SIP VOIP services ?

VaioCruiser

Hi all,

I am connecting our small office of two or three people to VOIP using the Siemens Gigaset C450 IP phones I hope.

I know VOIPCheap has a SIP function so that we can use our phones with it automatically, but do any of the other VOIP services offer SIP ? or just computer based calls...?


Thanks,

VaioCruiser

daffy_duc

You can give Blueface a go.
Their primary offering is SIP based.

VaioCruiser

Great. That sounds like not many of them actually have a SIP service ?


VaioCruiser

guigui

HI,

SIP is now the main protocol used with VoIP.

It is used by all main VoIP hardware manufacturers (Cisco/linksys, Netgear, Avaya, ...) and it has got many advantages over the competing protocols IAX, H323, so many VoIP providers are using it.


G.

VaioCruiser

guigui wrote: »

HI,

SIP is now the main protocol used with VoIP.

It is used by all main VoIP hardware manufacturers (Cisco/linksys, Netgear, Avaya, ...) and it has got many advantages over the competing protocols IAX, H323, so many VoIP providers are using it.


G.

My understanding was that only a service that allows you to use a standalone VOIP phones uses SIP, and vice versa a VOIP phone can only use a VOIP servcie that offers SIP capability. I also thought that many online web based VOIP services don't offer SIP ?

Also..I see that VOIPCheap don't offer an Irish VoipIN number do any other ones offer an Irish number ? VOIPCheap seems by far the cheapest VOIP service by the way.

VaioCruiser

guigui

Hi VaioCruiser,

SIP is a protocol among others, but more and more it becomes the main one for VoIP and seems to be the protocol of the future for internet telephony and maybe for other real-time applications. Time will tell ...

If you want an Irish VoIP number (076...) I know Blueface offers one with their call plan. Have a look at : http://www.blueface.ie/help/faq.aspx?section=callplans&item=callcomparison

If you want to start using VoIP, don't consider only the cost of the calls, they are all cheap, but have a look as well at the services offered along with the ability to make cheap calls and receive calls.

HTH
G.

VaioCruiser

Thanks Guigui...some good points there.

You mentioned other services worth keeping in mind... what are those sevices ?





VaoiCruiser

Jackz

Hey guigui how do you work several phones at one location?

I know with one phone you forward port 5060 to the ip of the phone.

Asterisk would be a solution and you could use more then one SIP provider if you need a local number in the US or UK.

guigui

Hi Jackz,

If you need more than 1 phone number on the same phone there is a tool you are going to like : www.mysipswitch.com

That's a free service which will solve your problem. It will allow you to use more than 1 SIP account form many SIP providers on the same piece of hardware. It's maybe a bit techy but it will be so much easier for you than setting up a full Asterisk solution.

HTH

guigui

Hi VaioCruiser,

Regarding the other services the main one will be "call quality", then, technical support. Only for these 2 points, I would chose a proper VoIP provider and not only something web based like skype or voipbuster.

Then, the ability to manage your account online is a nice feature (ability to top up, to follow the use of the account, to set call forwarding or transfering rules only by clicking in an interface, ...).

HTH

lzbones

The main independent (not attached to telco's) Irish SIP providers are

freespeech.ie
blueface.ie

You are better off with an Irish provider as they will have equipment located here and provide access to local non-geographic and emergency numbers.

guigui

lzbones wrote: »

local non-geographic and emergency numbers.

Definitely !
Irish geographic numbers as well, that's always handy for the friends and family who are not on VoIP.

VaioCruiser

Jackz wrote: »

Hey guigui how do you work several phones at one location?

I know with one phone you forward port 5060 to the ip of the phone.

Asterisk would be a solution and you could use more then one SIP provider if you need a local number in the US or UK.

I eventually managed to speak with the sales people at a uk seller of the phone I want to use - the C460 IP gigaset by Siemens.

He told me however that I cannot pass calls between gigasets without an Asterisk running on one of the PCs in the office.... This is something not mentioned at all in the tech spec of these phones

VaioCruiser

lzbones wrote: »

The main independent (not attached to telco's) Irish SIP providers are

freespeech.ie
blueface.ie

You are better off with an Irish provider as they will have equipment located here and provide access to local non-geographic and emergency numbers.

But their charges are far higher than Skype and especially VOIPCheap ! I have used VOIPCheap from my PC regularly and the performance is great...

So what is so useful about the Irish services ? yes I know they have customer service and support... but why are they really needed ?

VaioCruiser

RangeR

VaioCruiser wrote: »

But their charges are far higher than Skype and especially VOIPCheap ! I have used VOIPCheap from my PC regularly and the performance is great...

So what is so useful about the Irish services ? yes I know they have customer service and support... but why are they really needed ?

VaioCruiser

What are your exact requirements?

The small business solution from Blueface give you upto 5 extensions so it should be possible for your workers to call each others phones [I think] for free but it will have to go out to blueface and back. This is pretty standard on most SIP phones unless you have a SIP Server in house [which can also be done].

tak

Let's look at the prices.

