Having said that, can someone explain how Sipsorcery works? If they have "the longest running working solution", I would like to investigate that. Is it a genuine alternative to Obi /GV after May 15 ?

Don't forget that if you don't already have a subscription, it is $69 per year.

[mo832]

I've read several posts in this thread, starting from the earliest pages and continuing throughout from different users, mentioning Anveo and "free". They are confusing, so I'm hoping for some clarity:

If you sign up for the personal unlimited incoming account WITHOUT the DID number (use IPKall or something),

1. is it totally free? No 911 fee or admin charges or anything?

2. Do they need payment info or credit card to register for the free incoming?

3. Do you need to tell them you won't use in USA to avoid fees like Callcentric does?

4. Will it pass the CNAM info to the OBi if you use GV>ipkall>Anveo>Obi ?

5. Is it reliable or is it still skipping many calls from ringing?

[sdb-]

1) What you call a "personal unlimited account" IS a DID rate plan, not an account.  A "personal unlimited" DID costs $2/month, "business unlimited" DID is $4/month.  If you don't want a DID, do not sign up for it.  Your account may have none, one or many DIDs and those DIDs may be in any of the DID rate plans.

E911 is associated with outgoing calls, not incoming. It has nothing to do with any DID including a "personal unlimited" DID.

Your Anveo account will have a subscription plan/package associated with it to add or enable features such as enhanced call flow processing or additional inbox storage. The lowest subscription level is free, then Starter is $6.55/month, etc.

2) Anveo does not know you are doing free incoming. Do not tell them.  As far as they are concerned, you are a SIP account and will use SIP incoming.  They allow two forms of SIP incoming, the free kind bypasses their call flow process. Or you can get a SIP address for incoming call flow, but I think you will pay usage charges for that.

3) As a U.S. resident I found (and maybe it applies to Canada residents as well) they will simply not allow you to make outgoing calls without E911. The website reminded me for the week or two until I signed up for E911. I don't know how long they would have let it go without me signing up.

4) it did for me.  I've since switched my IPKall to point to Localphone. If you do not want E911, you might consider Localphone instead of Anveo.

5) I never noticed a reliability problem when calling my IPKall number. Sometimes GV has reliability problems.

[mo832]

@sdb- Thank you so much for your explanations.

Since you mentioned localphone regarding e911 and suggested that as an alternative, is there a free option with localphone as well? It is very confusing to distinguish between the SIP number to receive VOIP calls and the DID number which can be obtained from the same SIP provider or another outside DID provider like IPkall.

In other words, can you use localphone with the #2 discussion above, and just have a SIP account without the 99c a month?

And if you use GV>IPKall>Localphone>Obi, with the full CNAM be displayed ?

[sdb-]

Localphone has 'free' incoming SIP.  It might require you to have a credit in your account, not sure.  Definitely no 99c/month.

It costs nothing but a bit of time to sign up for a Localphone (or Anveo) account, verify your phone number, get an IPKall number and point it at your new SIP address.  Best to try and see how it works for you.

Now that I think about it more, I think thru IPKall I may be only getting a limited CNAM (like City and State).  It definitely happens some of the time. That may have also been true with Anveo.  It is hard to tell...  Most numbers are showing correct CNAM data on my phone, but as my panasonic phones look up CID in their phonebook, and I imported all the numbers from my and wife's cell phones, my phone may be the source of the full CNAM data.

GV->IPKall->Localphone->OBi is only used for calls from the Eastern side of my state while most of my incoming calls are via my Anveo personal unlimited DID. On that DID I enabled the Anveo CNAM lookup (at $0.009 per call).  Anveo will look up first in my directory on their site, if not found then charge me for the CNAM lookup.

[mo832]

Hmmm, this CNAM stuff is tricky too!

So, if I understand correctly, if you receive an incoming call from an unrecognized or infrequent caller, you will not receive the full CNAM from *any* ITSP (just the city/state), or will some of them show you the EXACT SAME caller name as the traditional copper phone company/RBOC/POTS? [eg. Joes Flower Shop, Citibank, State Farm Insurance, Lower Interest, etc]

[giqcass]

In the US CNAM is always determined by the company that terminates the call.  It can change from one "Copper Line" company to the next.  The info is looked up from a database.  There is no single universal database but rather many.  Often CNAM for cell phones and VOIP services are not listed or unreliable. When you just get "City, State" instead of the name it's often one of those services with high turnover.  CNAM information may take a while to propagate to the various databases for customers with a new line of service as well. Some companies use an external database well others use internal.  I like callcentric because it checks your personal phone book first.  That accounts for most of my calls. When everything is working correctly Callcentric CNAM is comparable with "Copper Line" CNAM.  Reports suggest Callcentric CNAM doesn't always function but it is difficult to know how much of the blame is on Callcentric itself.

[MikeHObi]

I know that both Callcentric and Anveo will look at your user maintained address book (on their web portal) to lookup names first.  Anveo has an option then to do a database lookup for name if not found in your address book and charge $0.0090 to do it.

[mo832]

sdb or giqcass or anyone else who has input:

I would like to know your assessment of localphone in terms of what you like about it, what you don't like, service quality/reliability, and any downsides of using it for incoming and/or outgoing.

