VoIP (SIP) to mobile gateway

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SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

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#284085 30-Mar-2021 15:32

My aging parents aren't comfortable using mobile phones. Mobile, however, provides the best deal for calls to New Zealand and Australia, which almost all of their calls are. They also aren't ready to give up their landline number.

Can anyone recommend hardware which can act as a SIP server, allowing a SIP client to connect directly and make outbound mobile calls?

They already have VoIP services through Hero and a phone system which is capable of routing calls from multiple SIP accounts to individual handsets. Devices I've found, such as the GoIP (questionable specs), only seem to function as SIP trunks, not as servers allowing a client to connect directly. I've already moved away from using an on-site PBX as it adds another point of failure to the system, so I'd rather not go down that route or hack together a solution using a Raspberry Pi, dongle and FreePBX. Obviously, communication is quite important, so a single plug-in device with reliable software would be preferable.

sbiddle

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#2684333 30-Mar-2021 21:09

Only gateways I've used in recent years are 2n ones but used a few PORtech ones before that. Just be prepared to pay $$$ for one and remember you need a 3G one (cheap ones will all be GSM) if you're using anybody but VF (and their GSM voice won't be around for a lot longer either).

SATTV

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#2684339 30-Mar-2021 21:39

How many minutes / month do they need to call Aussie, I would have thought that Hero would have been good enough as they are very cost effective especially once you add the cost of the mobile plan.

Uniden did have a cordless phone that connected to mobile phones via bluetooth so you might be able to link to a mobile phone that way and an ATA.

John

I know enough to be dangerous

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

Uber Geek

#2684460 31-Mar-2021 07:58

sbiddle:

Only gateways I've used in recent years are 2n ones but used a few PORtech ones before that. Just be prepared to pay $$$ for one and remember you need a 3G one (cheap ones will all be GSM) if you're using anybody but VF (and their GSM voice won't be around for a lot longer either).

After my post I found the Yeastar TG product range. It looks like these can do what I need and are available locally. The $~300 TG100 looks like it will work with Vodafone (3G 900/2100MHz), while the TG200 has a range of options for different regions but at a much higher price point. The latter is $US~330 in other regions, but I'd need the AU version at $~1200 locally.

SATTV:

How many minutes / month do they need to call Aussie, I would have thought that Hero would have been good enough as they are very cost effective especially once you add the cost of the mobile plan.

Hero charges for all calls, so local calls would come out of the same bundled minutes as calls to other parts of the country and Australia. My mother often makes 2+ hours calls to Brisbane and Christchurch and numerous shorter toll calls within Auckland. When I was with 2Talk, we only occasionally went over 500 minutes (not including local calls), but she's retired now, and has more time to spend on the phone. Using a gateway the total bill would be $17.30 per month.

sbiddle

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#2684463 31-Mar-2021 08:10

Factoring in the cost of the gateway would it make sense to just sign up for an Aussie VoIP provider and routing Aussie calls via this so you then have untimed calls within Australia for a fixed price per call?

If you did want a GSM voice gateway with analogue port (so you'd need an ATA to integrate it and it is GSM only so will only work with a VF SIM) I've got a few lying around and happy to give away one for free for the cost of courier if you're not in Wellington.

The Yeastar TG100 looks like a good option and the price isn't bad either. Currently shows out of stock at Snappernet who are the NZ distributor.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

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#2684465 31-Mar-2021 08:21

sbiddle:

If you did want a GSM voice gateway with analogue port (so you'd need an ATA to integrate it and it is GSM only so will only work with a VF SIM) I've got a few lying around and happy to give away one for free for the cost of courier if you're not in Wellington.

Thanks for the offer. I'm waiting to hear regarding the availability of the TG100. If that's available I will probably opt for that as it's a single unit and not priced too badly.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2844 posts

Uber Geek

#2696854 22-Apr-2021 20:42

Took a while to arrive, but I've finally installed my TG100. It's a tidy little unit inside a generic aluminium extrusion case, but it works quite well so far. It has many more capabilities than I require, but documentation is a little lacking. Setting up basic rules to add prefixes to local numbers wasn't as easy as I thought it would be from a quick glance. Support set me straight. Regarding the documentation, some of the details were lost in translation I think. The manual for the TG200 and larger versions seems to have received more attention over the years, and certainly more hardware and firmware revisions.

Despite having a larger antenna than any mobile phone manufacturered since the '80s, I did have to order an external antenna for it to get a reliable signal. 3G seems marginal in my area. I will probably upgrade to a directional outdoor antenna in the near future.

Overall, a good purchase.