This might be a better question for Call Centric or google voice but I'll try it here.
Is it possible to have the Obi110 set up with google voice to send and receive phone calls and then pay Call Centric $1.50 a month for 911 service? I'm guessing no it's not possible, meaning I would have to get a phone number from Call Centric in order to get 911 service. I would love to pay nothing for a home phone and still have 911 service but I', not sure how to accomplish this. Do I get a google voice number or a Call Centric number or some other solution? Thanks
Quote from: dom1 on December 18, 2011, 04:36:41 PM
This might be a better question for Call Centric or google voice but I'll try it here.
Is it possible to have the Obi110 set up with google voice to send and receive phone calls and then pay Call Centric $1.50 a month for 911 service? I'm guessing no it's not possible, meaning I would have to get a phone number from Call Centric in order to get 911 service. I would love to pay nothing for a home phone and still have 911 service but I', not sure how to accomplish this. Do I get a google voice number or a Call Centric number or some other solution? Thanks
Although not quite the same, there are threads here discussing dialstring settings to steer 911 calls to a regular number at your local 911 call center. So when you dial 911 the call is sent to the call center using a regular number. In some places you can find a number which is handled by the call center just as a e911 call would be handled in others the calls may have lower priority. Check with your 911 center and search here for info on the settings.
Quote from: dom1 on December 18, 2011, 04:36:41 PM
Is it possible to have the Obi110 set up with google voice to send and receive phone calls and then pay Call Centric $1.50 a month for 911 service?
Many users have done this. You simply put Google Voice on SP1 and CallCentric on SP2. Only a simple change is required to the OBi:
Physical Interfaces -> PHONE Port -> OutboundCallRoute:
{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},
{(<#:>):li},{911:sp2},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1},
{(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}
This will send 911 calls out SP2 (CallCentric) instead of the LINE Port.
VaHam, RonR Y'all are some righteous dudes(dudettes if applicable). You have sealed the deal. I'm getting me an Obi110.
Awesome forum,absolutely friggin awesome!!
I following instructions from another blog that simply re-directs my 911 dial to a number I select - I looked up the emergency communications number for my county and assigned that. They were totally cool with me testing it on two seperate devices too and acknowledged that it wasn't enhanced - so when calling I would have to tell them my address. So calling 911 from Obi at my house has same results as calling 911 from my cell.
I bet in the future GV will offer E911 - then problem solved.
With that latest obi firmware it is very easy. Get a callcentric # and get a GV #.
Configure using the obitalk website. When you set it up it will give you a warning that GV is not to be used for 911, when you configure Callcentric it has a check box on the config "use this service for 911 calls"
Use This Service For Emergency 911 Calls When 911 is called via the OBi this service will be used. Check only if you are sure this service is capable of placing and receiving emergency service calls.
I route all outgoing calls using GV, I had my old phone # ported to Callcentric so that most incoming use callcentric.
Done
Quote from: winterescape on December 20, 2011, 04:10:42 PM
With that latest obi firmware it is very easy. Get a callcentric # and get a GV #.
Configure using the obitalk website. When you set it up it will give you a warning that GV is not to be used for 911, when you configure Callcentric it has a check box on the config "use this service for 911 calls"
Use This Service For Emergency 911 Calls When 911 is called via the OBi this service will be used. Check only if you are sure this service is capable of placing and receiving emergency service calls.
I route all outgoing calls using GV, I had my old phone # ported to Callcentric so that most incoming use callcentric.
Done
My OBI 110 will arrive shortly and I've been doing research. My plan is as follows:
1) Get OBI 110 device working.
2) Port landline to AT&T cell phone ($5 phone, $15 minutes).
3) Port landline from AT&T cell to GV ($20).
4) Receive and make all calls through GV, with Call Centric setup for E911.
I noticed you said you have your incoming calls going to Call Centric, and your outbound calls going through GV. Why have your incoming calls go through Call Centric vs. GV? What am I not understanding?
Thanks!
I can't speak for winterescape, but avoiding google voice's unmanageable voice mail would be the #1 reason for me.
Google Voice gives free outgoing calls, Callcentric is pay per call or $20 a month for unlimited.
Callcentric - $5.95 per month + $1.50 per month for 911 gives you a phone number and unlimited incoming calls, plus Voicemail and caller id with name
Thanks for the reply. I'm going from a $30 per month POTS service to the OBI, and I'm trying to minimize monthly cost. I don't care about callerid, and I've used Voicemail on GV just fine with a GV number. I'm doing research now as I won't be able to switch until mid to late week while waiting on a cellular box for my alarm to be working, before I can initiate the change.
