General VOIP questions

Hi - I'm a newbie here, though I'm a lurker. I haven't seen someone answer the specific questions I have, so I'm going to post them here -- perhaps others can learn from them.

First of all, I am in the process of researching options to switch from AT&T CallVantage to something better now that they are phasing it out in the US. I recently purchased a Linksys 3102, and have a cheap DID number through CallCentric. I've been able to make this work just fine, and I'm thinking of porting my main number over to CallCentric, but I have a few questions:

First, the linksys 3102 box is basically a souped up VOIP-ATA adapter, correct? It has 2 lines, but unlike my AT&T adapter (which is another model) it really only has one line that is ATA, correct? The other is a line out - if I wanted to connect it in series with POTS to use say the line coming into my house. It doesn't have the option to connect to 2 internal lines. Is this correct?

For each 'extension' that I want in my house or small business, I would either need a separate addressable Linksys 3102 (or one of the older, less expensive models), or a SIP VOIP phone, correct?

Along with that, I would either need to set up something like FreePBX or buy into a virtual PBX to actually route an incoming call to each extension, or purchase a separate DID number for each from my VOIP provider (in my case, CallCentric), correct?

If I was setting up a small office, I could plug the Linksys 3102 as an ATA into the existing wiring, but if I wanted to buy a VOIP phone (such as a good speakerphone), it would need to either be connected via a PBX, or it would need it's own DID number, correct?

Currently, in my small business, we use AT&T CallVantage as well, but haven't been thrilled with the lack of customizability. We use the ATA router that came with the service to provide 2 incoming lines into the office. I would need something different from the 3102 to replace this, correct?

If I wanted to get a conference calling device that was wireless capable, my understanding is that if it is registered with my VOIP service, potentially I could take it to anywhere I have wireless access, let it register, then I would be able to make conference calls as long as there was adequate bandwidth, correct? But if I wanted it to be able to receive calls, I would need to either get it a DID number, or connect it via a PBX, correct?

I hope my questions are clear. Thanks so much for replying.

Welcome to Voipuser Forums.

Quote:

First, the linksys 3102 box is basically a souped up VOIP-ATA adapter, correct? It has 2 lines, but unlike my AT&T adapter (which is another model) it really only has one line that is ATA, correct? The other is a line out - if I wanted to connect it in series with POTS to use say the line coming into my house. It doesn't have the option to connect to 2 internal lines. Is this correct?

Yes and no. The 3102 has two voip lines but one is dedicated to and connects the PSTN line.

You can only connect directly (and register with) one voip line. You can "connect" as "Gateway Accounts" to several other providers and call out on them. A very good way around this limitation is to use a service such as Voxalot to connect to other providers (basic service is free and there is a small charge to accept incoming calls and other useful services) or Sipsorcery (free was called Mysipswitch). There are serveral other similar options. Incoming SIP calls to the 3102 can be sent to PSTN and incoming PSTN calls can be sent to voip.

Quote:

For each 'extension' that I want in my house or small business, I would either need a separate addressable Linksys 3102 (or one of the older, less expensive models), or a SIP VOIP phone, correct?

There are more complex ATA devices available with 4 or 8 FXS ports. You might prefer to use a multiline(voip) network phone in a home office. You can use a network phone without a PBX .... if you want it called from PSTN then a DID would look after that.

Quote:

Currently, in my small business, we use AT&T CallVantage as well, but haven't been thrilled with the lack of customizability. We use the ATA router that came with the service to provide 2 incoming lines into the office. I would need something different from the 3102 to replace this, correct?

Again ... it depends. With network phones (single or multiline) they can be connected to a network (router). You can experiment with these and if you decide to build FreePBX or get a service the ATA/phones can be integrated into the network.