Look at Skype rates:-
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/prices/callrates/

And now look ar Blueface rates:-
http://www.blueface.ie/rates/rates.aspx

And the Freespeech PBX rates:-
http://www.freespeech.ie/home/pbxrates.html

First watch the inc VAT column in Skype and Freespeech !
A lot depends on where your calls are going.
I'd say if you're calling the less-developed countries the rates would be generally cheaper on Skype.
The 2 Irish VoIP companies have clearly made their rates more attractive if you're calling EU, USA/Can and other countries like Malaysia & Oz/NZ.
No doubt there are market and marketing reasons for some of the pricing, but that is the way of everything. Skype has deeper pockets so it can subsidise (not by too much though) the calls to the poorer states.
That's pricing. Do your own sums on that.

But the rest of the package is relevant too.
With big organisations with a foreign base you may as well be idle trying to have an input into the improvement process.
Not so with smaller companies. Blueface has a responsive enough forum.
Freespeech has a forum too.
I don't know how the billing is done on Skype.
As a BF user I can pump in my username & p-w and see it all on the screen or export it to an Excel file for analysis.
Other little extras also like voicemail being emailed on as .wav file is handy.
If you have a lot of calling to a country which has a local SIP VoIP operator it is possible to buy a local geo number and configure the BF VoIP sipswitch to carry both VoIP operators.
One can also "go mobile" with BF. This allows you to route a mobile call being made to a distant country via the internet for most of the way, thereby saving on charges. Look at another thread on this.

VaioCruiser

IrishTLR wrote: »

What are your exact requirements?

The small business solution from Blueface give you upto 5 extensions so it should be possible for your workers to call each others phones [I think] for free but it will have to go out to blueface and back. This is pretty standard on most SIP phones unless you have a SIP Server in house [which can also be done].

I don't quite understand what they mean by "2 Lines (two Geographic Numbers and two 076 numbers)."

Any idea ? This is importantant . . . do geographical numbers mean I have to keep the Eircom land line ? If we have five extensions, let's say, how many of them them can make calls at the same time ? It's not clear whether it is 2 or 4 ?


VaioCruiser

VaioCruiser

tak wrote: »

Let's look at the prices.

Look at Skype rates:-
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/prices/callrates/

And now look ar Blueface rates:-
http://www.blueface.ie/rates/rates.aspx

And the Freespeech PBX rates:-
http://www.freespeech.ie/home/pbxrates.html

I see that VOIPCheap calls to the USA are free.

First watch the inc VAT column in Skype and Freespeech !
A lot depends on where your calls are going.
I'd say if you're calling the less-developed countries the rates would be generally cheaper on Skype.

But if calls are so cheap why do Blueface charge 36 quid a month for a small business with three people ? Unlimited calls to UK/IRE are not worth that much surely ? exisiting telecoms offer that already at lower prices, no ?

With big organisations with a foreign base you may as well be idle trying to have an input into the improvement process.
Not so with smaller companies. Blueface has a responsive enough forum.
Freespeech has a forum too.

That's a fair point. What kinds of changes have occured because of Forum input ? any idea ? (juts asking out of curiosity, not being beligerant)

As a BF user I can pump in my username & p-w and see it all on the screen or export it to an Excel file for analysis.

If you are saying that usage stats can be accessed in this way that's an excellent point.
Other little extras also like voicemail being emailed on as .wav file is handy.

If you have a lot of calling to a country which has a local SIP VoIP operator it is possible to buy a local geo number and configure the BF VoIP sipswitch to carry both VoIP operators.

Not sure what this means... does this mean we can get a USA phone number at almost no cost or do we have to pay for a full service from the US VOIP operator as well ?

VaioCruiser

tak

What kinds of changes have occured because of Forum input ?
Go to the BF forum concerned.

Not sure what this means... does this mean we can get a USA phone number at almost no cost or do we have to pay for a full service from the US VOIP operator as well ?
Say you are making a lot of calls to Singapore. You could arranage to get a local number from a VoIP operator (who uses the SIP VoIP protocol) and - once you have configured your sipswitch to handle the Singapore VoIP calls as well as BF ones - you may make all your Singapore calls at the local Singapore rate.
The same with calls to other countries with SIP VoIP and willing to sell local numbers.
Yes, you'd need a basic USA SIP VoIP service and a local number.

guigui

Hi VaioCruiser

VaioCruiser wrote: »

I don't quite understand what they mean by "2 Lines (two Geographic Numbers and two 076 numbers)."

2 lines :
you have 2 times:
1 line with an Irish geo number (for instance a number which looks like a Dublin number (or Cork or Sligo ...) so people without VoIP from these areas pay local calls) and with a VoIP number as well for other VoIP users (mainly). Both numbers direct to the same 'account' so people can call you on either of them.

As a business customer you can create additional SIP accounts via an interface on Blueface's website (once you're logged in). Since you are 3 people, there you have already 2 lines, you can create a 3rd account which will allow the 3rd person to have his own.
You'll be all able to make/receive calls at the same time.

Otherwise, if you want VoIP for a business, I would definitely go for a proper VoIP provider since you need reliability and quality of service. VoIPCheap and the lot of very-cheap-only-web-based providers, they can be find to call friends if you have an occasional need for VoIP but something more intensive they are just not enough.

HTH