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Bridging Units over Ethernet in Large House

Started by DanJ80304, March 28, 2017, 05:32:28 PM

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DanJ80304

Hi, I am trying to figure out what Obi gear I need to purchase.  I don't own anything yet from Obi.  Any advice is appreciated.

I live in a large house.  I am trying to share a single phone number between the main area of the house and the office which is far away.  I prefer not to use cordless Dect6 due to the distance.  I have a very fast ethernet network using MoCa 2.0 (so using coax wiring with adapters) and there is not any other wiring running to the rooms in question.    Because the ethernet network uses MoCa, I don't think it can be used as analog phone wiring at all.   I think I need a digital solution.

I recently purchased an Ooma Telo to try out.  That works fine in a single room but I was disappointed to learn that I can't bridge two Telos together on the same LAN over ethernet to share a single phone number.   I am perfectly fine returning the Ooma and starting from scratch with Obi and another service if that is preferable.

My questions are:

1.) Is there a single Obi unit which is compatible with the Ooma service and can bridge with an Ooma Telos to share a phone number?

2.) If I was starting from scratch, what Obi units would I need to purchase to share a phone line in 2 rooms using ethernet on the same LAN?

Thanks!

SteveInWA

#1
Hi:

You'll get several different answers to your question, including some advanced commands to forward or "fork" calls between two OBi products.  However, let's start with this:

Please quantify "far away"?  How many feet or meters?  Have you tried using a DECT 6.0 phone, before ruling it out?  I have several DECT 6.0 products, and all of them have excellent range, up to a half-block away (I could take the phone to the next-door neighbor's house and use it, for example).  DECT is a digital protocol, and, while it isn't "three letter government agency proof", it is reasonably-well encrypted, so privacy isn't an issue.

Given that you have no equipment yet, but you do have wired Ethernet available at both locations, would you be amenable to having one or more hardwired VoIP phones at those two locations?  Obihai makes excellent IP phones (models 1022, 1032 and 1062).  You could simply use one at each location, or one at one location, and a OBi 200 Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) with either a conventional desk phone or DECT cordless phone plugged into the ATA at the other location.  No call routing needed; both phones can separately register to a VoIP service provider and make/receive calls independently, and you can call one extension from the other.

I should add, that, while there are WiFi solutions available, it's pointless for your application since a) you have hardwired Ethernet available at each end, and b) DECT 6.0 actually has longer usable range than WiFi.

DanJ80304

#2
Steve -- thanks for your insights!

I haven't tried DECT 6.0 yet and just sticking with the Telos and using a multi-phone cordless solution is probably my backup plan if no elegant ethernet solutions exist.

The distance on its own is not the main concern with DECT.  At most it is probably 100-150 feet through some thick walls.   The concern is that we have a lot of Sonos units and often push some high fidelity music around the house.   I've read that DECT 6.0 and SonosNet (2.4ghz) don't get along so well, and I've had terrible interference years ago using older cordless frequencies with Sonos.    Also, we generally prefer office-style corded phones with larger bases (second keypad and higher quality speakerphone on the base) compared to the typical cordless models that lack those features.    Lastly, the MoCa ethernet wiring also goes to other rooms in the house so it is perfect for any future expansion and would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

I'm not opposed to purchasing hardwired IP phones.  Would multiple Obi IP phones be able to "bridge" and share a single phone number and ring simultaneously without needing to forward anything?     If a call is active on one of the IP phones, and someone picks up the other IP phone, would it join into the call or start a new call?

You are right about WiFi.  Would rather just use DECT.

SteveInWA

Thanks for your reply.

DECT is a current and international standard.  Different countries use slightly different frequencies, but the protocol is the same AFAIK.  It uses the 1.9GHz band, dedicated for this specific purpose, and it neither interferes with, nor is subject to, interference from 2.4GHz nor other wireless products.  It replaces the older bands used for cordless phones, 900MHz, 2.4GHZ and 5.2GHz.  I have a house full of dozens of different WiFi products operating on both WiFi bands, and I have never experienced any interference with my DECT devices (phones and headsets).  I wouldn't worry about that.

It sounds like the ideal solution for you, given your preference for business-class desk phones, would be OBi 1022 or 1032 IP phones.  You'll be using VoIP, not analog telephony, so each phone is independently communicating with a VoIP server.  Being on a conversation on one phone does not prevent the other phone from being used.  The key to this, is using a service provider that allows multiple extensions per account.  Callcentric is one example; there are others.  Google Voice, when used with OBi products, also allows multiple phones to be connected to their service, and two simultaneous conversations per number.  The IP phones are self-contained, meaning they have an Ethernet port and all the necessary internal guts to work as VoIP endpoints, with no other hardware required.