So I basically am looking for someone to tell me what to do. I love having all my calls go through gv, and I use Anveo's E911 at the moment. If I sign up with an ITSP and get a new number, then forward calls from gv, does that create some sort of delay when speaking? Like is the voice traffic going from caller -> gv -> itsp instead of caller -> itsp for the entire conversation, or is it just the initial ringing that is delayed?
I share this concern. I have used GV in the past to forward calls to a cell phone and there is a delay (to the point of being unusable.) I'm hoping forwarding to a VOIP number is better.
I forward my GV number to a Callcentric DID. I haven't noticed any audio problems or excessive lag.
Yea from what I'm reading the only delay is in the initial time to ring the destination phone. That's not a big deal to me.
The phone power unlimited plan is enticing. It looks like callcentric is expensive. .02/minute or 7/month for 500 minutes?
Quote from: gderf on April 17, 2014, 08:48:05 AM
I forward my GV number to a Callcentric DID. I haven't noticed any audio problems or excessive lag.
Thanks for that info!
I see some are choosing CallCentric for inbound and Circlenet for outbound. Is trying to see the benefit of that vs. just using CallCentric for both. (Outbound rates I'm guessing?)
Quote from: 7Priest7 on April 17, 2014, 09:53:21 AM
Quote from: paladyr on April 17, 2014, 08:27:24 AM
So I basically am looking for someone to tell me what to do.
Get a Callcentric free NY DID, fill out information that is outside the U.S. to avoid 911 tax, unless you really want 911 service.
Get a localphone account, add some money on your localphone account.
Setup the free NY DID and LocalPhone accounts(on may 15th.)
When setting up LocalPhone click the default for outbound calling box.
Setup Google Voice to forward to Free NY DID .
Enjoy free inbound calling and half a penny per minute outgoing.
If you insist on having 911 keep a junk/old cell phone lieing around for that.
A cell phone is far more reliable in a emergency, SIP has three ways it could be down, power, ISP, and SIP Server.
A cell phone does not provide e911 service. It will not give emergency services your exact physical location. If you cannot speak or if the person calling 911 does not know your address it could have serious consequences. It is true that in the case of a power or internet outage your e911 voip service will not be available. It is not an exact replacement for a hardwired POTS line, but it is a step better than calling 911 from a cell phone under most conditions.
I signed up for Vestalink. Still on the fence about the service. I have the land line phone in order to have true e911. I did find that forwarding my GV number caused delays or some calls to go directly to voice mail. I had to port to remedy that issue.
Quote from: 7Priest7 on April 17, 2014, 09:53:21 AM
Quote from: paladyr on April 17, 2014, 08:27:24 AM
So I basically am looking for someone to tell me what to do.
Get a Callcentric free NY DID, fill out information that is outside the U.S. to avoid 911 tax, unless you really want 911 service.
Get a localphone account, add some money on your localphone account.
Setup the free NY DID and LocalPhone accounts(on may 15th.)
When setting up LocalPhone click the default for outbound calling box.
Setup Google Voice to forward to Free NY DID .
Enjoy free inbound calling and half a penny per minute outgoing.
If you insist on having 911 keep a junk/old cell phone lieing around for that.
A cell phone is far more reliable in a emergency, SIP has three ways it could be down, power, ISP, and SIP Server.
Thanks for the details! That's a good point about 911 reliability, I'd feel better though having all options available for 911 :-/. I can still get 911 service this way right?
Quote from: paladyr on April 17, 2014, 11:55:40 AM
Quote from: 7Priest7 on April 17, 2014, 09:53:21 AM
Quote from: paladyr on April 17, 2014, 08:27:24 AM
So I basically am looking for someone to tell me what to do.
Get a Callcentric free NY DID, fill out information that is outside the U.S. to avoid 911 tax, unless you really want 911 service.
Get a localphone account, add some money on your localphone account.
Setup the free NY DID and LocalPhone accounts(on may 15th.)
When setting up LocalPhone click the default for outbound calling box.
Setup Google Voice to forward to Free NY DID .
Enjoy free inbound calling and half a penny per minute outgoing.
If you insist on having 911 keep a junk/old cell phone lieing around for that.
A cell phone is far more reliable in a emergency, SIP has three ways it could be down, power, ISP, and SIP Server.
