GUIDE: How to set up multiple VoIP providers for the cheapest route

waqasahmed

First of all, many thanks to Graham1 and redux for helping me out in an earlier thread

I thought I may as well make a guide, because it wasn't easy to configure, when there's very little support information on the internet (or unless you pay for a premium account and then get billed €1/min)

Hardware requirements:

• Gigaset N300A IP base station (or equivalent)
• N300A IP compatible phone i.e.: Gigaset SL78H

A bit of an Overview

I’m using Gigaset equipment for this guide, because a) I have one b) they’re quite popular and c) they can store up to 6 different SIP providers, allowing you to easily direct traffic inbound or outbound, so if you can’t understand this guide, setting up the SIP phone for the cheapest routes, is a little simpler than others.

Benefits of VoIP:
• Reduces cold callers
• Gives you a bit more “professionalism” for free i.e.: free voicemail, on hold music, privacy settings etc…
• Allows you to use your number, for life, anywhere in the world
• Cheaper calls
• Get rid of your landline (if using cable broadband)
• Improved security

Drawbacks:

• Creates a reliance on the internet
• Emergency calls mean that the phone has to be plugged in and powered on

Limitation of PBXes.com:

• A little hard to configure at first (no real help)
• Allows you 2000 minutes/month “only” (inbound/outbound) if you require more, you’ll have to pay
• Can’t block callers by caller ID or block anonymous calls (Also a limitation of the phone)
• I personally prefer the answering machine stored on the phone, instead of stored on my PC. If you use PBX only, then you lose that functionality
• Not the friendliest thing to use, because of lack of support (ie: Im still to find where to see my voicemail recordings on the website)

Accounts

Incoming Number

First, we’ll need an incoming (local) number, so head over to:

http://www.sipgate.co.uk/

More info here as well:

http://youtu.be/_YSoVdLPRGI?t=2m55s

Make an account there using genuine details – you can choose to have a geographic location i.e.: if your number was previously am 020 (London) number, you can keep it as an 020 number. Make sure to register your emergency account details, for 999 and 112 calls

Your new telephone number is shown on your “business card”

Once you’ve got the number, great! Leave it be for now

As a side note, if you have relatives in another country, it may be worth renting a UK number from DID Logic for around $0.45 - $0.99/month

Outgoing Numbers

Sipgate is good in that it gives you free SIP settings for incoming calls, as well as Freephone and emergency access, however it doesn’t always have the best rates. Sipgate will also be used for some, but not all outgoing numbers

Make an account with DID Logic

http://didlogic.com

Note, you will need to top up at least $5 before DID Logic gives you any SIP details (These are needed for later on)

DID Logic is good, in the sense, that it has UK data centres (or datacentres with co-located equipment). It is also pretty cheap

For international calls, I’ve also registered an account with CallWithUs:

https://www.callwithus.com/

They are US based, so the latency is going to be a bit higher, so bear that in mind. I’m using CallWithUs, to make calls to Pakistan Mobile only

The minimum top up at CallWithUs is $5 however, on balances less than $25, outside of the USA, they take 2.8%+$0.30 meaning, I was left with a balance of $4.56 (I paid via regular credit card, and not via PayPal, so I don’t know how that would differ)

Note: If paying in dollars, please be aware of any charges your bank/credit card company may charge on top for the exchange load. If in doubt, check this out:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money#howgood

I paid via a Nationwide Select credit card, so I paid $5 at the Visa rate, without any commission going to the bank

Centralising the accounts:

For this, we will need a PBX. For something, reliable, sturdy, and FREE, make an account with:

https://www2.pbxes.com/

Be sure to use genuine details, or risk losing your account

Configuring the PBX

Under “Extensions” click “Add extension”

Choose SIP



I’ve blanked a part out, because the display name is my landline provided via Sipgate



Change the display name to what you want. Choose a URL if you want to be contactable over the internet. I chose to add in my landline as the extension after pbxes.org, because I knew it’d be unique

Choose a password (That isn’t my password) and enable voicemail if you want. I have voicemail enabled, but haven’t done so in this guide

