[PLUG] broadvoice?

Jeff Moore Jeff.Moore at chemeketa.edu
Wed Jul 12 16:10:57 UTC 2006


> > Good Afternoon.
> >
> > I'm running a debian etch system at home, and I've fallen into a
> > position where I need voip service (well, "need" is too strong a word,
> > but daily conferences over the telephone, long distance for an hour,
> > gets pretty expensive.
> >
> > Anyway- I'm looking into VOIP service, and Broadvoice offers a level of
> > service at $20.00 which would give me free long distance in the US. Is
> > there a better supplier at a similar price point?  Price is key here,
> > but I don't want a free crappy service.
> >
> > And my understanding is that I'll just need asterisk + a soft phone + a
> > headset that plugs into my sound card; is that about right? (I've seen a
> > walkthrough for specifically asterisk+twinkle on debian, I think).
> >
> 
  Currently I use Asterisk at home which is basically a Whitebox Linux(I
think. Well one of the RHEL plain wrapper versions anyway) install with
asterisk, amp, sugarcrm, and a bunch of other goodies installed. My
understanding is that now it has changed to TrixBox. Looks like it has a
nice new skin with the freepbx product. I love the ease of install and
ease of use. 
   I use a Cisco 7960 sip phone and it works flawlessly. I have also
used a cheaper Polycom phone and had great results from it(I liked its
web configuration interface). If you can afford it I am partial to the
cisco. It is simply bulletproof. I used to work in the telecom industry
and I haven't seen a phone this well build since the RolmPhones of
yesteryear.
   The only problems I have encountered so far are with the service
providers themselves. Some service providers don't have the best
international connections and sometimes calls are routed incorrectly.
Note that this happened to me alot with MCI calling cards on land lines
so it may just be the cost of a cheap connection. 
  One thing I love is the sugar crm integration with asterisk. Out of
the box you can import your contacts into sugar crm and use it to setup
calls. If you double click a contact it will call your phone and when
you pickup it will automagically dial the contact you clicked. It is a
pretty nice system. 
  As for connecting to ma bell I use commercial AIX termination services
through (in order of stability not cost..) connect.voicepulse.com,
Gafachi.com, & terravon.com. There are literally thousands of different
providers out there and they all offer very different services and
pricing. As for outbound dialing I tend to use Gafachi because they are
good enough as far as quality but are easy on the pocket book... ;)
  I highly recommend doing your homework on the service providers. It
can save you substantial $'s. I really didn't do much homework so take
my recommendations with a grain of salt.. :o 
  Someday soon I will probably install the new TrixBox. I am sure its
better than the original.
  Hope my jabbering helps... One tip: dedicate a box for telephony...

Jeff M



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