VoIP Setup Input

[BryanLee]

I'm looking for some input from the guys here who actually do this sort of thing on a regular basis or at least have done it for themselves successfully.

I am in the planning phase of setting of a better phone solution for the local SPCA where I volunteer. They currently use a cell phone. I dont deal with VoIP or any other variant of this type of service so my experience is just what I have been able to glean from the internet. They have very minimal requirements which are:

• 1 or 2 lines (only 1 is required)
• 4-5 Extensions
• Groups (To support an automated attendant function)
• Voicemail (for each extension)
• The ability to port an existing cell phone number to the service.

I am currently considering using a hosted solutions such as OnSIP or Vocalocity, but I am also interested in something like PBX In A Flash.

The hosted solutions seem much easier to implement and maintain, but I think the long term cost is going to be much more than something like PIAF (PBX In A Flash).

Does anyone have any specific suggestions as to what may suit these needs the best? I can get around linux pretty well so that isn't really a concern, but I would like something relatively painless to get going since this is all volunteer time. My first preference is a hosted provider so if anyone has any provider that they recommend i would like to hear about those as well.

If i have left out any relevant info please let me know....I can respond very quickly as I usually browse the site through the day while "working".

Thanks!

 

[seedubya]

I'm using http://www.3cx.com/ for my office. Just 4 extensions. I'm not doing anything special - just a vanilla installation. It's running on my existing 2008 server. I like it, it's free and it does everything llisted above.

The ability to port a number will differ from country to country and service to service and does not involve the pbx system at all - it's all down to the voip and/or cell provider.

 

[BryanLee]

Who is your voip provider if you dont mind me asking?

 

[MrUnknown]

voip.ms can provide all of those features, but you need SIP phones to connect to the service with.

 

[seedubya]

Who is your voip provider if you dont mind me asking?

It's www.blueface.ie

lalalalalalla

 

[fritz]

A voip solution for 1 or 2 lines seems like overkill to me but maybe that's just me. You might want to look at elastix.org it is easy to set up. I have used sip trunks from bandwidth.com and DID's from didsforsale.com and voip.ms Freepbx.org has a new distro iso that is very easy to set up. You should really do your homework before setting up a Voip system there is alot of things that can go wrong. Be sure to check out "Asterisk: The Definitive Guide" it is a really good book.

 

[BryanLee]

I think I am going to go with a hosted solution like Vocalocity. It comes out to be about $94/month which is cheaper than going through the phone company for the same thing. There are a lot more options as far as configuration this way as well.

I'm volunteering this time so I don't want to obligate myself to a ton of follow on maintenance.

 

[NorCal Internet]

Go with a hosted voip provider that has low latency to the location where you'll be using it.

Not sure, but you may see latency issues with providers located on the mainland versus ones located on/in the islands.... Latency is a major issue with any voip system.

I've never used them, but rentpbx.com has had decent reviews, and they seem quit affordable. You can bring your own sip provider.

I usually use Vitelity. The are probably the most affordable around and quality is pretty good. No SIP provider I've tried is 100%. They all have issues at some point. I've used Vitelity (One of the cheaper ones) and Bandwidth.com (One of the more expensive ones), and both worked equally as well, with Vitelity being substantially more affordable.

You can buy per line option for less than $10 month (Which actually gives you two trunks w/unlimited inbound) or per minute options (at less than 1.5 cents a minute) with unlimited lines (Up to your bandwidth limitations). DID's are $1.50 month on the per minute service, and are included in the $10 month service.

If most of their calls are inbound, and two lines are sufficient, I'd do the $10 month service with a virtual PBX for around $20 month.

 

[spinaltoad]

Unless they have a T1 or better, a hosted solutions is going to produce quality issues.

If you want an in expensive and easy to use solution, for the the AastraLink Pro 160.
Its a really good price for a unit with 6 FXO and 2 FXS connectors. Supports up to 10 VOIP Truncks, and 50 extensions. Built in pager, voicemail and music on hold.

It also has a feature to emulate shared lines access like a legacy Turn Key PBX System.

All the phones are plug and play. The first Aastra phone you plug into the network becomes the admin phone.

Easiest Voip system I have ever setup.

 

[MrUnknown]

Unless they have a T1 or better, a hosted solutions is going to produce quality issues.

This setup is only for 2 lines. The cheapest broadband plan in my area could easily support 2 lines.

Also, hosted or not, your bandwidth will affect how many active lines you can have at any time. Moving the system in-house would only be beneficial for a lot of internal extensions as they won't have to go over the internet and back.

Not saying your solution is a bad one, but hosted would be perfectly fine in this situation.

 

[BryanLee]

Yeah i think their bandwidth will be sufficient for the amount of traffic they will be using.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to play around with a PBX in a Flash setup for myself just get learn the ins and outs of it.