VOIP ATA recommendations

[fizikz]

I'm looking to switch to VOIP and would be interested to know what hardware has worked well for others. I would need it to support two lines, and also fax, if possible.

Currently, I have a two line, three number configuration. Line 1 has distinctive ring, and two numbers, one for voice and one for fax. Line 2 has voice, and is also used for DSL internet.

I'm trying to find the least disruptive way of switching the setup over to a reliable VOIP configuration, as the costs of the landlines are getting ridiculous.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Fax

If you really still need a FAX machine connection VOIP will be problematic.

FAX machines are old technology are were designed to work on other old technology POTS lines.

If you really need the fax line and want it to work then prioritize you search to find a VOIP service and/or adapter that will let you FAX then price and other features will be secondary.

A better option might be one of the FAX to computer service providers.

Perhaps someone will have a VOIP service that will work for you, but my experience has been nothing but frustrating in trying to get a FAX machine to work well on either VOIP or a fixed base 3G cell phone. Once in awhile after much teeth gnashing I could get a page or two to go but now I just scan documents to a PDF file and attach them to an e-mail.

 

[fizikz]

Eventually I'd like to move to virtual fax services, but many of them seem rather sketchy and unreliable. My choices in Canada are also limited. My preferred VOIP provider (voip.ms) currently does not offer virtual fax, but they intend to do so at some point. So, in the meantime, it would be nice if the ATA at least has the ability to do fax, so that I can test how well it works. On the other hand, the goal is for a reliable setup, so if fax really can't be done on VOIP, then I'll just have to accept that and find an alternative for the fax.

 

[stevech]

I'm looking to switch to VOIP and would be interested to know what hardware has worked well for others. I would need it to support two lines, and also fax, if possible.

Currently, I have a two line, three number configuration. Line 1 has distinctive ring, and two numbers, one for voice and one for fax. Line 2 has voice, and is also used for DSL internet.

I'm trying to find the least disruptive way of switching the setup over to a reliable VOIP configuration, as the costs of the landlines are getting ridiculous.

I tried 3 VoIP service providers. None was acceptable to the family. Too many outages, quality problems, etc. Used several popular ATAs, most provided by the VoIP service provider. It was more than frustrating, especially when a family member in an call starts cussing at the damned toy phone.

Cable TV Digital phone is similar to VoIP- but it avoids competing with your Internet usage for speed and quality, and it largely avoids the Internet routing. It costs more than generic VoIP and less by far than the evil empire of AT&T landline.

I've had cable digital phone for a year and the quality and reliability is very good. My combo box (Arris) does Cable Modem and Phone and has two lines if you pay for two. More lines = another box, more cost.

 

[fizikz]

Thanks, stevech. I did not realize that cable digital phone service was different from VOIP. I don't subscribe to cable TV and have no intention of doing so in the future, but I'll have to check if local cable companies offer this as a standalone service.

Your reports of unreliable VOIP are concerning. It's exactly the sort of thing I need to avoid, especially since one of the lines is for a home business. I have heard of businesses switching to VOIP, so I would think it should be possible to have reliable service.

Would you care to mention the VOIP providers and ATAs you used?

EDIT: What terminology differentiates VOIP from digital phone services?

 

[fizikz]

The only clue that I've found to suggest a non-VOIP digital phone service is when they do not require a high speed internet connection. I only found such a service from a local cable company (the only one in the area) and it's almost as expensive as a landline.

I finally decided to get the Linksys SPA2102-NA and paired it with a VOIP.ms account. I'm quite please so far. I found the call quality to be quite good with the value routing, and excellent with the premium routing. I might opt for premium for business, but the value is more than sufficient for home use, in my opinion. I even tried sending and receiving some test faxes (with the fax set to 9600, and using G711u codec in the ATA) and it worked without a hitch. I also tried to load my internet connection while using VOIP/FOIP without QoS and I didn't notice any problems yet.

So far it's great. Now I need to figure out a few configuration issues:

1) How to get fax (unique DID number) on a shared line with a voice DID number without distinctive ring. i.e. how can I get the fax to recognize and pick up calls to its number and not interfere with calls to the voice number?

2) Which QoS settings to use? Priority queue based on ports? Bandwidth allocation based on IP and ports? Bandwidth limiting?

3) I've read that the SPA2102 can support up to 3 REN. Is that per line, or the total for both lines, if both lines are used?

I feel tantalizingly close to having my telephony needs met. The SPA2102 is functioning quite well, with my only complaints being a total lack of explanation for the many settings available and the lack of ability to backup/restore the settings. I chose it over the PAP2T in case T.38 protocol for faxing is supported by my VOIP provider in the future. The SPA2012's routing and QoS abilities don't seem to be that great, so that was not a big factor in my decision, but it does give me more flexibility.

On the VOIP provider front, I was happy how I was able to create a VOIP.ms account online and get started right away. The service quality (voice and customer), pricing and sheer number of options available (for free) are overwhelming and impressive. My main complaints are the lack of a few desired features such as SMS notification for voicemail, distinctive ring, and billing in local currency (it is USD only).

I hope this post can be useful to others who may be contemplating a switch to VOIP. My main concern was about the voice quality and usability, and that aspect seems to be a non-issue at first glance. Any suggestions regarding my questions above are appreciated!

 

[fizikz]

Fax has been working fine over VoIP, but I have switched over to using a virtual fax service. The cost can be quite low especially for low-usage clients. I'm paying $0.99 for the DID with free incoming faxes and 3 cents per minute on outgoing faxes.