[Asterisk-Users] Asterisk to Vonage

[Jay Milk]

FWIW, I've had Broadvoice running for two or three months now.  Very
reliable, good folks in tech-support helped with the initial asterisk
config and getting me SIP credentials.  Since my set-up as a home-pbx,
incoming calls ring all my extensions (Sipuras) all the time.  If
someone's already talking, they hear a call-waiting beep (again, Sipura
config) while the other extensions are rining.  It's truly confusing to
my wife, yet delightfully functional.

For Vonage, I've kept my ATA186 to retain two number associated with it.
I've added a $10/month softline and configured the hardline to
simulring, so all Vonage calls come in via the softline now.  This also
has worked flawlessly for around two months now.  I'm considering
wasting a previous FXO port on the ATA186 to utilize the 500 outgoing
minutes I have, but between the unlimited state-wide calling (from
Broadvoice) and the 500 long-distance minutes on the softline (and
simpletelecom's beta), we don't even need those minutes.

Economically, I'm considering getting rid of Vonage entirely.  They
currently cost us $25/month, and that's just to get a certain area code
that's unavailable elsewhere.  For $25, we could receive a lot of
incoming 800# calls...  Someday.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doug Shubert [mailto:doug at accessgate.net] 
> Sent: Friday, August 27, 2004 8:51 AM
> To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
> Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Users] Asterisk to Vonage
> 
> 
> ok.. could we add a 'hunt group' to * and roll incoming calls over to 
> several extensions?
> 
> We also signed up with the Broadvoice 'BYOD' $19.95 service 
> just in the 
> past week
> and found the service to work extremely well with Asterisk. I also 
> updated the * server to 1.0-RC2
> before testing it.
> 
> Doug
> 
> 
> Deon Rodden wrote:
> 
> > No. Just one regular $19.95 residential plan.  I've had 6 
> cell phones
> > call my DID and my IVR picked up all 6 times. I never got a 
> 7th cell, 
> > so I never tested the limit. But I don't want to abuse my 
> BroadVoice 
> > account so I haven't tried it again. I mainly stick to 1 line, an 
> > occassional 2nd line/channel may be used, but I know it can do more.
> >
> > The way I interact with BroadVoice though isn't officially 
> sanctioned,
> > I didn't prefer to use their "Asterisk Only" SIP gateway, in which 
> > they charge you 3.2 cents a minute (or whatever) when you 
> exceed the 
> > first line.
> >
> > Doug Shubert wrote:
> >
> >> Deon,
> >> When you say "I've tested up to 6 inbound calls at the same time" 
> >> with Broadvoice, is this with 6 $19.95 DID numbers that you have 
> >> assigned to *? thanks
> >> Doug
> >>
> >>
> >> Deon Rodden wrote:
> >>
> >>> When I initially signed up with Packet8 and they sent their
> >>> converter, I used a X100P card in my Asterisk server so that it 
> >>> could send and receive calls through Packet8, I suspect the same 
> >>> trick would work for Vonage.
> >>>
> >>> The benefit is you can then have several phones in the 
> house, or one
> >>> at work, or a softphone in your laptop, register with 
> your Asterisk 
> >>> server and then you can place and receive unlimited local/long 
> >>> distance calls through your Vonage account.  You can also have 
> >>> Asterisk answer and you can use it's IVR/Automated Attendant 
> >>> functionalities.
> >>>
> >>> You will be limited to only 1 inbound/outbound call at a time
> >>> though.  I eventually canned Packet8 in favor of 
> BroadVoice, $19.95 
> >>> a month, unlimited local and long distance, and I've 
> tested up to 6 
> >>> inbound calls at the same time and it worked.
> >>>
> >>> Ask Bjørn Hansen wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On Aug 24, 2004, at 4:17 PM, Chris Shaw wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> I hold no ill will towards Vonage but I have to say honestly...
> >>>>> ewww...
> >>>>>
> >>>>> They've already made their feelings quite clear by refusing to
> >>>>> allow people
> >>>>> to bring their own devices and taking steps to even 
> hide their SIP 
> >>>>> servers
> >>>>> (changing the port from the RFC standard 5060 to 5061 for 
> >>>>> example.) Why not
> >>>>> go with someone who's actually willing to allow you to use 
> >>>>> Asterisk and any
> >>>>> phone you want like NuFone, BroadVoice, IconnectHere or 
> a host of 
> >>>>> others
> >>>>> instead of trying to hack Vonage...
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> At least when I signed up with Vonage they were the only VoIP
> >>>> provider that had numbers in my old rate center and 
> could transfer 
> >>>> the number from SBC.   It does, of course, suck not to 
> be able to 
> >>>> use it with Asterisk.  (I could sign up for a soft-phone, but I 
> >>>> don't think it'd be with my old number defeating the purpose...)