[Asterisk-Dev] Help with VOIP phone service provider such as Vonage

[Brian Capouch]

Michael J.Budiac, CPA wrote:
> Greg Vance at Digium suggested that I pose this question via this list. 
> 
> I'm looking to see if anyone's setup Asterisk to use Vonage as a provider?
> I'll have < 20 phones setup with Asterisk and around 8 phone lines needed.
> Vonage is appealing given their flat monthly fee, we make a good number of
> long distance calls. I'm not fixed on Vonage but would like to control long
> distance costs. 
> 

If you know your average "minute demand" it's pretty easy to see if the 
flat rate type of structure comes out economically ahead of one based 
upon cheap per-minute costs.

You can always get a bank of Vonage lines and hook them to asterisk via 
X100P type interfaces.  It's a bit messy but it would work.

Better is to user a provider like Nufone, where you can have multiple 
calls going out and coming in at the same time, and IMO the per-minute 
basis is generally competitive economically with those who tout flat 
rates--it's generally known that their unlimited plans do in fact have 
upper limits on minutes.  You find out when you hit what they'll allow 
when they cancel your service and tell you to find someone else.

B.