Hi,
Thanks for the replies.
Brian wrote:
FYI these so called "unlimited" monthly plans are RARELY, if _EVER_ truly unlimited. They CAN (read the TOS), and WILL terminate you if you use too many minutes more then whatever average they calculated for when pricing the plan.
I personally know several people who were using the Vonage "unlimited" calling plan and were terminated for _"EXCESSIVE USAGE"_
Ouch. I am aware that service is not really unlimited. My present POTS service has "unlimited" long distance; the TOS makes it clear that you are billed four cents per minute for usage beyond 5000 min. per month. That's pretty steep, but going a little over won't break you, and it sure beats having your service disconnected. I usually run 2000-3000 min., and have never gone over 3500, so I'm not in any danger.
Vonage, OTOH, is quite vague; their TOS speaks of "inconsistent with normal residential usage patterns". Do you know what they consider "excessive", or if my usage would be acceptable?
Benjk wrote:
I personally wouldn't bother and I wouldn't want to take my money to a company that uses a business model that I despise. So, vote with your wallet. Don't use Vonage. Use a true VoIP service. And while we are at it, support IAX: Use a provider that offers IAX.
I looked at NuFone.net and some others, but it appears that IAX is not right for my system. I live near Reno, NV, and have a second home in Paris. Most of my calling is to the US, via an H.323 gateway to the Reno POTS line; overflow traffic is sent to an H.323 ITSP. I run GnuGk on a shared server at a hosting provider in New York. Paris has a Cisco 827-4V (ADSL modem / NAT / 4 FXS) that speaks H.323 and SIP. There are also some associates on the system using ATA-186.
When calling from an H.323 or SIP client to an IAX service (or vice-versa), I believe that Asterisk must proxy the media stream. If * is run at the hosting service, I'm worried that delays caused by other users will result in choppy voice. I'd rather run * in Reno, where it could also replace an ancient DOS-based voice mail, and possibly my Partner key system. However, that configuration would have lots of extra delay. For example, if the IAX provider is in Michigan, a call from Paris to San Francisco would go Paris->Reno->Michigan->California. With SIP, a REINVITE would cause it to go Paris->Michigan->California, saving two trips across the country.
Have I missed something? Or did you mean that I should use a provider that *offers* IAX, but connect via SIP :)
Thanks,
Stewart
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