[ale] Cable modem recommendation

[JD]

I've been using a less than $5/month wholesale VoIP.ms account for over a year.
Inbound only lines are $2/month. I had more expensive plans before, but simply
didn't need all that handholding for $20/month extra.  I pre-pay 6 months at a
time, about $40. It is not unlimited calls, but I've already saved enough to pay
for thousands of minutes, if that was ever needed. Since it is SIP, any SIP
client can be used ... like on a smartphone or laptop from anywhere in the world
(provided the ports aren't blocked).

I also used Comcast's phone service for about 6 months, but had issues calling
certain POTS numbers in NC - never had that problem with VoIP.ms.  CallCentric
is a well known competitor that is well respected for small guys like us. I'd
check them out too.

I setup Skype ($3/month plan) for inbound and outbound calling for a few months
running SipToSis and Skype inside a Linux VM. It worked great for a few months,
then got really bad and had all sorts of connection and quality issues. The
skype outages forced me to change. With MS owning Skype now, I wouldn't touch it
again. Google "skype siptosis" if you want to try this yourself.

I suspect there are lurkers here who work for local VOIP companies, but they
tend to be many line centric. I'd be interested in learning more about their
small-home business plans.

My setup doesn't need a PC, just the modem, router and ATA ($30-$40). Some
routers have the ATA built-in and the Atlanta Asterisk guys used to love the
Linksys ATAs (not so much on the Cicso versions).  I have an old Grandstream
HT-502 and it works perfectly and supports g.729 (which was important when I
bought it).  I've played with Asterisk and FreeSwitch over the years, but found
the added complexity simply wasn't necessary, so I dropped back to a pure
hardware-only setup. VoIP.ms has setup information for Asterisk, if that's your
desire.

I have a friend using a Oomla http://www.ooma.com/products . Saw a sale last
week for $140 on that - lifetime calling, but I think they must charge monthly
for E911 by law.  This same friend tried the MagicJack on a PC for no other use
and said it worked well enough, but he always felt slimy.

My current system is "wife friendly" - just pick up any telephone in the house
and dial. The Skype solution started out unfriendly, but became friendly.

For me, the costs of an all-in-one SIP service like Vonage is just crazy. I can
see where the lack of hassles would be nice for some folks.

For cable modems, I'm on a Comcast Business plan, so Comcast owns and manages
the DOCSIS 3 modem. There is no BYOE plan possible. I own a DOCSIS 2 surfboard
from my residential ISP days.  Just be certain that whatever modem you choose is
on the supported hardware list from your ISP. I did find it strange that Comcast
could login to **my** modem and control it remotely.



On 04/18/2012 11:25 PM, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I know the original post was about a non leased modem.  I can't really 
> speak to that, but I thought I'd mention something about the phone 
> part.  I have Comcast Xfinity service with HD TV, 20 MBps Internet, and 
> 3 line Phone.  It ain't cheap, but I really like it.  The way the phone 
> works is pretty cool.  Of course, the phone signals come through the 
> internet connection using VOIP.  My particular modem has 4 phone ports, 
> of which I'm using 3.  The service works well most of the time, with 
> only occasional digital distortion and breakup.  So, what we did is to 
> have the phone company disconnect the traditional phone line from the 
> outside junction box.  Then, I plugged a patch cable from the modem to a 
> nearby wall outlet.  The modem drives my entire phone network in the 
> house with two lines.  I have a wireless base station in the basement so 
> I can have access to the third line.  I'm pretty sure the modem 
> automatically provides Quality Of Service functions to automatically 
> prioritize phone traffic, but I could be wrong.  Almost all my phones 
> have their own power supply, and those that don't are relatively modern, 
> so it's not too much power drain on the modem.  I guess I have 6 or 7 
> phones operating off of the system.  Some of those are wireless with 
> multiple handsets.  So, that's a big advantage of having a modem device 
> with it's own phone ports, so you can drive your telephone network all 
> over the house, depending on the modem in use.  I don't think something 
> like MagicJack can do that.  The other advantage of a modem with phone 
> ports is that it will automatically reboot after a power failure.  
> Finally, the modem Comcast provided has a battery that lasts a few hours 
> if the power is off, so you still have phone service for a while.  Since 
> it's connected directly to the cable, I don't have to have a UPS on it.  
> Of course, wireless phones are useless without power to the base 
> station.  However, I have an old wired phone which I can plug in if 
> needed which draws power from the phone line.  I also have my cell phone 
> as a backup.  You also have to notify whomever provides the VOIP service 
> of any address changes so 911 service will work.  One other neat thing 
> about a leased modem is that you can harass the ISP when something goes 
> wrong.  Also, sometimes you get new faster stuff when they upgrade their 
> system.
> 
> I think the Vonage box shown in this link will allow you to do something 
> similar to what I'm doing, but I'm not sure.  If you have a device like 
> this, you can just plug it into your router, but, if you want service 
> during a power failure, you'll have to make sure the phone box, the 
> router, and the cable modem are attached to a UPS.
> 
> http://www.vonage.com/how_vonage_works_adapters/?refer_id=WEBHO0706010001W1&lid=sub_nav_adapters
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Ron
> 
> 
> On 4/18/2012 4:51 PM, Bob Toxen wrote:
>> I have a $84.99 Zoom Cable Modem (supporting DOCSIS 3.0, the fastest
>> available in the Atlanta area) from MicroCenter that supports ComCast
>> and the other Cable SOBs.  I've not yet had time to install it.
>>
>> It does not seem to support phone access.
>>
>>
>> However, I plan to try:
>>
>>    www.magicjack.com
>>
>> It's recommended by Clark Howard, the WSB radio consumer guy.
>> I plan to buy a standalone Magic Jack (no Winbloz needed), available
>> at MicroCenter.  MicroCenter also has slightly cheaper Magic Jack
>> devices that do require Winbloz.
>>
>>
>> Does anyone have experience with Magic Jack?
>>
>>
>> A few years ago I bought my own Motorola Cable modem but it broke within
>> a year or so.  YMMV.
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 30, 2012 at 03:44:24PM -0400, Brian Mathis wrote:>  Is
>> anyone on the list using their own (not leased) cable modem with>
>> Comcast service?  Can you recommend a good one?  Do any of them>
>> support the phone service as well?>  >  Thanks>  >  ??? Brian Mathis>
>>
>>    
> 
>