Click submit and “apply” when you see the red bar at the top

Next go to “Trunks”
Click on “Add Trunk” and “Add SIP Trunk”



Here is where it gets a little bit tricky:

CallWithUs



Call the Trunk Name “CallWithUs”

For the username, that would be the 9 digit SIP username that CallWithUs give. The password is the password you use to log in to CallWithUs

The SIP proxy should be set as sip.callwithus.com
Leave the domain blank
Register this just for outbound calls only

Change the outbound caller ID to whatever you like. Leave the rest blank, and click “submit changes” and then click on the red “apply” bar at the top

DID Logic

This is a little trickier still. Find out your SIP details from here:

https://didlogic.com/sipaccounts

(As a side note, make sure that “Send inbound didinfo is unchecked at the DID Logic site)

Your username here is the username that DID Logic gave you for the SIP account (This isn’t the same as the username you log in for, for the site itself) and the password is whatever you set

Call it a sensible name, like the above.



Enter your account details. Use the UK proxy of: sip.uk.didlogic.net
Again register this for outbound calls only.

Enter the dial rules, like the above. These are there so that you can call straight out as if you were calling from a UK line i.e.:

Take the number of PlusNet broadband (an 0800 number)

Ordinarily, you’d punch in 0800 432 0200 in to your phone. DID Logic, expects you to punch in 44800 432 0200

Creating those rules alleviates that slight niggle. For easiness, the rules can be copied and pasted, from the following:

441+01|XXXXXXXXX
442+02|XXXXXXXXX
443+03|XXXXXXXXX
447+07|XXXXXXXXX
448+08|XXXXXXXXX
449+09|XXXXXXXXX

Click “Submit changes” and click on the red bar to apply the change

Sipgate

The Sipgate trunk will be configured slightly differently

Your SIP ID and password are on the Sipgate website under “Settings”, and then “Overview”

Again, give it a sensible name



This will be registered for both inbound and outbound calls. Again, set the outbound caller ID to what you want. Nothing else will be done to this trunk. Click on “submit changes” and apply them

The side bar should look something like this:



Inbound Routing

Click on “Add Incoming Route”



I’ve left most things blank, but you can choose to enforce regular/after hours if you want. Assign them to the extension or voicemail, as needs be.

I have also enabled “Privacy Manager” It is incredibly easy to spoof, because you can just type in any number when requested by the PBX, however it might stop some bots or overseas callers (It certainly wastes their time even if it’s just for a few seconds) who are calling using withheld numbers

Click “Submit changes” and apply them

Outbound Routing

Sipgate

Click “Add Route” and configure like the following:



Set a password and extension if you want. This might be useful if you have kids in the house. The numbers to copy and paste are:

11
99
0300
0303
0500
0800
0808
0844
0845
0870
0871

(I haven’t tried ringing 999 or 112, but hopefully because it’s in the above rule, emergency calls will dial out. Please do NOT try to test this unless you have a genuine emergency) – I’m sure there’s mobile phones available that could contact emergency services if needs be

CallWithUs

This would be slightly different, depending on your requirements. Everything is blank, aside from “Numbers starting by”



I have chosen 00923 as the example. For reference, 0092 is Pakistan’s country code, and every mobile number starts with a 3. This is to make sure that calls via the phone internationally can only go to Pakistan mobile (Otherwise the PBX wouldn’t understand because it’s not been defined and not connect you)

If your requirements are different, then please configure differently. This brings a little bit of security as well i.e.: people won’t be able to use your line to call out to any other numbers, aside from ones you are permitting

If you want to set a password, again, set a password if needs be. Click “Submit changes” and apply them

DID Logic

This has been set to allow numbers beginning with 01, 02, 03, 07, 08 or 09 numbers on the trunk

It should be configured like the following:



Numbers to copy and paste:
01XXXXXXXXX
02XXXXXXXXX
03XXXXXXXXX
07XXXXXXXXX
08XXXXXXXXX
09XXXXXXXXX

Click “Submit changes” and “apply”

On Hold Music (Optional, but really easy)

This is pretty straight forward. Simply upload any on hold music you want (Keep the name relatively short) PBXes.com will automatically convert them to a .wav file



