How would I set this up using a Obihai?

[jeffg44]

Hello,

I currently have an Obihai that I use with 2 GV accounts that works flawlessly for home use.  I would like to set something up for a small business.  Basically I would like to use a Obihai to set up a phone system for 3 users and one incoming phone number.  All 3 phones would ring when the incoming number is dialed and calls could be put on hold and picked up by another user if desired.  While one person is on a call, I would like the ability for another call to be able to come in and ring the other 2 phones.  Also would like the ability to have one of the users (if not both) call out if one person is already on a call.

What equipment (are there special phones I would need) and service (SIP provider for example) would I need to do this and is the configuration pretty straight forward?  Or can this not be done with an Obihai?

Thank You In Advance,

Jeff

[Felix]

While this is basic functionality of PBX, I don't think Obihai can help you with that. For starters, Obi202 supports two users; not three. We had similar requirements for a small office (four users, two numbers) and we went with SIP trunking offering and 4 SIP phones (Grandstream sells 4-units package, which brought the price to attractive $70 per phone).

That said, there is OBiPlus offering that may fit your needs. I haven't used it personally, so I can't say more.

If you go PBX route, and if it is your first PBX experience, you may want to hire somebody to help you. If you are adventurous (or if it is your business and nobody will scream at you if something goes wrong) - you can get a lot of information on DSLR forum.

[jeffg44]

Felix,

Thank you for the quick response and suggestions.  I would assume I would then need a SIP provider?  Do you have a recommendation based on my desired setup?  Thanks again.

Jeff

[Felix]

Again, since this question is unrelated to Obihai, you will get many qualified answers on DSLR. I am using PhonePower SIP trunking plan. But depending on your usage you may want to consider CallCentric, Anveo, or any other BYOD provider.

[xmrkite]

I think this would work by taking the lines that come out of the obi and splitting them to your various phones. So when the obi rings line 1, all your phones ring on line 1. One picks up presses hold and another phone picks up line 1.

I have two obi 202's on the way to me as I am trying to do this exact same setup. We want our 6 4-line phones to work with two obi 202's (4 lines total).

In fact, the support guys told me we could setup a mock hunting group, so if line 1 is busy, line 2 will ring...line 1,2 busy, line 3 rings, and so on.

Here is what he said:

"If you plan to use analog phones with our service you can get the 2 OBis and register the 4 lines by creating sub-accounts. You can disable the call waiting feature in your obi device and add a Failover to the DID number (for Busy instance), this way when a call comes in, you can route this call to either a sub-account (or line) or maybe an external number (your cellphone), for example."

Hope that helps you out. This would make a pretty nice setup.

[Felix]

@xmrkite,

I am somewhat skeptical that you will be able to do what you are describing you want to do. You mention sub-accounts; so I assume that "support guy" is from Anveo or Voip.ms. Maybe they have some ability to forward to subaccount.

Once you receive the device, I would be very curious to learn more about your experience.