Since my SP2 is voip.ms - I went ahead and got E911 services from them. They charged me .50 cent set up fee, .99 cents a month for a DID number (so now people could call me on SP2 as well on this separate #) and the govt fee for 911 of $1.50 a month - so my ongoing cost is $2.49 a month for E911 - instead of the free 911 dial others speak to here.
I had strongly considered just going the free way on 911 but since I have kids and grandchildren here, thought if something happened and the lack of the enhanced 911 would come back and bite me - I wouldn't be able to live with myself - it's only $2.49 a month - heck I spend more than that every day on coffee!
Quote from: Hortoristic on December 24, 2011, 03:51:53 PM
Since my SP2 is voip.ms - I went ahead and got E911 services from them. They charged me .50 cent set up fee, .99 cents a month for a DID number (so now people could call me on SP2 as well on this separate #) and the govt fee for 911 of $1.50 a month - so my ongoing cost is $2.49 a month for E911 - instead of the free 911 dial others speak to here.
I had strongly considered just going the free way on 911 but since I have kids and grandchildren here, thought if something happened and the lack of the enhanced 911 would come back and bite me - I wouldn't be able to live with myself - it's only $2.49 a month - heck I spend more than that every day on coffee!
What's the free 911 you're referring to?
From what I understand, since the govt charges an E911 recovery fee of $1.50, there is no way to get it free (as an independent feature.) The cheapest option, as it seems to me, would be:
- Callcentric: Pay-As-You-Go service (no monthly fee.) $5 minimum added to account. 911 setup fee, $1.50. 911 monthly fee, $1.50.
So at signup, you'd have to pay $8 upfront ($5 minimum to add + $1.50 911 setup & $1.50 first month 911.) No need for a DID since I have no need to receive calls on SP2.
Thereafter, you pay $1.50/month and you're covered for 911 calls.
Thoughts?
Quote from: jimates on December 24, 2011, 02:26:22 AM
plus Voicemail and caller id with name
I've only had my Obi110 for 36 hours, but so far every call I've received has displayed the callers name & #.
I have a very basic setup:
SP1: Google Voice
SP2: CallCentric (going to use this for 911.)
I still have my subscription to Vonage (through middle of January) since I only pay $12.50/month, but my Vonage box is unplugged. So the only place I could be getting the CID name & # is through GV.
I get some names - seems to be if they are Google contact in account associated with GV
Quote from: Marc on December 24, 2011, 06:40:08 PM
So the only place I could be getting the CID name & # is through GV.
It's probably your phone that's matching the number in its contact list and displaying the name from there.
Quote from: Marc on December 24, 2011, 06:40:08 PM
I still have my subscription to Vonage (through middle of January) since I only pay $12.50/month, but my Vonage box is unplugged.
FWIW, you can plug your Vonage adapter into the LINE Port of the OBi and access it from your common phone(s).
Seems to be widely known that GV only forwards phone nbr not name if you are seeing name it's from phone address book or google contacts
Quote from: Marc on December 24, 2011, 06:35:41 PM
What's the free 911 you're referring to?
You can often do a "poor man's" 911 by having the OBi call a regular phone number that rings into the emergency dispatcher's area whenever you dial 911 on the OBi phone. They won't get your name and location information using that means, but it's better than nothing and is free.
Quote from: Hortoristic on December 24, 2011, 06:50:51 PM
Seems to be widely known that GV only forwards phone nbr not name if you are seeing name it's from phone address book or google contacts
Well it's definitely not the phone address book since it's empty ;) I guess many of the names could be from my GV contacts, but I can think of one call earlier today from Edible Arrangements that I definitely do not have in my contacts. Maybe Google has some sort of advertising arrangements with some companies. Anyway, whatever it is, it is. $50 for the Obi110 + $15/1st yr of 911 ($13.50 each subsequent year,) & good call quality, I'm happy. Even if GV starts charging in 2013, it's still going to beat anything else out there. I considered Ooma but after making some calls from a friends device, I knew the Obi+GV was a more clear connection.
Quote from: winterescape on December 20, 2011, 04:10:42 PM
With that latest obi firmware it is very easy. Get a callcentric # and get a GV #.
Configure using the obitalk website. When you set it up it will give you a warning that GV is not to be used for 911, when you configure Callcentric it has a check box on the config "use this service for 911 calls"
Use This Service For Emergency 911 Calls When 911 is called via the OBi this service will be used. Check only if you are sure this service is capable of placing and receiving emergency service calls.
