For those who use VoIP services in the home - how do you manage multiple extensions?

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › For those who use VoIP services in the home - how do you manage multiple extensions?

lchiu7

6479 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#87668 3-Aug-2011 19:53

I've always thought about moving to naked DSL and a VoIP service but I always then stop and think about how I could manage multiple extensions in the house.

Assuming you connect your model and VoIP phone to one jack so there's one phone there, even if that phone has an extension socket to plug in another phone, it becomes problemmatic when you have phones in several rooms across two stories.

I don't think it's feasible to use cordless phones throughout the house so I thought of another solution.

There are two lines into the house, with one line terminating at all extension jack points (5). The second line terminates at only two jack points.

I could put the naked DSL on the second line and then run a cable from the modem/phone to outside the house and connect it to the second pair in the junction box. That would mean all extensions in the house would have connectivity to the modem/VoIP phone.

Does that sound reasonable?

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#501602 3-Aug-2011 20:02

Second option is what most people do. Just be aware most ATA's have a REN value of around 3, and a phone is around 0.5 - 1 (actual figure is either on the Telepermit sticker on on the Telepermit site if you look up the Telepermit number) so you can have a number of phones connected before exceeding the REN.

Let me know if you ever any help with wiring, it's a very simply job.

hairy1

3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#501605 3-Aug-2011 20:10

What VOIP hardware are you running? If you are after two separate lines for having multiple calls at once a lot of VOIP hardware has two separate line jacks.

You could run two lines out of your VOIP box to the different locations.

2talk has a great feature called one number which means that calls will sequentially (or simultaneously) ring up to 5 different lines.

Cheers, Matt.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

hairy1

3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#501607 3-Aug-2011 20:13

Further to this, I run a Siemens dual VOIP cordless handset (pair) and an analog ATA for a wired phone. The Siemens hardware has taken the headaches out of the ATA setup and work brilliantly.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

lchiu7

6479 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#501621 3-Aug-2011 20:42

Thanks for all the responses.

Specifically I have no hardware yet - just evaluating possibilities.

I don't really think I need two lines. I have two now only because TCL charges only $15 for a second line and I thought it would be useful for my daughter to have her own. But she hardly uses it preferring to text her friends!

It's part of a bigger decision to ditch TCL cable and move to naked DSL but I am still evaluating whether the naked DSL providers can deliver an equal or improved level of Internet service.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

hairy1

3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#501623 3-Aug-2011 20:46

Two lines will cost you no more if you move to someone like 2talk. It is effectively the same line but will ring and call out in multiple places (hard to visualize until you see the 2talk portal)

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#501624 3-Aug-2011 20:46

There isn't much in the way of naked DSL that comes close to TCL's 40GB for $70 on cable.

michaelt

425 posts

Ultimate Geek

#501627 3-Aug-2011 20:51

Our setup right now is a single ATA with two extensions. One is connected to a triple cordless phone set, the other to a double cordless phone set. That gives us 2 cordless phones based at the ATA, and 3 more around the house.

We have two VoIP phone lines (a NZ and a German one) and both extensions are connected to both lines, so it works pretty well. Can use any phone most of the time, and only really have to think about which phone to use if we want to use both extensions simultaneously.

We're actually going to be installing some Cat6 cabling this weekend, and I've bought some RJ45 to RJ12 adaptors to go along with the cat6. The plan going forward is to have one extension of the ATA connected through the cat6 to the triple cordless phone base station in another room. The other extension will go through a double adaptor to a single cordless phone (on the same UPS as the ATA) and also through the cat6 to another base station in another room.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

lchiu7

6479 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#501648 3-Aug-2011 21:26

sbiddle: There isn't much in the way of naked DSL that comes close to TCL's 40GB for $70 on cable.

That's what I am beginning to think (I am on the 60GB plan at $90) but I am getting frustrated with their usage meter (no transparency over usage).

I guess what I could do is ditch the two phone lines and save $55/month. Then get a VoIP service from say Xnet for $12/month. But I am still back to the original dilemma of trying to distribute the phone service across the household.

And depending on the ATA adapter I purchased, it would take me 3-4 months to recoup the costs of that before beginning to move into positive territory financially.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

lchiu7

6479 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#501862 4-Aug-2011 12:23

sbiddle: Second option is what most people do. Just be aware most ATA's have a REN value of around 3, and a phone is around 0.5 - 1 (actual figure is either on the Telepermit sticker on on the Telepermit site if you look up the Telepermit number) so you can have a number of phones connected before exceeding the REN.

Let me know if you ever any help with wiring, it's a very simply job.

Just a quick question since I don't have a ATA I can check with.

If I connect the output from a ATA (phone) to the extension jack in the wall, will other phones connected to other jacks "see" the ATA? I always thought the extensions in a house (whether trailing wire everywhere) or in the house wiring, were wired in parallel so it sort of makes sense.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

RunningMan

8965 posts

Uber Geek

#501870 4-Aug-2011 12:48

lchiu7:
If I connect the output from a ATA (phone) to the extension jack in the wall, will other phones connected to other jacks "see" the ATA? I always thought the extensions in a house (whether trailing wire everywhere) or in the house wiring, were wired in parallel so it sort of makes sense.

Yes. Just make sure the wiring internal to the house is not connected to the outside world as well.

lchiu7

6479 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#501892 4-Aug-2011 13:16

RunningMan:
lchiu7:
If I connect the output from a ATA (phone) to the extension jack in the wall, will other phones connected to other jacks "see" the ATA? I always thought the extensions in a house (whether trailing wire everywhere) or in the house wiring, were wired in parallel so it sort of makes sense.

Yes. Just make sure the wiring internal to the house is not connected to the outside world as well.

Cool. It isn't hard to disconnect the wiring to the outside world since it terminates in a box sitting on the outside of the garage.

Now to borrow a ATA to try it out.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

raytaylor

4017 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#501904 4-Aug-2011 13:39

Both myself and (www.Airnet.co.nz) who provide voip and broadband, will disconnect the chorus line at the demarc, and then plug a linksys ATA into a phone jack.

That then sends the signal up to 3 other phones or cordless main base stations plugged into the other wall sockets in your house.

Ray Taylor

There is no place like localhost

Spreadsheet for Comparing Electricity Plans Here