VOIP (Voice over IP) phones

jonny-chicken

jonny-chicken

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Jun 24, 2009
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We are currently evaluating our usage of phones and looking into new options...

Is anyone out there using a VOIP or Internet based phone system in their office?

Who are you using and what do you think of the service?

Any issues or outages?

Thanks!
 
VOIP.ms. They offer really good pricing. $0.009 per minute.

Have been using them for a year after I used my cellphone for the first year. Very good so far.
 
We have almost been a year with VOIP phone system and in the beginning we had some major issues with dropped calls but they ran some upgrades on our configuration and now we might get a complaint every 6 to 8 weeks of someone having a dropped call. The savings had definitely out weighed any issues we have had.
 
Thanks MikeJr... Sending an email to you next sir!

Shakey: how about your internet connection... What are you using, just DSL?

Also, how is your VOIP provider?

Thanks YoungTea, I will checkout VOIP.ms
 
jonny-chicken said:
Thanks MikeJr... Sending an email to you next sir!

Shakey: how about your internet connection... What are you using, just DSL?

Also, how is your VOIP provider?

Thanks YoungTea, I will checkout VOIP.ms
Click to expand...
Just an FYI voip.ms will require some knowledge into how voip phones, routers and ports work. You basically setup your internet service.

If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea just go with any other suggestions that will come set it up for you, but will charge you more money.
 
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Thanks again YoungTea... You and MikeJR are some sort of information stations... I should contact you guys direct next time!

I'm pretty technical (or so I like to think...) so I just might like this voip.ms... Is it a single handset you have or multiple lines for a full office? I have about 10 handsets...
 
jonny-chicken said:
Thanks again YoungTea... You and MikeJR are some sort of information stations... I should contact you guys direct next time!

I'm pretty technical (or so I like to think...) so I just might like this voip.ms... Is it a single handset you have or multiple lines for a full office? I have about 10 handsets...
Click to expand...

I have a single headset, but you can use as many lines as you wish with voip.ms. It's similar to what call centers use.
There is no monthly fee or contract, just $0.009 per minute.

Check them out. They have tutorials online on how to set it up.
 
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jonny-chicken said:
Thanks MikeJr... Sending an email to you next sir!

Shakey: how about your internet connection... What are you using, just DSL?

Also, how is your VOIP provider?

Thanks YoungTea, I will checkout VOIP.ms
Click to expand...

JC we are part of large group so we are on fibre for our internet and our VOIP is Allstream so they might be a bit pricey for you check out Internet Access Solutions we use for a smaller off site location http://www.iasl.com/
 
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I too am on voip.ms but I do have to pay monthly line fees ($1-2/per line I think). The downside is they bill in US funds and you have to prepay so right now it is a little more expensive.

I am also using Bria softphone so it's all on the computer. I have not set up any fax lines with them yet nor use them for my toll free # but I would like to switch to them. My toll free was with an Ottawa based company but they got bough a couple years ago by J2. Same thing with my fax #.

Anyone using voip.ms for their toll free #s?
 
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I was very skeptical about going to VOIP but we really have no issues with the group of companies we have about 60 in the office and really have only had a couple of issues which was looked after promptly. If fibre is affordable to you that is the way to go we've got probably 80 users with the warehouse added in and never and a lot of servers connected and it does not even slow down.
 
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We've been using IP phones since the start of 2016 and at first like most people are saying, we had some issues. But after they fixed those issues up, the system has been pretty decent.

We have a couple offices, and now with VOIP we've got all offices on the same system, I can send a call to my office in FL with their 4 digit extension and thats it. Say you have a problem or disagreement with a customer/carrier, calls can be recorded at the press of a button and have proof of what was discussed. (make sure you know the laws associated with recording calls though!)

The system comes with a computer addon that allows us to pick up calls that are on any phone system with a double click on that persons extension.

Seems their support is really good too, and if we have any problems a tech is on site, or someone is calling our IT to resolve the issue.

If you have the bandwidth, I highly recommend the change! We kept I think 1 or 2 bell lines just in case we have a complete internet shortage, and the fax is relayed through a bell line too, but other than that everyone in the office is on VOIP!
 
