Convert landline to VoIP

[ggadrian]

My parents own a small business and in the office they have a couple of phone lines with unlimited calls, each line capable of handling 2 simultaneous calls (the phone company is already using VoIP for the calls, but they won’t provide the connection details so we have to connect through the company router

Right now they multiple cordless phones, but the setup is not ideal

I was wondering if there's any way I can setup VoIP inside the office and then route the external calls through the telephone lines. I have googled for it but it doesn't seem to be popular

As for switching to VoIP, the phone lines we have right now are "free" (they come bundled with the fiber connection and there is no way of not paying for them), so it would be more expensive

As for the network, in case it matters, they’re running on ubiquiti gear, with a USG connected to the 2 routers from the carrier (they have 2 fiber lines)

Thanks is advance

 

[mxnerd]

Since the company won't give you their VOIP phone setup info, you probably need to setup a VOIP PBX server, then use cordless VOIP phones.

Basically, your cordless VOIP phones becomes PBX extensions.

When receiving calls, configure the PBX system so that it will pick the call and forward it to all of your own cordless VOIP phones.

Your PBX system (x86 CPU based) will require VOIP modems (or adapters) to receive incoming calls.

https://getvoip.com/blog/2016/09/23/best-open-source-pbx-software/

https://www.voipsupply.com/voip-phones/cordless

Played with FreePBX several years back.

Youtube should have some tutorial videos.

==

It's not easy. Or just buy some existing cordless PBX systems.

 

[ggadrian]

Thanks for the info

So, I would need something like a Grandstream GXW4104 to connect to the phone lines

https://www.amazon.com/Grandstream-...&sr=8-2&keywords=Grandstream+Networks+GXW4104

And then I would need to set up asterisk (I guess I can set it up in a virtual machine). In your experience, once asterisks is set up, does it require lots of maintenance? Or it runs trouble free?

Thanks

 

[mxnerd]

I'm no VOIP expert, I just played with it a bit, more than 10 years ago.

So I guess the PBX software should be mature enough now after all these years.

Regarding the gateway, probably Cisco SPA8800 Telephony Gateway is a better choice?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002CTLGAA/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1539631225

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/produ...elephony-gateway-4-fxs-4-fxo-ports/index.html

I recommend buying a used one to begin with.

Testing the PBX in a VM is a good idea.

Actually you probably don't need to buy cordless/wifi IP phones. You can install iPhone/Android IP (also called SIP or VOIP) phone apps (many are free) on your and your parents' smartphones to experiment the setup.

==

Configuring SPA8800

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma1AyNBrhrY

==

VOIP is a big topic. You should join some VOIP forums if you are serious about it.

You will get more help from forums that are dedicated for VOIP technology.

 

[vailr]

I suggest looking at the Obihai OBi200 VOIP device.
Simplified description: after the one-time cost (~$40.00, when on sale) of an Obihai VOIP device, combined with a no-fee Google Voice account, you then have no-fee nationwide calling, that behaves just like a landline: both outgoing and incoming, with a "land line" area code (whichever one you choose) + a "local landline" phone number.
An (expired) Slickdeals discussion:
https://slickdeals.net/e/9071487-ob...-99-ac-more-free-shipping-newegg-com#comments

 

[ggadrian]

I suggest looking at the Obihai OBi200 VOIP device.
Simplified description: after the one-time cost (~$40.00, when on sale) of an Obihai VOIP device, combined with a no-fee Google Voice account, you then have no-fee nationwide calling, that behaves just like a landline: both outgoing and incoming, with a "land line" area code (whichever one you choose) + a "local landline" phone number.
An (expired) Slickdeals discussion:
https://slickdeals.net/e/9071487-ob...-99-ac-more-free-shipping-newegg-com#comments

As I mentioned, I need to use the landlines since they're paying for them anyway and have free unlimited calls, it's the cheapest option

Also, I think they do need a PBX, there are 6 to 8 employees at any time and they could use features like transfering calls

 

[mxnerd]

@ggadrian .

Although VOIP PBX is very interesting and the features of the system can grow overtime,

but do you really need to use those features and do you really want to maintain the system?

Traditional PBX probably is all you need.