[dmd1]

@ sdb-

Were you able to get a local number from Anveo? I sent email to Anveo regarding this but they did not reply.

Thanks.

[carl]

sdb or giqcass or anyone else who has input:

I would like to know your assessment of localphone in terms of what you like about it, what you don't like, service quality/reliability, and any downsides of using it for incoming and/or outgoing.

Like: Pricing on domestic(US) calls . Best on retail level
       Pricing on international calls except cell phones in certain european countries. Best on retail level for most
       destinations considered call quality,terms/conditions.
       Pricing and conditions and quality of DID's US and a number of European countries.
       Good quality for destinations I use.
       Billing- can pay in small increments
       Promotions   
       Variety of services- VOIP, DID's, calling card, Local numbers, callback. You use only what you need.
       Reliability- I had zero downtime since i signed up( Nov 2011)
       Set Caller ID from any of your registered numbers
       Straightforward no BS way of doing business, you do not feel screwed and misled.

Do not like: Voicemail cannot be retrieved from any other phone than your own IP phone or via internet.
               Some other features missing.

[mo832]

Do not like: Voicemail cannot be retrieved from any other phone than your own IP phone or via internet.
               

If you use your GV number to forward to the DID assigned to Localphone incoming, can you have the GV voicemail answer and bypass the LP voicemail?

[carl]

If you use your GV number to forward to the DID assigned to Localphone incoming, can you have the GV voicemail answer and bypass the LP voicemail?

Not to my knowledge. And I do not trust GV call forwarding anyway. IMO much better is to port your GV DID to Localphone and if you do not like the limitation of LP voice mail, whenever you expect to be away from your home/office where your IP  phone/ATA is located simply forward at very low cost from LP to Callcentrics free NYC DID which provides all voice mail perks.

[sdb-]

Were you able to get a local number from Anveo? I sent email to Anveo regarding this but they did not reply.

Anveo prefers you to read their website.  Their free subscription does not include much if any support.  And their website takes some getting used to!

Their website listed numbers available in my rate center (metro area) but not my city. While not a "local" prefix, it would be a local call for anyone in my city.  It also listed numbers available on the other side of the state in the same calling area as my google voice number, should I desire to replace that google voice number.

Instead of buying a number from Anveo, I ported my own home number to them from Centurylink.  Worked great and completed faster than they told me to expect.  E.g. less than two hours after their "port will complete within 24 hours" e-mail, I received a phone call from my in-laws to my home number via Anveo.

[sdb-]

I would like to know your assessment of localphone in terms of what you like about it, what you don't like, service quality/reliability, and any downsides of using it for incoming and/or outgoing.

I have only been using them full-time for about a month...  So with that limited perspective, here's my opinion of the moment.

like: price. for what I need I find it incredible I can get so much for so little.  generally reliable making calls with good sound quality.  incoming SIP seems fine as well.  I haven't bought (they say "rented") a DID from them but it looks like it would be a good deal. (no additional charge incoming?)   I like the upfront prices instead of feeling like I have to play a game (e.g. "like us on facebook") to get a fair price. I like specials (bonus credits when you buy credits) as long as they feel special instead of just them playing games with pricing.  Same with the subscription plans.

dislike: web site seems disorganized to me. information on what and how much seems scattered. I still have not found any official published word on if a number can be ported in and how much it will cost. I prefer to have stuff like that spelled out rather than "just ask, we'll let you know."  I'm still unsure of what other services they offer or how I or my family could use them or how much they cost.

Concern: I have had a couple of reports that my caller ID is not being transmitted (shows to the recipient as 'private' or 'blocked'). Yet every time I have tested it has come thru. It does not seem to be destination specific or consistent in any way. Just activated a new credit card with it, no problem. Don't know what's up.

[makitso]

Initially, I set up an account with CallWithUS.  It seemed like a good service and until I requested a DID.  Turns out that its $4.00 US a month -- which seems high for limited use.  Perhaps I should take another look at Localphone since their monthly charge for a DID is .99

[gderf]

You can use different providers for outgoing and incoming calls.

[7Priest7]

OBi devices NEED to be updated once this date hits.
Had I known about this date I would've never bought my OBi device.

[drgeoff]

OBi devices NEED to be updated once this date hits.
Had I known about this date I would've never bought my OBi device.

Their latest blog entry leaves me in little doubt that Obihai have no intention of doing anything to keep their devices working with GV, in the manner they currently do, after Google turn off XMPP support.

I hope that Obihai do make an update after 14 May which utilises any ROM space which could be freed up by removing the then redundant GV code.  Things I would like to see added to my OBi110 include more SP slots and the T.38 fax codec.

[SteveInWA]

While it would be nice if Obihai added more features to the 110 in place of GV, my guess is it might not have the processor power to support the ones you listed, and even if it does, they'd probably rather phase out the 110 as EOL, and sell the newer units.

What I really hope, is that they do remove the GV code ASAP after 5/15, so that we don't have a bazillion people asking "How do I get this Google Voice thing to work with my OBi?".