I got the Cisco Call Manager default on hold music from here:
http://podcast.thisamericanlife.org/special/opus_number_one.mp3

The rest I got from YouTube

The on hold music appears to be randomised

That’s it! (As far as the PBX goes) – The SIP providers should alert you when you’ve got little credit.
For reference, the minimum levels, you’re allowed to top up are as follows:

CallWithUs $5
DID Logic $5
Sipgate £10

The PBX should now route calls to the cheapest providers (shown in this spreadsheet)



Spreadsheet here:

https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=5C5B0807D5528247!1204&ithint=file%2c.xlsx&app=Excel&wdo=2&authkey=!AEG0zxvre7iVVMo


Gigaset to Gigaset and Sipgate to Sipgate may no longer work, due to the PBX being in place. I’ve yet to try that (I also don’t know anyone who uses VoIP at all, in a home environment)

As a side note, an alternative to “saynoto0870” is the mobile app “WeQ4U”

Configuring the Base Station

You’ll need to know the IP first. Using the Gigaset SL78H as an example, go to settings, system, local network

Find out what the IP is of the base station. For me it’s 192.168.1.64

Log in to a web browser, and type in the IP and you should see the following:



The default PIN is 0000. You are advised to change this (via the phone)

Click on “Settings” and then go to “Telephony” Where it says IP1, click “edit”

Configure IP1 like the following:



Settings

Connection name: PBX
Authentication name: <username of extension on pbxes.com>
Authentication password: <password which was set on the extension>
Username: <username of extension>
Display name: <Your choice>

Domain: pbxes.org
Proxy server address: pbxes.org
Proxy server port: 5060
Registration server: pbxes.org
Registration server Port: 5060
Registration refresh time: 3600 sec

STUN enabled: No
STUN server address: <blank>
STUN server port: 3478
STUN refresh time: 240 sec
NAT refresh time: 20 sec
Outbound proxy mode: Automatic
Outbound proxy port: 5060
Select Network protocol: Automatic

Click on “set” and you should hopefully see it come up as registered




Mines in a slightly different order, because I was trying to make sure I could make calls individually at least, before trying to centralise it all

Hopefully, it should show as registered. That’s it (on the base station)

Configuring the Phone

Go to settings, and then telephony. Set the area code if you wish, but don’t start the VoIP Wizard

Click on “Send connections”
Click on INT 1
Choose PBX as the connection used for outgoing calls

Go back, and click on “Receive connections”
Click on INT 1
Make sure that “Receive calls for PBX:” is set to Yes. Set all the others (with the exception perhaps of the fixed line and Gigaset.net) as no

The voicemail will no longer work, as before. If you have set it up, voicemails will now be sent via email, and you should also be able to access it via the phone

Testing:

To test the connection, dial

*43 to perform an echo test
The voicemail is on *98

(I have set these as contacts)

To further test the connection, try dialling some numbers, with different formats, and see where they go i.e.: For this example, 0844 numbers should go via Sipgate, Mobile numbers via DID Logic and Pakistani mobile numbers via CallWithUs

See if they are going where they’re meant to in pbxes.com under “Call monitor”

Testing examples:

Dial in to the phone, and see what happens when you put someone on hold. On the SL78H, the shortcut is the R button

See what happens when you reject someone’s call, and how the voicemail works (if configured)

See what happens when you ring your “landline” using a withheld number

Try ringing another landline, and try using your mobile to ring the phone. Does it work? Is it clear?

(Original document here: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=5C5B0807D5528247!1231&authkey=!ANy34pJv1AR-2Is&ithint=file%2c.docx )

Graham1

The only thing I would add is that the U.K 08 number range is different from the others in that numbers can be variable length. The "." (dot) character can be used in dial patterns and dial rules to match any sequence of one or more digits to cope with variable length numbers. And, of course, other SIP providers are also available, which is best will depend on an individual's likely calls pattern.

waqasahmed

Graham1 wrote: »

The only thing I would add is that the U.K 08 number range is different from the others in that numbers can be variable length. The "." (dot) character can be used in dial patterns and dial rules to match any sequence of one or more digits to cope with variable length numbers. And, of course, other SIP providers are also available, which is best will depend on an individual's likely calls pattern.

