VOIP Solution for new Small Business

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radiotech

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Topic # 32861 25-Apr-2009 15:44

Hi there,

I'm helping out the technical for a new small business employing approx a dozen staff.

Looking at VOIP for voice

Whats the best road to go down? I've looked at Xnets VFX, 2talk, read the comments on Geekzone etc etc...

Needs

-Approx 8 extensions initially (or seperate voip lines - one line per main user)
-About 3000 national/local landline minutes per month
-About 500 cellphone minutues per month

Would it be good to get a voip line Linksys unit with 8 VOIP lines from Xnet + use their Supercap minutes service?

If we did that, how does it work with having one main office number - can that be answered/routed at no cost by another voip line in the office / can calls be transferred from line to line live?

Keen to hear your thoughts.

sbiddle

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Reply # 209276 25-Apr-2009 18:08

Super cap is a PSTN product. It does not apply to their VFX and VDX services. If you're needing 8 lines you also need to use DVX, VFX is the residential product.

What you you mean by a "Linksys unit"? Are you thinking of lots of individual ATA's or are you meaning one of the Linksys SPA9000 PBX's? If so I'd avoid these at all costs, they are average at best.

radiotech

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Reply # 209279 25-Apr-2009 18:16

I understood Super cap could be applied to Vfx. All good.

Linksys SPA8000 - gives you 8 voip lines?

hads

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Reply # 209284 25-Apr-2009 18:31

The SPA8000 is a "VoIP Gateway" basically a big ATA, it has eight analog ports to plug old analog phones into and will register eight separate SIP accounts.

I'd go with 2Talk myself, one of their business plans looks like it would suit.

Depending on whether you want/need a local PBX is up to you. Depending on how many simultaneous calls you will need you may want to look at a separate DSL line for VoIP only if you're on a DSL type connection.

hads

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radiotech

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Reply # 209287 25-Apr-2009 18:40

Cheers hads, much appreciated.

How many calls could you support before you run into issues?

To be honest, I'm not too keen on using Xnet for internet...Just had soo many issues with speed etc - can't be bothered. They aren't making my current switch to them too easy at home either. Heard Snap was good?

hads

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Reply # 209290 25-Apr-2009 18:51

It's a bit of a "How long is a piece of string" question. If you're sharing the DSL line between VoIP and normal data then of course it depends on what "normal data" is etc. etc., as well as what VoIP codec you use. QoS may also be required depending on the users usage habits.

Do a Google search for voip bandwidth calculator, that should give you an idea. On a FS/FS line with decent actual speed I wouldn't run more than about 2-3 simultaneous calls personally if sharing with normal data.

We use Snap ourselves for DSL and couldn't be happier actually. Had a few speed issues at one stage last year but they were cleared up quick enough. They've been reliable, their support is good, and we get around 17Mbit/1Mbit speed. Their DNS is blocked by Spamhaus but that's easy to work around.

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old3eyes

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Reply # 209291 25-Apr-2009 18:52

I know of a few companies in Auckland who have gone with Orcon's business SIP trunk offerings on their PBX systems..

Regards,

Old3eyes

sbiddle

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Reply # 209298 25-Apr-2009 19:15

With what you want to do (transferring calls etc) you really need a PBX. If you're also requiring large number of concurrent calls then an ADSL connection just won't cut it, something like a UNS connection would give far better results but I'm not sure if 2talk is avilable over a Callplus UNS circuit.

While VoIP does have the absility to deliver significant cost savings over traditional PSTN telephony you just have to be careful how far you cut costs if you want a reliable rock solid solution especially with the sort of call volumes you're looking at.

hads

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Reply # 209306 25-Apr-2009 19:32

I prefer a local PBX also, although it's not strictly necessary depending on your requirements. I know a colleague in Dunedin has setup offices with direct lines to each phone from 2Talk with the ability to transfer between phones.

I agree that a symmetric DSL service is a good idea, although if there aren't loads of simultaneous calls and you can get a decent DSL line then it will still work reliably.

I don't see a reason you couldn't use 2Talk over a Callplus UNS service, it's just another IP connection.

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Zeon

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Reply # 209591 26-Apr-2009 22:19

Even with 3-4 simultaneous outbound calls DSL should be OK as long as you have a good QoS router (if thats the setup you are going to use of course). Try trixbox for your PBX. Really easy to setup and once it settles down pretty rock solid unless you tinker/VOIP provider changes some settings on their end and it becomes unstable..