I'd like to have some advise in order to take the right decision...
What do I already have?
- DSL high-speed connection
- DSL modem (1 port)
- 1 Siemens cordless phone
- 1 desktop PC
What do I wish to have?
- an ATA (thinking at Liksys Sipura SPA-2100 as I don't have a router... also SPA-2100 seems to be a good quality product and has amazing configuration options). Should I buy an unlocked adapter? Could be a locked adapter bypassed
- at least 2 VOIP providers:
a) Main provider (like Broadvoice or ZingoTel) -> for unlimited inbound calls + 519 area code number (for Kitchener-Waterloo, ON, Canada) + occasionally outbound calls
b) At least 1 provider (like Internetcalls or VoipStunt) -> for outbound calls
Using a single cordless phone connected to the ATA, how can I configure the SPA-2100 to work with the 2 (or more?) providers as described above?
Please reply with any suggestions or comments on VOIP providers and ATA manufacturers as well.

Hi, I have a spa3000 and a spa2100. The spa2100 has capability to let you use two simultaneous G729 calls at once. It is a great adapter and I use it all the time. Personally, I dont know about your router. I have a billion 4 port router and have port forwarding on ports 5061 and 5060, plus RTP port range 16482-16484 So do yourself a favour and get a spa2100 . Its brilliant. You have one voip service provider in line1, and another in line2

Cheers

Marty from Australia

I think the SPA-2100 is like the SPA-2000/2002, in that it only allows you to use two VoIP providers if/when you use two seperate phones (or a two-line phone).

For using two providers from a single phone, you probably want either an SPA-1001 (2 bi-directional providers), or an SPA-3000 (1 bi-directional provider + 4 outbound only providers + telco/POTS interconnect + misc). Personally I use my SPA-3000 for the family's multi-provider VoIP "line".

However, while both the SPA-1001 and the SPA-3000 will do multiple providers from a single "phone" (and the SPA-3000 will even let you add your existing telco/POTS line to the list of stuff done from that "phone"), neither of those two adapters has a built-in router (so if you want to use an SPA-1001/3000, you have to supply your own router for your LAN).

[quote="DracoFelis"][quote="thegradas"]
I think the SPA-2100 is like the SPA-2000/2002, in that it only allows you to use two VoIP providers if/when you use two seperate phones (or a two-line phone).

For using two providers from a single phone, you probably want either an SPA-1001 (2 bi-directional providers), or an SPA-3000 (1 bi-directional provider + 4 outbound only providers + telco/POTS interconnect + misc). Personally I use my SPA-3000 for the family's multi-provider VoIP "line".
quote]

Thanks for the useful info.
Is there any way to connect the one phone to both FXS ports? Do you knoe other ATA manufacturer has both features (router + multi-provider VOIP "line") in one adapter?

Yes. But not without additional hardware, and the effort might not be "worth it".

For example, if you had a 2-line phone, you should be able to cable up both jacks of the adapter, so that your phone sees one jack as its "line 1" and the other jack as its "line 2".

There are also devices on the market to enable single line phones to use multiple "phone lines" (and each jack of a 2-line VoIP adapter, mimics one real "phone line"). However, you are again buying additional hardware in that case, and the better the quality/features of the phone line "multi-switch" you get, the more you can expect to pay (with many of the decent ones costing more than the VoIP adapter itself)!

So, yes it is possible. But in most cases, the effort isn't "worth it" in real terms...

OK, I understand your point of view... What would you recommend than? I'm willing to consider a SPA-3000 but then I also need a router...

I was asked why do I need at least 2 providers... here are my reasons:

One provider offers unlimited inbound calls + own area number for about CDN$7/month.
The other one offers free unlimited outbound calls in North America and most of Europe + 2-4c/min with Romania (my native country), all at CDN$14/4 months, making a total of (minimum) CDN$10.5/month.
Is there any better choice?

For the same service I pay now around CDN$70-80/month...

Personally I use an SPA-3000 (and an older SPA-2000), behind my own NAT router. Works well for me. But, of course, I always expected I would need a router, in addition to my VoIP adapters...

NOTE: For a long time (after getting my SPA-3000), I was mostly just using my older SPA-2000 as a test/play adapter. However, I might actually press it into actual use/work soon, as my wife is wanting her own private phone line (in addition to our POTS line, and our main VoIP line)...

No need to justify to me, as I'm well aware of the benefits of multiple VoIP accounts/providers that you "mix and match" (to "roll your own" mega-service with). In fact, at the present time I have all of the following on my SPA-3000: VBuzzer (cheap US/Canada calling), CallCentric (misc "mixed service"), Free World Dialup (Free VoIP service), SIP Broker (call a huge number of VoIP locations "for free"), IPKall (free WA inbound phone number), Voxalot (a nice "hybrid" service, I've been helping develop/test), Teliax (a nice "backup" pay-as-you-go provider), and even my own inbound "toll free number" (a nice way to "call home" from the road, or let close friends/family call).

NOTE: I usually recommend to people thinking about buying an unlocked VoIP adapter, to make sure they get one that takes at least two providers/accounts, and then make sure one of the providers is a free service with a lot of "peering" (ability to call, and be called by, a lot of other VoIP services). That way, you can use whatever service you want for normal calls, and still fully participate in the "free VoIP calls" approach (the best of both worlds)!

BTW:
Have you considered http://www.voxalot.com ? They are a hybrid (base service is free, but some "premium features" will have a charge once the beta trial period is over). One nice thing about voxalot, is that it support both full VoIP ENUM, and full "SIP Broker" dialing (i.e. a lot of locations you can dial "for free").

But the real nifty thing about Voxalot, is that you can put your own VoIP providers/accounts in the Voxalot portal, setup "dial plans" on the Voxalot portal, and then just "register" your adapter with Voxalot (and thereby use multiple VoIP accounts/services with one Voxalot registration)! Essentially, you can (in some cases) use "Voxalot" to convert a single account VoIP adapter, into a service that allows you access to multiple VoIP accounts...

Am I reading it correctly? I thought that 3000 has (at least) 2 bi-directional providers... So, I could have VoicePulse (bi-directional) on one line and IPKall/FWD (also bi-directional) on another. Is it incorrect?

Sadly, no. On the SPA-3000 you really only have one "registered" (bi-directional) provider.

However, in many cases you can get the effect of many more bi-directional providers, by using a "forwarding trick" for inbound calls, at the same time you use the "gateways" (and possibly the "extended dial plan") for outbound calls (with the same provider). With these forwarding/gateway "tricks", you can cram a fairly large number of providers into your SPA-3000.

And remember, while you might need "forwarding tricks" to get multiple inbound VoIP providers/DIDs with an SPA-3000, there is native support (in the SPA-3000 itself) for several outbound VoIP providers (and "tricks" that can be used to expand that outbound provider list even further). And the SPA-3000 also has that "Line jack" that can be used to cross-link VoIP with an existing telco line.

[quote="DracoFelis"][quote="ymhee_bcex"]Are these forwarding tricks available for SPA-2100 as well? Can you elaborate?