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truckinon said:
We've been using IP phones since the start of 2016 and at first like most people are saying, we had some issues. But after they fixed those issues up, the system has been pretty decent.

We have a couple offices, and now with VOIP we've got all offices on the same system, I can send a call to my office in FL with their 4 digit extension and thats it. Say you have a problem or disagreement with a customer/carrier, calls can be recorded at the press of a button and have proof of what was discussed. (make sure you know the laws associated with recording calls though!)

The system comes with a computer addon that allows us to pick up calls that are on any phone system with a double click on that persons extension.

Seems their support is really good too, and if we have any problems a tech is on site, or someone is calling our IT to resolve the issue.

If you have the bandwidth, I highly recommend the change! We kept I think 1 or 2 bell lines just in case we have a complete internet shortage, and the fax is relayed through a bell line too, but other than that everyone in the office is on VOIP!
Click to expand...

Sounds like a great system Truckinon... What company are you buying this service from?

Thanks.
 
jonny-chicken said:
Sounds like a great system Truckinon... What company are you buying this service from?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Our phones are made by shoretel. I believe that there is another local company that did the installation and support that is a licensed partner that is allowed to sell the product.

https://www.shoretel.com/

Where ever you are located, there will be a licensed dealer that can quote you on prospective setups to see what meshes best with your requirements.
 
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VOIP phones are great but you need to be really careful with the setup. This is not one area where you want to cheap out. Because communication is so important I would recommend that you find a service provider that will provide you with all the hardware, expertise and ideally a stand alone setup.
You need:
-Really good bandwidth, both up and download. We do not have fiber (recommended) but have a dedicated paired DSL which works fine with our system.
-Networking equipment and a lot of knowledge of IP. Routers, firewalls, CAT5 cabling is confusing to most. Our phones are on the same network system as our computer networks (because we didnt' have extra CAT5 going to all locations) but I have segregated as much as possible through switches.
-A good provider who will port your IP phones onto the copper when necessary. If the provider isn't a phone company I would be leery. We use Execulink, as with a lot of others in the area, and it works great.
-A backup system. We have an internet page that we can access from a cell phone to forward our main line to a cell phone or a remote office if there is an outage (power, network, internet, afterhours)
-A good plan, we have extensions at remote offices, (some in Mexico) and with the right planning it can save you a lot of hassles for communication.

VOIP phones are great and offer a lot of flexibility and services. You really have to take the time to understand it all. It is very different from regular copper/POTS lines.
 
I've worked on VOIP phones for probably the last 7 or 8 years at different places. The trick at the start is always that your internet has to be pretty robust or you'll have dropped calls. When you are using the net and there are quick blips of service outage you don't feel them ... but on the VOIP phones you do. Other than that, it's a cheap alternative to normal phone lines and isn't an issue ... nobody knows they're on a VOIP line.
 
VoIP technology has evolved quite a lot and so did internet connection speed.
I would go for any VoIP solution in a heartbeat.
There are few ways you can do this:
  1. Cloud Based (aka Hosted PBX). Eg: RingCentral. Shaw SmartVoice etc
  2. On Premise software PBX.(eg: 3CX, asterisk, smartvox, freepbx, elastix etc)
There are pros and cons of each system.
If you don't like to manage hardware software go for hosted PBX as service provider manages everything for you including phone lines and also offer unlimited long distance calls. It is simple plug and play solution.
However this comes with a price. You have to pay monthly for each phone which means each phone you have has phone line associated to it. Basically you are paying for each seat. Shaw smart voice seems to be good solution if you need reliable solution as they bring dedicated internet just for the phones. (Shaw has 5 user minimum) RingCentral is also good but you have to rely on third party internet like Shaw or Telus.

If you don't mind running your own hardware software PBX is also a great choice. You have to get sip trunks to get a dial tone. There is tons of companies offering sip trunks like VoIP.ms , didforsale.com cloudhdv.com Shaw, Primus, ThinkTel , ixica.com etc etc)
Software PBX systems are very flexible and easy to use. You don't need to pay monthly for each desk phone.
Feel free to contact me if you have further questions. I have done extensive research on phone system in last few months as I was not happy old analogue lines.
 
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