[TriLUG] OT: TDM voice, voip gateways, and toll free calling

[Jon Carnes]

On Fri, 2004-07-16 at 11:46, Ryan Leathers wrote:
> OFF TOPIC - not Linux related - 
> 
> Since there has been a lot of interest lately in VOIP I will hazard an
> off topic related question
> 
> Suppose I want to advertise a single toll free number to my users around
> the country.  The users dial this number using any old phone on the
> PSTN.  What I want to happen next is for the call to be converted to SIP
> and reach my VOIP service (basically a conference) as inexpensively as
> possible.

So quality is not an issue?  Look at Net2phone if quality is not an
issue.  They have some nice voip services and lots of gateways all over
the world.  There LD pricing can not be beat - of course the quality
varies from decent to poor.
> 
> My guess is that a single phone number reaching a single gateway is more
> likely than a single number being directed to one of many geographically
> distributed gateways.  So, the TDM network and toll free number will
> likely continue to be a significant cost.
> 
> Is there a better solution?
> 
> If not, I have a static IP address for my service and I need to connect
> to it via SIP.  I suppose I could build my own gateway and purchase a
> toll free number terminating service at the gateway.  Is there a service
> provider out there who could handle this for me?
>    

FeatureTel would be glad to sell you service that terminates in a VoIP
phone. Our service allows you to conference up to 6 other phones (and
for additional cost larger conferencing). 

We would also be happy to provide you with a toll free number that
terminates on your VoIP phone - or on a second line on your VoIP phone.
Our pricing for one Soho phone starts at $35/month and goes up to
$60/month for (virtually) unlimited LD.

Jon