Home Setup | Using an old Landline Telephone with Internal VoIP

[Tom_M]

Hi everyone. Happy New Year.

 

I'm wanting to setup a VoIP System here at Home & have no experience in doing so from scratch. I've got 3CX Setup on a spare Desktop to test (w/ some compatible phones) so good to go apart from being able to use our external landline system with the new setup.

 

We're with Virgin Media & when upgrading to their (no so) new "SuperHub" they have deactivated our copper line (after an engineer visit - I wasn't present otherwise I'd have told them to leave it) & we now have to plug in the main Landline to the back of their SuperHub in order to get a dial tone. I want to be able to use our landline number w/ our internal VoIP system to use our telephone number from the phones to make outbound calls and "talk" to the outside phone network.

 

How would I go about doing this & what equipment would I need? Cost isn't a massive issue here as our existing phones now won't work due to the change in range from where the old BT socket was.

 

Do I need some sort of Analogue Phone Adapter (such as the ones from Cisco) or a SIP Trunk? What would the connection path be, if so?

 

Thanks.

Edited January 13, 2023 by Tom_M

[speakercon]

If you want to use your 3CX system for your internal phones I would port your landline number to a SIP provider (I use Sipgate at home) and register it as a trunk in 3CX. You can setup a free Sipgate trunk and register it in 3CX and then port your number over once your happy with it.

[Tom_M]

I'm under contract w/ Virgin Media so not too sure how this would work as I'm already paying them for the phone & would like to avoid paying someone else!

Is there any way to get it working w/ some additional hardware to keep things local? I'm not worried about having multiple lines per-say. Even if I could use the Internal phones to call other parts of the house & have a single outbound line that'd be good enough.

 

Is there such a thing as a Hybrid system (i.e could I buy an interface card to connect the old line to the PC & get an IP system to recognise the outbound line)?

[robk]

No idea if this is possible, but do virgin media provide details of the phone line for say a SIP client? If you could add the VM line directly into 3cx that would work a treat. Otherwise your looking at several adapters etc, most of which do multiple lines that you wouldnt need.

[speakercon]

As Rob says your best bet would to try and get the SIP info from virgin and register it as a trunk in 3CX, you may even be able to get that info from the settings in your router?

 

Alternatively you would have to use an FXO adapter to convert the analogue line back to SIP, but this a bit messy going from voip to analogue and back to voip again! I've used Cisco/Linksys FXO adapters before but that was with freePBX, you'd probably want to go for a supported device to enure you can get it working - https://www.3cx.com/voip-gateways/

[Tom_M]

You've both been a massive help! Kudos given.

 

I've done some further research & it's as follows: Apparently Virgin Media's "VoIP" (at least at the Consumer Level) is actually CV21? Not too sure what that means; but apparently not 'true VoIP'?

I've learned that it uses some IP 'thing' on their SuperHub to dial-back to Virgin's Datacentre/Exchange; and then goes back to regular copper lines from there into their telephone network.

 

From the information I've learned - does that alter what I'd potentially need? I don't think they'd have any SIP info (as it looks as if it doesn't exist)?

 

Cheers.

[speakercon]

I've never heard of a CV21 protocol, if the router presents a normal analogue phone line I can't see why the FXO gateway wouldn't work (but you never know, it might be a waste of money) but maybe you could ask them about porting the number away and see if you will have to pay anything, it would be allot easier to just use another sip provider.

[localzuk]

21CV is a separate signal on the cable - not true VOIP, as far as I know. It runs alongside DOCSIS.