[TriLUG] asterisk meeting last saturday

[John Turner]

On Jun 23, 2004, at 8:55 AM, Mark Turner wrote:

> John Turner wrote:
>
>> Just to be clear here. The Connect service from VoicePulse that one 
>> uses with Asterisk includes unlimited local calling outgoing?  I know 
>> the SIP service they sell has free local calling. The 
>> connect.voicepulse.com web site just doesn't say that!
>
> The Connect service VoicePulse offers is the only one that works with 
> Asterisk (or SIP devices that VoicePulse doesn't provision, for that 
> matter). For the Connect service, ALL outgoing calls go out at the 
> rate of 2.9 cents a minute. Thus, if you want cheaper local dialing, 
> you should choose another outgoing SIP provider (I've tried 
> IConnectHere and don't recommend them, in spite of their 1.5 cents 
> offering).
>
> Another promising company is Broadvoice (www.broadvoice.com), which 
> offers a "Bring Your Own Device" plan 
> (http://www.broadvoice.com/rateplans_byod.html ). Seems perfect for 
> Asterisk, since it's $5.95 per month for a DID and 100 minutes of 
> outbound (after 100, it's 3.9 cents/min). What's best is that you can 
> upgrade to the higher plans (unlimited in-state for $10/month) without 
> the set-up fee that goes to purchasing the SIP device.
>
> Broadvoice also has super-responsive support staff. If you've got a 
> question, you'll get an answer right away.
>
> Only drawback is that Broadvoice isn't available yet in North 
> Carolina. They claim by the end of the summer. They even list Raleigh 
> as a datacenter on their "about" page: 
> http://www.broadvoice.com/company.html
>
> Perhaps if enough TriLUGgers expressed their interest in polite emails 
> or phone calls, Broadvoice would accelerate their presence here. Any 
> takers?
>
>

I don't understand why VoicePulse isn't offering similar plans for 
Asterisk users as there normal SIP users?  Also doesn't Asterisk claim 
to work with SIP providers?  Didn't I read something about getting it 
working with Vonage?  At the current rate the Connect service is much 
higher than most other VOIP options unless you don't make any local 
calls.

I will send an email to Broadvoice.

Thanks,
John