So something like:

448+08|XXXXXXXXX.
?

Also, even when I put the guide together, I was at a loss why you put both the + sign and the | there, because they seem to almost cancel each other out

And yes of course. People shouldn't have to go with one provider over the other if they don't want to.

For instance, calls to 0870 are cheaper with CallWithUs for example

redux

Graham1 wrote: »

The only thing I would add is that the U.K 08 number range is different from the others in that numbers can be variable length. The "." (dot) character can be used in ...

Numbers starting in 01 can also be slightly shorter.

Graham1

redux wrote: »

Numbers starting in 01 can also be slightly shorter.

Yes, that's a good point. Simplest solution is to expand to 2 lines:
441+01|XXXXXXXX
441+01|XXXXXXXXX

waqasahmed wrote: »

Also, even when I put the guide together, I was at a loss why you put both the + sign and the | there, because they seem to almost cancel each other out

Hold your cursor over "Dial Rules:" and it gives a small help panel.

redux

For anyone daunted by this, who is interested but might leave it until a bit later, it might be worth pointing out that without setting up the automatic dialplan it's possible for Gigaset phones to select which VoIP provider (or the landline itself) manually on a call by call basis, by using a #n suffix at the end of the dialled number.

waqasahmed

Graham1 wrote: »

Yes, that's a good point. Simplest solution is to expand to 2 lines:
441+01|XXXXXXXX
441+01|XXXXXXXXX



Hold your cursor over "Dial Rules:" and it gives a small help panel.

I still don't QUITE get that. The way I see it, is

Didlogic requires the use of the 44 prefix, you're adding in the 01 prefix (as an example), so you can dial out as 01 (defined in the dialing rules outbound).... (instead of 441), and then at the trunk it's removing the 01 part?

What I've done is in the trunk, I've added this as a dialing rule

441+01|.
448+08|.

And changed the dialing rules outbound like this:

01.
08.
(Last night)

That seems to work

redux wrote: »

For anyone daunted by this, who is interested but might leave it until a bit later, it might be worth pointing out that without setting up the automatic dialplan it's possible for Gigaset phones to select which VoIP provider (or the landline itself) manually on a call by call basis, by using a #n suffix at the end of the dialled number.

On the SL78H, there's an option also to change the defaults ie:

Mines defaulting to the PBX, but there is also an option to change the default option to "Ask every time"

Initially, I set up my SIP providers like that (As seen in the little experiments shown above, where I've got more than one provider) before centralising it all

Also to add to your comment, it would mean calling out as the provider wants you to call out

ie: Sipgate is happy for you to call 0800 numbers "as is" ie: you don't have to punch in 44800 or 004800 etc..

Didlogic want you to call UK numbers with a 44 prefix ie:

44800....

CallWithUs, want you to call any non US number using the standard international prefix ie:

0044800...

johnniegif

Hi,


I have a Gigaset N300A with C300H handsets (initially I used my existing NTL DECT handsets but they didn't display the incoming caller ID) I'm using Sipgate for its free incoming number and mainly DIDLogic for UK/International calls. I contacted DIDLogic and they kindly setup my outgoing caller ID to my landline (e.g. 441xxxxxxxxx) so that the person I'm calling via DIDLogic knows it is me calling.


I don't want my family to change their dialling habits and need to add/subtract digits, I want them to carry on as normal as if it were a BT line.


I quickly realised that the N300A wouldn't do this "number processing" for DIDLogic and hence needed to use PBXes.com. I set up trunks and dialling rules for Sipgate and DIDLogic following Waqas' excellent guide.


The only thing I'm stuck on is calling international numbers, which I'd like to do with DIDLogic. I need a trunk rule for PBXes.com to strip off the 00 prefix and an associated dialling plan for such international numbers. E.g. to dial a mobile in France, we'd normally enter 003376xxxxxxx but it needs to be translated to 3376xxxxxxx.