Thanks for the details! That's a good point about 911 reliability, I'd feel better though having all options available for 911 :-/. I can still get 911 service this way right?
See above.
Cell phone is good but is Anveo's E911 bad at .80/month? I'm paying them twice which isn't good. I could really use that $9.
Quote from: DennyNC on April 17, 2014, 10:46:18 AM
Quote from: gderf on April 17, 2014, 08:48:05 AM
I forward my GV number to a Callcentric DID. I haven't noticed any audio problems or excessive lag.
Thanks for that info!
I see some are choosing CallCentric for inbound and Circlenet for outbound. Is trying to see the benefit of that vs. just using CallCentric for both. (Outbound rates I'm guessing?)
I Circlenet reliable??
Why do we
need another "what do do..." thread at all? This has already been answered over and over.
Really, the problem is, some users want somebody to just give them one answer, and so here you go... as has been explained, repeatedly:
- Pick a SIP VoIP service provider. Don't get wrapped around the axle debating which one is better or cheaper; just pick one. A lot of us use Callcentric, because they are in the sweet spot of reliability, great customer support, and fair prices (not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for). If you want to pay less, use Callcentric just for its free NY DID (inbound number) and also use Localphone for outbound calling.
- Log onto your GV account, here: https://www.google.com/voice#phones
- Add and verify your new SIP number, and remove the check mark next to your Google Chat forwarding destination.
- Replace your existing GV SP configuration on your OBi with your SIP provider(s)
- There are other details, depending on your SIP provider, but that's essentially all there is to it.
I'm going to avoid the E911 debate, since it gets strangely opinionated.
SteveInWA:
Is there a thread which provides details on the Callcentric+Localphone setup?
Quote from: Durbhasa on April 21, 2014, 01:35:15 PM
SteveInWA:
Is there a thread which provides details on the Callcentric+Localphone setup?
Durbhasa:
Like many other "how do I configure my OBi to do this or that?" questions, there are unfortunately several different answers, depending on various people's clever ideas and different opinions. It also depends on which model OBi you have (how many SPx settings it has, two or four, and if you are using other service providers, too).
I've seen some discussions that answer your question spread around the forum, but it's hard to just find one good answer for you.
If you have a two-SP OBi (models 100 or 110), or you only care about two SPs, then you can simply sign up for service with Callcentric (get a free NY DID from them), and sign up for "Internet phone" outbound calling with Localphone. Then, configure SP1 for Localphone, and put a check the box to make it the "primary line for outgoing calls". Then, configure SP2 for Callcentric.
You'll also want to set up Localphone to "spoof", or use your Callcentric number's caller ID for outbound calls.
I'm sure others will chime in with details I chose to leave out, or other suggestions, but that's it in simple terms.
Just to add a comment using Callcentric Free NY DID, You can forward the CC DID to Localphone via SIP URI so you don't have to setup Callcentric on a SPx on the Obi.
Thanks, SteveInWA. I tried searching the forum for Callcentric and Localphone, but was having trouble finding something which clearly looked like setup instructions.
I indeed have a 110 OBi. Thanks for the pointers on the Callcentric+Localphone setup. My general plan was to have my current GV number forward to the Callcentric number (so I can keep my GV voicemail); Localphone looks good simply because we don't do much outbound (US domestic) calling, and I'm really looking for the cheapest possible setup.
Cheers again.
Quote from: N7AS on April 21, 2014, 08:10:32 PM
Just to add a comment using Callcentric Free NY DID, You can forward the CC DID to Localphone via SIP URI so you don't have to setup Callcentric on a SPx on the Obi.
I don't see a real-world benefit to this at all. It is easy to set up the Callcentric DID as a SP. Why re-route Callcentric inbound traffic through the world-hopping extra point-of-failure route of Localphone. It doesn't save any money, either, since the Callcentric free NY DID is...wait for it...Free. If a SP port is available, that's just nuts.
Quote from: Durbhasa on April 21, 2014, 09:03:53 PM
Thanks, SteveInWA. I tried searching the forum for Callcentric and Localphone, but was having trouble finding something which clearly looked like setup instructions.
I indeed have a 110 OBi. Thanks for the pointers on the Callcentric+Localphone setup. My general plan was to have my current GV number forward to the Callcentric number (so I can keep my GV voicemail); Localphone looks good simply because we don't do much outbound (US domestic) calling, and I'm really looking for the cheapest possible setup.