I route all outgoing calls using GV, I had my old phone # ported to Callcentric so that most incoming use callcentric.
Done
Winterscape, does that mean you didn't need to change the dial map, but simply put Callcentric on SP2 and clicked the box to enable 911 for it?
911 isn't the type of thing you can test, although it should be.
Thanks.
Quote from: Marc on December 24, 2011, 08:32:20 PM
Quote from: winterescape on December 20, 2011, 04:10:42 PM
With that latest obi firmware it is very easy. Get a callcentric # and get a GV #.
Configure using the obitalk website. When you set it up it will give you a warning that GV is not to be used for 911, when you configure Callcentric it has a check box on the config "use this service for 911 calls"
Use This Service For Emergency 911 Calls When 911 is called via the OBi this service will be used. Check only if you are sure this service is capable of placing and receiving emergency service calls.
I route all outgoing calls using GV, I had my old phone # ported to Callcentric so that most incoming use callcentric.
Done
Winterscape, does that mean you didn't need to change the dial map, but simply put Callcentric on SP2 and clicked the box to enable 911 for it?
911 isn't the type of thing you can test, although it should be.
Thanks.
Actually, 911 can be tested. You simply call the NON-EMERGENCY number for your dispatch center and tell them that you'd like to test the 911 connection. They will either say, "go ahead" or "please call us back ____ when we expect it to be less busy and we will let you test it". When you call, the first words out of your mouth should be "THIS IS A TEST, THERE IS NO EMERGENCY".
I contacted my emergency dispatch center, via email, and they provided the direct dial number I should use if I chose to NOT pay for E911, and gave me some specific suggestions as to when the best time to test it would be. They offered up the testing, I never asked to test (although I would have tested it of course).
When I used the direct dial approach used my cell to proove 911 was going to dial a specific #
Quote from: Rick on December 22, 2011, 05:36:25 AM
I noticed you said you have your incoming calls going to Call Centric, and your outbound calls going through GV. Why have your incoming calls go through Call Centric vs. GV? What am I not understanding?
Thanks!
The callcentric service is so cheep, I pay less than $4/month to callcentric and it was not worth the hassle of dbl porting my #'s.
I ported my existing # to callcentric. When I did this it was uncertain if the GV service would continue to exist or what and when they would start charging us for it. With having my # at callcentric I could use a standard ATA if the obi and GV did not work out for some reason....
Product name Period Price
DID - Pay Per Minute - 1xxxxxxxxxx Jan 01, 2012 - Jan 31, 2012 $ 1.95
NY Sales Tax $ 0.17
911 Cost Recovery Fee $ 1.50
Billed from Credit card: $ 0.00
Billed from Balance: $ 3.62
Just a note for those that read this in the future. You can port a number AWAY from Google Voice in the future. Therefore if GV starts charging for calls in 2013, you can port the GV number to another provider (like Callcentric). You have to "unlock" the number with GV prior to porting it to another provider and GV may charge a fee of $3.00 to unlock it. But that is a small price to pay IMHO. I'd rather save $ now while GV still allows free calls and pay the $3 potential fee to GV if I should decide to port away in the future.
Greetings,
I just got my ObiTalk device setup with Google Voice on SP1 and Call Centric on SP2 (for 911 service). C
I'd like for 911 calls to be routed to SP2. ALL other calls should be routed to SP1. an someone confirm my setup?
Current config of Physical Interfaces --> Phone
Config #1
{911:sp2},{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{(<#:>|911):li},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1},{(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}
An earlier post in this thread states to use the following config, which is a little different:
Config #2
{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{(<#:>):li},{911:sp2},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1},{(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}
Which one is correct? 911 only to SP2, ALL other calls to SP1
#2 is correct for what you want.
Quote from: Dust on May 21, 2012, 08:44:07 PM
An earlier post in this thread states to use the following config, which is a little different:
Config #2
{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{(<#:>):li},{911:sp2},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1},{(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}
In the above, because {911:sp2}, comes before {(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2}, is that why you can direct dial 911 and not have to dial **2911 <-- although I'm guessing that works as well.
Thanks in advance for the stupid question!
Quote from: newalias on June 15, 2012, 02:30:56 PM
Quote from: Dust on May 21, 2012, 08:44:07 PM
An earlier post in this thread states to use the following config, which is a little different:
Config #2
{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{(<#:>):li},{911:sp2},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1},{(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}
In the above, because {911:sp2}, comes before {(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2}, is that why you can direct dial 911 and not have to dial **2911 <-- although I'm guessing that works as well.
Thanks in advance for the stupid question!
Yes.