Help my small biz say adios to phone co.

[Baller]

I have an old and reliable PBX that I'd like to continue using. I currently have Comcast internet and phone service. I'm paying about $600/month for it. Our EIGHT phone lines are digital, but look like POTS to my phone system. As far as numbers go, only one of the numbers that Comcast provides is important, our main local number. (I also have a toll-free incoming number -- and pay $.04 per minute -- which rings the main local number.) The other phone numbers associated with my Comcast lines are immaterial. The important thing is that they are part of a hunt group, so if the main line is busy, a call goes to the second line, third line and so on until it finds a free line. Whatever line it finds, it goes into our PBX, which takes over from there.

So to recap, I need:
* Eight lines in a hunt group (hopefully created by me using Obitalk). I would port my main number into this group, and it would be first in the group.
* My toll-free number ported to the service provider, and  forwarded to my main line.

I am thinking of purchasing the OBi508vs to help accomplish all this. It seems like it can act as an ATA right now, and if and when I decide to dump the PBX, it can facilitate a move to a virtual PBX.

Here what I need help with:

* Confirmation that I'm not barking up a tree here.
* Confirmation that Obitalk can create the "hunt group" by setting up busy call forwarding on each of the ports/lines.
* Recommendation on a service provider. I am inclined to use one of the certified Obi providers, but I know there are others out there. Opinions on Google Voice, which I use at home with a small Obi unit, would be appreciated.
* Recommended minimum specs on an Internet service to support this. We don't do much heavy lifting on the Internet otherwise, and are happy with non-phone speeds in the 20Mbps range. Also, how much should I expect to pay for the Internet service?
* Recommendation on how to handle the toll-free number. I am assuming that somebody (but maybe not Google) can accept an incoming port of this number.

I hope this thread can help others as well as me in moving to a more cost-effective solution. In your reply, please let me know your experience, so I have a reference point for your response. Thanks!!

[LTN1]

Lots of business related technical advice to ask on a volunteer based forum meant to target towards the residential users...or at the most, those running small businesses with a few lines.

Out of curiosity, what type of PBX is it?

Assuming it is just an analog PBX, it would be cheaper in the long run to invest in a SIP based IP-PBX, or a hybrid one.

I have an estimate of around $60 to $80 per month of SIP based telephone line charges if you had 8 SIP channels.

[Baller]

Thanks. The system is an old (c. 1997) Altigen. I am happy with it. So I just need to emulate 8 analog lines. Seems like the 8-port Obi would do the trick. I'm not sure what you mean by, "SIP based IP-PBX, or a hybrid one," which sounds pretty technical. If that would replace my Altigen, I'd rather just figure out how to get 8 new, less expensive dial tones into my system.

BTW: I found a site called Number Barn to which you can port a toll-free number and get unlimited forwarding for $19/month. So that part of my problem is solved.

If forum members can help, great. I'm guessing Obi tech support trolls the forums occasionally. If my questions are beyond your (as in anyone reading this) expertise, I'd rather get no response than an uninformed one.

[azrobert]

All OBi ATAs support call forward on busy or on no answer after x number of rings. I don't own a 5 series OBi, so I only tested this function with a single forward.

The OBi508 supports hunt groups.
See:
https://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=9451.0

and on page 144 here:
http://www.obihai.com/docs/OBi508AdminGuide.pdf

[Baller]

Thank you SO much. That was my biggest, most pressing question, and you nailed it, az!!

[Steve56]

I hesitate to respond, as seemingly everybody will offer a different approach and have different opinions on the matter.

Yours was a similar issue I faced not so long ago. I, like you, am also using a conventional digital (non IP) phone system that others and I have grown accustomed to and see no reason to upgrade or change things.

To answer your questions, it can be accomplished and fairly easy at that.

Call forward on busy, as has already been answered by someone else, is possible using all the Obi devices. It is in this manner that you may emulate the conventional phone lines in that if the main line (or it and the line second in succession to it) is in use, incoming calls will rollover to the next available line. My approach has been through several separate Obi100 devices which is a more hobbled together approach than many will probably like. An ATA such as that which you mentioned in your post is eminently suited for the task.

