VOIP companies: Difference between revisions
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''These are the top candidates so far. I've moved the list of [[Other VOIP Providers|other VOIP providers]] off this page.'' | |||
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Recommends traditional PRIs or analogue lines that Time Warner, Earthlink, or fiber input. | Recommends traditional PRIs or analogue lines that Time Warner, Earthlink, or fiber input. | ||
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Revision as of 04:24, 9 February 2013
Time flies!
Contact info
Jim Wright, President and CEO, (877) 888-6279, x101
Tom Zambito, Network Technician, (716) 839-1900
Holy Family Communications
The Station of the Cross Catholic Radio
6325 Sheridan Drive
Williamsville, NY 14221
- - Station of the Cross
- - (877) 888-6279 -- main office number--via Earthlink
- - (877) 511-5483 -- Calling All Catholics (feeds Studio A and Studio B)
- - (888) 711-6279 -- Fund drive (with VOIP provider now--PhonePower.com?)
- - (716) 839-6117 -- office
- - (877) 711-8500 -- FAX
- - Orthodent
- - (716) 839-1900
- - (716) 839-9088 -- FAX
- - (800) 837-1552
- - EasyRX at Orthodent
- - (888) 340-3751
- - Station of the Cross
Active contacts
These are the top candidates so far. I've moved the list of other VOIP providers off this page.
| company | contact | comments |
|---|---|---|
| Earth Link Hosted Voice, Hosted IP PBX |
Earthlink Business Sales Office
Ellicott Square Bldg EarthLink Business Sales: 1-877-355-1501 Josh Hoyle |
28 January 2012 What Earthlink does for us now:
|
| Voip Supply. |
80 Pineview Drive
Sweet Home and North French
|
Many brands. Lots of hardware.
29 January 2013 SIP program just starting They resell CloudSpan service. They would send us an Asterisk-based IP-PBX -- "Elastix". The cost of the appliance varies with configuration and hours of support. $600-$800. It is an "appliance" (hardware/software combination). Cost depends on whether there is a PSTN card in it, level of support, and extended warranty ($50 a year for three years).
An EdgeMonitor (EdgeMonitor?) is also required. About $524 for 10-call device. Can upgrade same device later just with license key.
Needs high-speed internet connection. Our Time Warner Business class will work. One line in from internet; one line out to "switch." (I call it a server. Same or different?) They usually just deliver hardware. May be able to provide on-site installation and configuration for a price. He will talk with his engineers and get back to me. Called back 6 February 2013 with rewritten quote. 10 SIP trunks (2 x 5). Can add extra trunks one-at-a-time. One trunk per phone call. |
| Great Lakes IT Services |
4955 Chestnut Ridge Road
Anastasia Hardy (205-978-3405)
|
Michael says they send people onsite. Cloud based. Router onsite for us. Breakout of locations. Seat count. Applications for the seats. Can your network support the bandwidth? May need two T1 lines. Will send engineers to go over the network. Get LOA: Letter of Authorization to allow folks to pull phone records from phone company to get CSR (Customer Service Record). Billing telephone number and any associated phone numbers with that account. ANO Additional Number .... DID Direct. Might have Centrex. Who knows? All the addresses for the locations. Call on Tuesday, 15 January 2013. Still wants LOA. Working Telephone Number (WTN). 800 numbers are phantom numbers. They point to WTNs. Can redirect them nearly instantaneously yourself from configuration software. 6 February Conference call with technician. Charlie. What is the bandwidth speed for Time Warner?
Network diagram. Deliver services. Someone would have to implement them onsite. Wants to visit with an engineer to do a site survey. Model numbers of the router(s) being used now? |
| Premcom (a Shortel partner) |
|
VAR. Systems integration.
Celino and Barnes, Brown and Chiari. BCO (small printing shop). "Rip and replace." Replace the guts of your system. New hardware. Buy or lease. Non-SIP. SIP trunks: no standard protocol. That's the problem with international lines. Recommends traditional PRIs or analogue lines that Time Warner, Earthlink, or fiber input. |
Jargon
-- A --
- Asterisk
- Asterisk is a free and open source framework for building communications applications and is sponsored by Digium. Asterisk turns an ordinary computer into a communications server. Asterisk powers IP PBX systems, VoIP gateways, conference servers and is used by small businesses, large businesses, call centers, carriers and governments worldwide. In short, it is an open source Linux PBX.
-- D --
- Digium is the creator, maintainer and sponsor of the Asterisk project. Digium offers products and services that extend the power of Asterisk. A portion of every Digium sale goes to fund Asterisk development. Support Asterisk: Buy Digium.
-- F --
- FXO, FXS
- FXS and FXO are the name of ports used by Analog phone lines (also known as POTS - Plain Old Telephone Service) or phones.
- FXS - Foreign eXchange Subscriber interface is the port that actually delivers the analog line to the subscriber. In other words it is the ‘plug on the wall’ that delivers a dialtone, battery current and ring voltage.