Cheers again.
You hit the nail on the head. That is exactly the combination that quite a few folks are migrating to now. Good luck.
All suggestions tend to combine callcentric with localphone, then forward GV number to one of them. While this might work, why not consider a provider which gives you all these features? You can also port your GV number to the provider, using Local Number Portability, which is available for any US number, as mandated by FCC regulations.
For that reason, I would vote for http://www.freelycall.com/ (http://www.freelycall.com/). you get to set up your own caller ID, port in your number for 15USD, or purchase a number for 5USD then pay 1USD/month, or even get a free Washington DID (206, 256, 425 area codes), as for outbound, you can do cheap calls between 0.003 and 0.007 to US/Canada, in addition to international rates very competitive (0.009 USD/min to India for instance).
For redundancy, since you have 2 SIP accounts available on your Obihai, just put another provider as backup.
Obihai standard SIP settings here: http://www.freelycall.com/devices/obihai-obi100/ (http://www.freelycall.com/devices/obihai-obi100/)
Quote from: steelmans1980 on April 22, 2014, 01:57:16 AMFor that reason, I would vote for http://www.freelycall.com/ (http://www.freelycall.com/).
Yes, of course you would "vote for them" - considering you ARE freelycall, lol! I've never heard of "freelycall" until now, but looking for reviews the only review I could find was written by a company employee. Then there is "steelmans1980" spamming them in various forums. Just google steelmans1980 freelycall or even just steelmans1980 and you'll find tons of posts spamming his service. Buyer beware.
There are plenty of honest providers out there - read reviews first. A good place to start would be: http://www.dslreports.com/gbu/
Quote from: nitzan on April 22, 2014, 02:39:26 AM
Quote from: steelmans1980 on April 22, 2014, 01:57:16 AMFor that reason, I would vote for http://www.freelycall.com/ (http://www.freelycall.com/).
Yes, of course you would "vote for them" - considering you ARE freelycall, lol! I've never heard of "freelycall" until now, but looking for reviews the only review I could find was written by a company employee. Then there is "steelmans1980" spamming them in various forums. Just google steelmans1980 freelycall or even just steelmans1980 and you'll find tons of posts spamming his service. Buyer beware.
There are plenty of honest providers out there - read reviews first. A good place to start would be: http://www.dslreports.com/gbu/
And, of course, you've also been repeatedly engaging in self-promotion yourself, first on DSLreports, and now, here. Glass houses, you know.
Quote from: SteveInWA on April 22, 2014, 06:51:32 AMAnd, of course, you've also been repeatedly engaging in self-promotion yourself, first on DSLreports, and now, here. Glass houses, you know.
Company representatives participating in forums is a great thing. Company shills pretending to be customers recommending the service to others is not.
I do think you (nitzen) could be more clear; if I look at any random post, there's no indication that you are a Future 9 representative (and in fact, it wasn't clear to me from the initial posts promoting F9, but I did figure it out a bit later).
Look at names such as same_from_circlenet and intellefone -- it's obvious who they are. (I'm not trying to imply anything negative; I just think it would be good to add a Future 9 tagline somewhere).
Good point. I changed my signature to indicate my relation to Future Nine. Thanks for the feedback!
Quote from: nitzan on April 22, 2014, 07:14:52 AM
Quote from: SteveInWA on April 22, 2014, 06:51:32 AMAnd, of course, you've also been repeatedly engaging in self-promotion yourself, first on DSLreports, and now, here. Glass houses, you know.
Company representatives participating in forums is a great thing. Company shills pretending to be customers recommending the service to others is not.
You say "representative", I say "shill". Come on, be honest. You have built your business by ingratiating yourself with BBR forum members, boasting of your company's superiority to others, and dissing competitors.
Now, don't get me wrong. Competition is a great thing. Politely helping your customers is a great thing. But underneath it, I see this: a one-man sales operation, the 2014 version of the 20th century door-to-door commodity salesperson, selling Avon, Fuller Brush, Amway or encyclopedias. Anybody can simply resell SIP VoIP trunks and DIDs from a CLEC. Your website is primitive (read your users' reviews), and you have very few added-value services, compared the larger providers. You are "forum squatting" to get free advertising, you have no real customer support system, and you are answering what should be your own website's trouble tickets by having users, again, for free, post questions on someone else's forum. It's a clever way to survive, reselling somebody else's stuff at a very minimal cost of operation, to turn a small profit, but it's not the way to run an ethical business.