Something you'll need to pay equal consideration to is how each of your lines will behave. It's unclear how your existing service is configured, but if it is like most businesses, each line displays the same outgoing telephone number. For most, this is the desired operation.

With VoIP, it's usually assumed that you'll either be using an IP PBX and suitable IP telephones or a simple analog telephone adapter with the requisite analog telephone. For this reason, you'll need to research which service providers allow multiple registrations. This is necessary if you'll want to you use the same account, with the same outgoing phone number, from each line available for use on your phone system. Mind you, this is once again because I am using multiple Obi100s and not one of the larger ATAs with multiple analog connections. The above may not be necessary with something like an Obi508.

If each analog line of the Obi508 can use the same VoIP account (much like multiple IP phones connected to an IP PBX can), the problem of having different outbound phone numbers being sent to whomever you're calling is moot as you'll only be using a single account with your ported number.

In closing, what you're wanting is very easily accomplished with some research and time. Your 20Mbps internet connection should be more than enough for a small office phone system. You may want to look into implementing Quality of Service on your router, however, to prevent any potential bottlenecks from interfering with your telephone conversations.

If you do decide to replace your existing Comcast service with an Obi508 or its siblings, I encourage you to update us. I'm curious myself if each of the analog line ports on an Obi508 or similar can access and make or receive calls using the same VoIP account simultaneously

[Baller]

Thank you, Steve. I think our system currently sends out the CallerID number associated with the trunk line the system chooses (in other words, no single number, no consistency), and that has never bothered me. The CallerID Name that goes out might be of concern however. If we use GV, then my understanding is that no name would go out, and that would be OK. If we use an SIP provider, I'm sure I can specify the outgoing name.

A couple of additional issues, which I'm sure are covered in the documentation, but would have to be translated into DIY English: disabling call waiting and other services such as three-way calling that are invoked with a flash. Our PBX would handle that stuff, and a flash would just confuse things, sending information to both the PBX and the Obi.

[Steve56]

Last I checked the Obi star code reference page, call waiting is easily disabled through the dialing of the star code *57. It can additionally be disabled through the configuration portal (locally or via ObiTalk).

If you don't mind my asking, since you had mentioned each line on your system is independent (and thus is essentially a separate phone line and number) of one another, what were to happen if somebody were to call the phone number associated with Line 2 or 3--does it ring the respective line? I ask since the behavior of your phone system is nearly identical to mine, with each line button on the system using a different phone number/trunk. To keep things simple, I've set each of the secondary lines (Line 2, 3, etc.) to play a voicemail greeting redirecting the caller to dial the main number. So far, I've not had any issues with that, since most people will stick to the number you told them to use (in my case verbally; but in your case signs, brochures, or business cards).

Google Voice, as far as I'm aware, doesn't send out Caller ID name information and there isn't any way to change that. Calls made to another provider that offers Caller ID name (CNAME) service does show the town and state where the number is based out of, however, which I'm sure is something that happens regardless of whether or your telephone provider actually employs outbound CNAME.

I'm certain things such as three-way calling can be disabled, but I've never bothered as my system usually can't disconnect and reconnect (flash) the line quick enough to trigger accidental three-way dialing. Perhaps someone else may be able to offer additional advice on the matter as it couldn't hurt to disable what you don't need.

[SteveInWA]

Locally-implemented PBXs are outdated technology for business telephony.  Cloud-based telephony, which is much more versatile, flexible, and able to integrate with other I/T systems, is the current and future solution.

The system is an old (c. 1997) Altigen

If you look at Altigen's website, you'll see that they have become cloud-based, offering telecom solutions as a service, instead of just selling PBXs.

I'm not sure what you mean by, "SIP based IP-PBX, or a hybrid one," which sounds pretty technical.

That wasn't very clear wording.  Instead, compare your existing telephone service, hardware and telephone equipment setup with one where your only on-premises equipment are individual telephones.  Each telephone has an Ethernet connection to your office's LAN.  The telephones can even get their DC power over Ethernet, with the appropriate network switch or POE injectors.  There is no on-premises PBX.  All the inbound call handling logic is configured on a web browser "portal" page, provided by your Internet Telephone Service Provider (ITSP).