I'd be most grateful for any help with this.


Johnnie


p.s. I used the N300A's Telephony/Dialling Plans web page to block certain calls such as 09, 118, 070, 123 and 00979. while sending 01/02/03/05/07/080/00800 calls to the PBX with 999 and 112 going over my landline. I'm on TalkTalk Simplybroadband so get no call allowance, but calls to other TT customers are free, so my N300A Dialling plan explicitly routes my TT friends' numbers and TT's "free from TT landline" Customer Services number 08704441820 over my TT landline - these are the first rules in my N300A's dialling plan, so they don't get routed with the generic 01/02/08 rules.

johnniegif

I have finally got international numbers to work with DIDLogic and PBXes.com by adding


00|Z. to the Dial Rules for the DIDLogic Trunk and
00Z. in the DIDLogic Outbound Routing.


I found some help here: http://pbxinaflash.com/community/index.php?threads/dial-plan-explanation.2081/


I think all I need to do now is setup a Default Trunk for outgoing calls if they haven't matched the patterns in the Outbound Routing for the various named SIP trunks. I read somewhere that I should create a blank trunk to do this but I'm still stumped.


Any advice would be appreciated.

waqasahmed

johnniegif wrote: »

Hi,


I have a Gigaset N300A with C300H handsets (initially I used my existing NTL DECT handsets but they didn't display the incoming caller ID) I'm using Sipgate for its free incoming number and mainly DIDLogic for UK/International calls. I contacted DIDLogic and they kindly setup my outgoing caller ID to my landline (e.g. 441xxxxxxxxx) so that the person I'm calling via DIDLogic knows it is me calling.


I don't want my family to change their dialling habits and need to add/subtract digits, I want them to carry on as normal as if it were a BT line.


I quickly realised that the N300A wouldn't do this "number processing" for DIDLogic and hence needed to use PBXes.com. I set up trunks and dialling rules for Sipgate and DIDLogic following Waqas' excellent guide.


The only thing I'm stuck on is calling international numbers, which I'd like to do with DIDLogic. I need a trunk rule for PBXes.com to strip off the 00 prefix and an associated dialling plan for such international numbers. E.g. to dial a mobile in France, we'd normally enter 003376xxxxxxx but it needs to be translated to 3376xxxxxxx.


I'd be most grateful for any help with this.


Johnnie


p.s. I used the N300A's Telephony/Dialling Plans web page to block certain calls such as 09, 118, 070, 123 and 00979. while sending 01/02/03/05/07/080/00800 calls to the PBX with 999 and 112 going over my landline. I'm on TalkTalk Simplybroadband so get no call allowance, but calls to other TT customers are free, so my N300A Dialling plan explicitly routes my TT friends' numbers and TT's "free from TT landline" Customer Services number 08704441820 over my TT landline - these are the first rules in my N300A's dialling plan, so they don't get routed with the generic 01/02/08 rules.

johnniegif wrote: »

I have finally got international numbers to work with DIDLogic and PBXes.com by adding


00|Z. to the Dial Rules for the DIDLogic Trunk and
00Z. in the DIDLogic Outbound Routing.


I found some help here: http://pbxinaflash.com/community/index.php?threads/dial-plan-explanation.2081/


I think all I need to do now is setup a Default Trunk for outgoing calls if they haven't matched the patterns in the Outbound Routing for the various named SIP trunks. I read somewhere that I should create a blank trunk to do this but I'm still stumped.


Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm guessing you need to set up a rule of something like:

33+33|XXXXXXXXX

So you dial out as 33...

Though if they used a BT line before, then ordinarily you'd add 00 at the beginning, so surely this would be better

ie:

33+0033|XXXXXXXXX

OR, considering your French calls are going via DidLogic, how about simply dial 33 calls straight out using

33xxxxxx....

?

I'm not sure which one might work. It's a bit of playing about it seems

johnniegif

Blast! I logged in, typed a long reply, cut it, reviewed & edited it. Cut & pasted one paragraph, went to submit and I'd been logged out ... only thing remaining in the paste buffer was the last cut paragraph. Doh!


I'll reply tomorrow evening