[voip] IAX Trunk providers?

[localzuk]

I'm looking at different IAX trunk providers (IAX over SIP due to the difference in firewall port opening requirements) but am struggling to find one that comes close to the price we pay for normal analogue lines.

 

The main difference is the price of mobile calls - they all seem extortionate with these SIP/IAX trunk providers - eg. 8p+ per minute compared to 2.75p with existing companies.

 

Has anyone found such a provider that works out cheaper?

[lmgtfy]

Just interested to know if you ever found a trunk provider that was cheap as in your post above?

 

Cheers

[localzuk]

Sadly not. Any 'cheaper' ones wanted a dedicated internet connection also, meaning the costs then end up high again.

[lmgtfy]

Yea I'm finding the same. We are currently testing a 3CX phone system and have been quoted mobile call costs of 7p a minute but if we go for a Shoretel system they will give us sip trunking with free local and national calls and mobiles at 2.5p a minute.

 

Thinking of getting a SIP GSM gateway something like this OpenVox VS-GW1200-4G VoxStack GSM Gateway - 4 GSM Channels and sticking 4 Virgin mobile unlimited sims card in at £15 a month which effectively give you free minutes to mobiles. Not sure how happy they would be but its not in their terms and conditions not to do this.

[glennda]

3CX will take standard SIP trunks will it not?

[lmgtfy]

Your right @glennda I have also been trying to find some standard sip trunking with decent pricing as well but I can't find anything close to free local and national calls and mobiles at 2.5p a minute.

[localzuk]

Issue with SIP trunking is opening ports for it on routers/firewalls.

 

IAX is a lot friendlier in this sense.

[glennda]

Issue with SIP trunking is opening ports for it on routers/firewalls.

 

IAX is a lot friendlier in this sense.

 

I know what you mean - but you should be able to tie the open ports to IP's that the SIP provider will give you, and not just open to everybody.

 

My experience it is ports 5060 (occasionally 5061) and normally ports 44000-60000

 

I have also seen it where the SIP interface is in a DMZ and can only communicate with the firewall.

[localzuk]

It depends on your ISP - I know some won't like opening large numbers of ports even to a single IP or group of IPs.

[glennda]

It depends on your ISP - I know some won't like opening large numbers of ports even to a single IP or group of IPs.

 

Are you going to want to run it over a Local Authority network?

[localzuk]

Are you going to want to run it over a Local Authority network?

 

Here it's either that or moving away from LA supplied internet at a cost of > £20,000 a year. So, choices are limited.

[glennda]

Here it's either that or moving away from LA supplied internet at a cost of > £20,000 a year. So, choices are limited.

 

It's worth trying - but from my experience of LA networks you will struggle to get the performance required for it.

 

How many concurrent calls would you be looking at?

[localzuk]

It's worth trying - but from my experience of LA networks you will struggle to get the performance required for it.

 

How many concurrent calls would you be looking at?

 

We actually found out we can't do it in the end - our LEA and SWGfL can't provide any form of QoS support. Plus most suppliers won't let you use your own connection. So, we scuttled the plans for now.