- FXO - Foreign eXchange Office interface is the port that receives the analog line. It is the plug on the phone or fax machine, or the plug(s) on your analog phone system. It delivers an on-hook/off-hook indication (loop closure). Since the FXO port is attached to a device, such as a fax or phone, the device is often called the ‘FXO device’.
- FXO and FXS are always paired, i.e similar to a male / female plug.
-- L --
- LOA
- Letter of Agency. This authorizes a company to take over our telephone numbers and re-route them over the internet.
-- M --
- MAC address
- A Media Access Control address (MAC address) is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. MAC addresses are used for numerous network technologies and most IEEE 802 network technologies, including Ethernet. Logically, MAC addresses are used in the Media Access Control protocol sub-layer of the OSI reference model.
- MUX
- Multiplexer: combines several data streams into one. Shares expensive resource among many users.
-- N --
- NATed LAN
- NAT is short for Network Address Translation, an Internet standard that enables a local-area network (LAN) to use one set of IP addresses for internal traffic and a second set of addresses for external traffic. A NAT box located where the LAN meets the Internet makes all necessary IP address translations.
-- P --
- PBX
- Private Branch eXchange
- PRI
- The Primary Rate Interface (PRI) is a standardized telecommunications service level within the Integrated Services Digital Network () specification for carrying multiple DS0 voice and data transmissions between a network and a user.
- PRI is the standard for providing telecommunication services to offices. It is based on the T-carrier (T1) line in the US and Canada, and the E-carrier (E1) line in Europe. The T1 line consists of 24 channels, while an E1 has 32.
- PRI is a connection used for carrying multiple voice and data transmissions within an Integrated Services Digital Network, or ISDN.
- POTS
- Plain Old Telephone Service
- PSTN
- Public switched telephone network
-- S --
- SBC
- SIP trunking
- siptrunk.org: "What Is SIP Trunking?"
- - PBX with SIP-enabled trunk side
- - enterprise edge device understanding SIP
- - Internet telephony of SIP trunking service provider (Internet Telephone Service Provider [ITSP])
- - One trunk needed for each call.
System requirements
- Keep current handsets and the new server.
- Keep Asterisk.
- Replace Rhino with new VOIP service (?). The Rhino has bandwidth problems during the fund drive?
- Provide international service (Canada) for all toll-free numbers. PhonePower.com let us down?
- - Station of the Cross
- - (877) 888-6279 -- main office number--with Earthlink? Time Warner?
- - (877) 511-5483 -- Calling All Catholics (feeds Studio A and Studio B)
- - (888) 711-6279 -- Fund drive (with VOIP provider now--PhonePower.com?)
- - (716) 839-6117 -- office
- - (877) 711-8500 -- FAX
- - Orthodent
- - (716) 839-1900
- - (716) 839-1900
- - (716) 839-9088 -- FAX
- - (800) 837-1552
- - EasyRX at Orthodent
- - (888) 340-3751
- - JMJ
- - No phone.
- - Any other numbers?
- - Station of the Cross
- Connect to mixers in Studio A and Studio B.
- Work with current fund-drive system.
- Act as PBX for 9 office phones; phone bank for fund-drives.
- Fault tolerant.
- Good support.
- Documentation: passwords, URLs, IP addresses needed to make everything work.
Post mortem
- Talk with PhonePower.com? What went wrong? Has it been fixed? Can it be fixed?
Present setup
Two different phone service providers: Earthlink (T1, analog) and PhonePower (VOIP).
Two different data line providers: Earthlink (Telos (sp?) lines to Rochester and Boston?) and Time Warner (PhonePower VOIP and all of the transmitters).
Eight transmitter locations:
- Buffalo, NY
- Rochester, NY (AM and FM)
- Elmira, NY
- Syracuse, NY
- Boston, MA (daytime and nighttime antennas)
- Oil City, PA
Internet traffic carried on Time Warner optical line:
- iCatholicRadio stream
- Live stream via local radio station interface
- Websites?
Q: Where are the websites hosted for the individual stations? Onsite or offsite?
- -
Q: How much Time Warner bandwidth are we using at present?
- -
I believe each of the local offices also has a telephone number and, I presume, a telephone bill to go with it. It should be possible to incorporate all of them into the WAN/VOIP system. That might result in some savings.
Station of the Cross and Orthodent handsets
A call to these numbers follows this route to a handset:
- Public switched telephone network
- Earthlink
- T1 line with 24 pairs of analog lines
- Rhino T1 Channel Bank FXS/FXO with Data
- Trixbox software IP-PBX--hosted on the VPN? On its own hardware? Community edition? Asus box?
- Virtual private network (VPN) server creates a Wide Area Network (WAN)
- Router
- Ethernet cables and connectors.
- Linksys WAN phones. Polycom handset in conference room?
CAC
- Public switched telephone network
- Earthlink
- T1 line with 24 pairs of analog lines
- Rhino T1 Channel Bank FXS/FXO with Data
- Trixbox software IP-PBX--hosted on the VPN? On its own hardware? Community edition? Asus box?
- Virtual private network (VPN) server creates a Wide Area Network (WAN)
- Router (?)
- The calls are switched by software from digital circuits to a card in a computer that provides analog IO for the Telos box
- Flash Operator Panel--hosted where?