I assume Obihai is ignoring this because it's in their self-survival interest to sell more OBi boxes. No doubt, there are people on this forum who want nothing more than the very cheapest, bare-bones SIP access, and you're providing that, like CirlceNetSam's little company, for example.
Users just need to have their eyes wide open and not seduced by a "pssst, meester, wanna buy some cheeeep SIP". As I always say, you [don't] get what you [don't] pay for.
Quote from: SteveInWA on April 22, 2014, 06:50:25 PM
Quote from: nitzan on April 22, 2014, 07:14:52 AM
Quote from: SteveInWA on April 22, 2014, 06:51:32 AMAnd, of course, you've also been repeatedly engaging in self-promotion yourself, first on DSLreports, and now, here. Glass houses, you know.
Company representatives participating in forums is a great thing. Company shills pretending to be customers recommending the service to others is not.
You say "representative", I say "shill". Come on, be honest. You have built your business by ingratiating yourself with BBR forum members, boasting of your company's superiority to others, and dissing competitors.
Now, don't get me wrong. Competition is a great thing. Politely helping your customers is a great thing. But underneath it, I see this: a one-man sales operation, the 2014 version of the 20th century door-to-door commodity salesperson, selling Avon, Fuller Brush, Amway or encyclopedias. Anybody can simply resell SIP VoIP trunks and DIDs from a CLEC. Your website is primitive (read your users' reviews), and you have very few added-value services, compared the larger providers. You are "forum squatting" to get free advertising, you have no real customer support system, and you are answering what should be your own website's trouble tickets by having users, again, for free, post questions on someone else's forum. It's a clever way to survive, reselling somebody else's stuff at a very minimal cost of operation, to turn a small profit, but it's not the way to run an ethical business.
I assume Obihai is ignoring this because it's in their self-survival interest to sell more OBi boxes. No doubt, there are people on this forum who want nothing more than the very cheapest, bare-bones SIP access, and you're providing that, like CirlceNetSam's little company, for example.
Users just need to have their eyes wide open and not seduced by a "pssst, meester, wanna buy some cheeeep SIP". As I always say, you [don't] get what you [don't] pay for.
Unbelievably hostile comment full of misrepresentation. To make something clear, I am not affiliated with F9 nor their customer; I use Localphone, Callwithus and Callcentric.The only truthful comment is about F9's web site- it is awful. The rest is nonsense and you can question the motives of somebody who makes statements like that. Yes, F9 is a small company- so is CWU and Anveo is not that much bigger. But F9 is known for their superb reliability, their special Nitzan promotes now is really good and I would trust them far more than Phonepower or let alone Vestalink. I will not waste my time to elaborate on the rest , it's not my war to fight. ::) ::)
I completely agree with these opinions:
QuoteYes, F9 is a small company- so is CWU and Anveo is not that much bigger. But F9 is known for their superb reliability, their special Nitzan promotes now is really good and I would trust them far more than Phonepower or let alone Vestalink.
I've read sites, offers & reviews until my eyes were too blurry for anymore over the course of days - and generally I've seen too many writing about nightmares with Vestalink& Anveo - some with Phonepower - and mostly amazingly glowing reviews about Future Nine written over the course of years and right into the present.
To my eyes this means that these other youngsters are perhaps well-intentioned, but fumbling under a heavy load as yet - where the veteran is cruising along & adapting to newly created needs with open arms.
I may find that I am shockingly mistaken too - but this is how I see it right now.
Peace Out.
Quote from: SteveInWA on April 22, 2014, 06:50:25 PM
You say "representative", I say "shill".................{EDITED FOR LENGTH}
all im going to say to this is:
+1 SteveInWA.
thanks.
Most curious...
Though I have no affiliation with any of these companies I have read an incredible amount in recent weeks and see how some of these companies are very much like other internet 'businesses' in that they appear to be a one-man show which is re-selling services from some upstream provider, at a markup.