In this scenario, you would port your toll-free phone number, and your main inbound telephone number, out of their current carriers, and over to the ITSP and its carrier partner(s).  You could then easily configure any sort of hunt group, call handling for the toll free number, and features such as voicemail, outbound caller ID, etc.

These services are much cheaper than your current solution, don't require much on-site technical support, and are very easy to change over time (add or delete extensions, change call handling behavior, etc).

You can select from ITSPs that handle the provisioning (setup) for you, along with "hand-holding" ongoing customer support, or you can select a ITSP that is more DIY and a la carte as far as features go.

For example, Callcentric, PhonePower and voip.ms are three of the DIY ITSPs, typically with only email-based support, or, you can go with a cloud based provider that is tailored to your needs (for example, if you want/need integration with Salesforce or Office365 or your CRM system, or if you simply want a "make it work and I don't need to know how it works" service).  Examples of that are Nextiva, RingCentral, or DialPad (or, Altigen, for that matter).

Google Voice is not suitable for your business needs.

You do not need an OBi 504/508, nor a dozen OBi ATAs.  All you need are IP phones, and Obihai makes great ones:  the 1022, 1032 or 1062.

Your ITSP can work with you to set up a cloud-based replacement for your existing setup.  You'd typically have only two inbound numbers:  the current TFN, and the Comcast number.  The ITSP then supplies enough "channels" to support whatever size hunt group of extensions you have.  Think of a channel as the ability to make or receive one phone call at a time, not as a phone number.  You can add as many channels as you need, and you can change your capacity at any time, simply by making the change with the ITSP remotely.  Of course, if you wanted each user to have their own, distinct outbound telephone number, that can also be accommodated.

Outbound calls can show either the TFN or the former Comcast number's caller ID, as you wish.

[LTN1]

I'm not sure what you mean by, "SIP based IP-PBX, or a hybrid one," which sounds pretty technical.

That wasn't very clear wording.  

I know that the wording was sort of redundant since all IP-PBXes are SIP capable...was just emphasizing the SIP component (as opposed to staying analog). I didn't bother to follow up any explanations since it appeared, at least to me, that the OP was very determined, at this time, to use his old analog PBX. I didn't want to waste time offering valuable advice--like the one you offered. I learned long ago that if someone is set on a direction, offering a better solution, even if it will be cheaper and more efficient in the long run, is comparable to the biblical quote of "throwing pearls to swines."

Your solution, is good, but it would entail lots of investment in IP phones at this time. My solution, though not my best option, would entail having at least 8 incoming channels from (e.g.) CallCentric along with the OP's desire to keep and utilize his old equipment.

[SteveInWA]

I learned long ago that if someone is set on a direction, offering a better solution, even if it will be cheaper and more efficient in the long run, is comparable to the biblical quote of "throwing pearls to swines."

I know, I know....

Yet, I keep trying.  This is mainly a "hobbyist" and "DIY" forum.  I try to bring a business perspective to solving business requirements.  In this example, keeping the 20-year-old, obsolete, unsupported PBX and adding more analog equipment to it is a bad investment.  Spending some money on some new SIP VoIP equipment is a modest capital investment^* that will "pay off" over time in increased reliability and less down-time, while benefiting from new features.  Leveraging a business-class service provider, rather than be your own telephone company, is a better use of a business' labor cost.  Small businesses that spend too much labor on non-core activities, like managing a PBX, aren't investing that labor in making more money.

^*(which can be depreciated)

[Baller]

FWiW, I decided to go with 3CX on a cloud server. Their PBX Express is a pretty amazing tool for setting up a system. I did it myself, but also hired a guy on Upwork to help out for a few hours. After a pretty modest investment in new phones (Yealink 29s at $100/each), a perpetual license for the Pro version of 3CX with 8 concurrent calls (~$850), and my consultant's time (~$250) it will cost me about $125/month for license maintenance, the cloud platform and SIP time. I will start off with 14 users, which would have cost me $350-$600/mo, plus crazy taxes, with one of the top cloud PBX providers. I'm very happy so far, but still in building/testing phase. Thanks for the help.

[LTN1]

What's your backup if either the cloud server or your internet goes down?