- CAC phone server (?)-- analog IO on RJ11 modular connectors (?).
- Telos: two single-pair lines in; four (?) four-pair lines out
- Parking extensions: 60, 61, 62, 63. These play the outbound audio from the mixer to calls on hold. Audio output only; no audio input.
- Studio A: extension 130 and 131. Caller audio input volume controlled by sliders. No effect on audio output to the caller.
- Studio B: extension 132 and 133. Caller audio input volume controlled by sliders. No effect on audio output to the caller.
Fund Drive
A call to the Fund Drive phone number follows this route to the phone bank (nine workstations in the Outer Darkness as well as some or all (?) of the handsets in the offices):
- Public switched telephone network
- PhonePower
- Time Warner fiber-optic cable (?)
- Trixbox software IP-PBX--hosted on the VPN? On its own hardware? Community edition? Asus box?
- Virtual private network (VPN) server creates a Wide Area Network (WAN)
- Router
- Ethernet cables and connectors.
- Some Linksys handsets. Nine workstations in the Outer Darkness running CounterPath’s X-Lite softphone.
Q: What has to be done to set up and take down the phone bank for each fund drive? Something about "hunting"?
- - ________________________
Q: Who is going to set up and take down the phone bank for each fund drive?
- - Tom Zambito
Time Warner Optical Fiber (TWOF)
- Time Warner Business Class Dedicated Internet Access
- 10 Mbps guaranteed, but getting 19 Mbps up and down
- Optical Dedicated Internet Access is IP over IEEE 802.3 based Full Duplex non-circuit switched services provisioned on dedicated fiber optic facilities from the customer premises to the Time Warner Cable hub-site rate limited at the Ethernet Aggregation switch from 5 Mbps to 1 Gbps.
Digium Switchvox
The Polycom handset in the conference room has a screen that seems to indicate that it is connected to a Digium Switchvox. This may be an entirely separate system owned and run by BCS.
- Switchvox is Digium's family of VoIP (Voice Over IP) Phone Systems for small and medium businesses. Switchvox systems are designed to be easy to use, full of helpful features and cost less than a traditional PBX. Compare Switchvox SMB and Switchvox SOHO.
- Switchvox SMB is so much more than just an office phone system. It’s a revolution in business communications, putting you in control of your most important asset in business, your voice. Switchvox is easily managed with the Switchboard, a unique web based, real-time call control panel that gives you the flexibility you need to keep your office connected.
Virtual Private Network (VPN) server
- Is the same server running the Spark Chat software?
- Also carrying the traffic for the antennas?
- Also connecting the workstations to the accounting software during the fund drive?
- Also handling VOIP?
- What kind of bandwidth does it have? Does it bog down?
Questions
- Who is serving the station now?
- - Earthlink
- - Time Warner Business class
- - SIP trunk--two trunks coming into the station?
- - PhonePower.com? What service is it providing? Why PhonePower instead of our original VOIP?
- How are the handsets presently connected to outside lines?
- - VPN WAN & Rhino.
- How many companies need to be served?
- - Station of the Cross
- - Orthodent
- - EasyRX (?)
- How many telephones total?
- - 9 downstairs
- - 4 at Orthodent
- - 1 in Conference room (?)
- Will the system include all of the affiliates (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Elmira, Oil City, Boston)?
- - Not now.
- What is the brand of the existing handsets?
- - Linksys WAN phones in SotC and Orthodent.
- - Polycom handset in conference room.
- Do you own or lease the phones?
- - Own.
- Do you own or lease the server that runs the phone system?
- - Own.
- What is the brand of the existing software for the fund drive?
- - Asterisk-based.
- Do you own this software?
- - It's open source.
- Does the station own the equipment or is it leasing it?
- - Owns.
- Is the equipment in the station or is it elsewhere?
- - It is in the station.
- What are the current costs of the telephone system?
- - $2,000 per month to Earthlink
- - $750 per month to Time Warner
- - $95 per month to PhonePower
- - Each antenna may have some additional local costs (?).
- How much will changing the system cost?
- - ____________________
- How much benefit will come from changing over?
- - ____________________
- What is the name of our ITS company?
- - Jim Papafagos
- - Buffalo Computing Solutions -- (716) 853-8255
- Buffalo Computing Systems figured out the phone system and rearranged the phones for fund drives.
- Who is going to take care of it now?
- - Tom Zambito
- Who is going to take care of it now?
- What software is used for the phone bank?
- - CounterPath’s X-Lite softphone.
- We should contact Steve and Peter to get as much information out of them as we can while it is still fresh in their minds. What is the name and phone number of their new company?
- - _______________________________________
- - passwords
- - server(s)
- - router(s)
- - switch(es)
- - URLs / IP addresses for consoles and management systems
- - IP addresses for the servers, data lines, etc.
- - extant documentation?
- - advice
- - emergency support?
Tom's research
- Time Warner VOIP--consolidate with them?
- AT&T, 877-542-8666
- Sprint, 866-653-1056.
- Verizon, 800-201-1452.
Keep It Super Simple!