Many of those sorts just vanish soon after their sudden appearances, usually, massively disappointing those who have paid for alot more than they got - then left with nothing for their $$.
This has happened to me more than once with internet-based services and it is a very uncomfortable subject still.
Having said all the above I must point to the longevity factor which appears to be present with FutureNine - something like 8 years and still going strong from what this reader can see ??
So maybe F9's rep here is just a man who is trying his best to be helpful; and like the rest of us, he is also not perfect - but to my eyes using the word 'shill' is a quite harsh.
Just my 5 cents on the matter...
I'm not going to comment on Steve's post, but just to address longevity - here's how long various companies have been around:
CallCentric - 2005
Voip.MS - 2007
Future Nine - 2008
Phone Power - 2008
Anveo - 2010
Freelycall - 2012 (although I've never heard of them until the other day)
VestaLink - Originally 2010 as a side-business for the owner, in it's current form 2014
CircleNet - 2013
Quote from: SteveInWA on April 22, 2014, 06:50:25 PM
Quote from: nitzan on April 22, 2014, 07:14:52 AM
Quote from: SteveInWA on April 22, 2014, 06:51:32 AMAnd, of course, you've also been repeatedly engaging in self-promotion yourself, first on DSLreports, and now, here. Glass houses, you know.
Company representatives participating in forums is a great thing. Company shills pretending to be customers recommending the service to others is not.
You say "representative", I say "shill". Come on, be honest. You have built your business by ingratiating yourself with BBR forum members, boasting of your company's superiority to others, and dissing competitors.
Now, don't get me wrong. Competition is a great thing. Politely helping your customers is a great thing. But underneath it, I see this: a one-man sales operation, the 2014 version of the 20th century door-to-door commodity salesperson, selling Avon, Fuller Brush, Amway or encyclopedias. Anybody can simply resell SIP VoIP trunks and DIDs from a CLEC. Your website is primitive (read your users' reviews), and you have very few added-value services, compared the larger providers. You are "forum squatting" to get free advertising, you have no real customer support system, and you are answering what should be your own website's trouble tickets by having users, again, for free, post questions on someone else's forum. It's a clever way to survive, reselling somebody else's stuff at a very minimal cost of operation, to turn a small profit, but it's not the way to run an ethical business.
I assume Obihai is ignoring this because it's in their self-survival interest to sell more OBi boxes. No doubt, there are people on this forum who want nothing more than the very cheapest, bare-bones SIP access, and you're providing that, like CirlceNetSam's little company, for example.
Users just need to have their eyes wide open and not seduced by a "pssst, meester, wanna buy some cheeeep SIP". As I always say, you [don't] get what you [don't] pay for.
Wow! I usually agree with most of your posts here, and at the GV forum, but this post is total garbage.
Shill? If nitzan's a shill, I wish these other companies would do a little shilling themselves.
You like to boast about and recommend Callcentric, does that make you a shill?
I have accounts at many places including Callcentric, and nitzan's support is better than all of them.
I've seen the Callcentric rep and the Voip.ms rep and a lot of other voip reps post comments and make disparaging remarks about the competition, does that make them all shills?
Really?
Forum squatting?? That's too funny.
Yeah, the website could use some tweaking, but your other comments are way out of line.
Just my thoughts.......................
Quote from: nitzan on May 02, 2014, 09:24:40 AM
I'm not going to comment on Steve's post, but just to address longevity - here's how long various companies have been around:
CallCentric - 2005
Voip.MS - 2007
Future Nine - 2008
Phone Power - 2008
Anveo - 2010
Freelycall - 2012 (although I've never heard of them until the other day)
VestaLink - Originally 2010 as a side-business for the owner, in it's current form 2014
CircleNet - 2013
Are your dates are totally correct? Anveo says they were formed in 2006, and there website was registered in 2007. Or did they not really do business until 2010?
Steve, your view and comments on nitzan are really not how I perceive your character. Can I just say "lighten up"? Both of you make a living off of voip in different capacities. I am sure if nitzan's activities really start to bother the owners of the forum's he has activity on then they would have him banned.
I will say this to nitzan though as a consumer and bystander. Some of your posts criticizing other providers do come off bordering on unprofessional at times and I think you need to watch that. You might end up pushing a button that starts a process you cannot undo and in the process lose your most effective means of customer outreach.