[kwlug-disc] Unlimitel/ATA pricing

[Paul Nijjar]

--- On Wed, 3/11/09, unsolicited <unsolicited at swiz.ca> wrote:

> You can also use the opposite of ATA's (I don't
> know what they're called), to convert an incoming VoIP
> line into a line the nortel understands. You can then remove
> the bell line, and replace with the line from this device.
> Note that, however, ultimately, this equipment becomes a
> lost cost when you move to a full asterisk system. ATA's
> have FXS ports, S = Station, and take analogue phones.
> ALA's (?) have FXO ports, O = Office, and take analogue
> LINES. From Bell's perspective, your location is an
> office. From your office's perspective, the phone at
> your desk is a station.

Aha. This is what I want to do. I want to keep the Nortel system, keep
our existing phones and infrastructure, and simply replace some of the
Bell lines with VoIP ones (or purchase VoIP lines instead of Bell ones
as we expand). This is why I am hoping that we can migrate to new
technologies without ripping out all of our infrastructure. 

I have been trying to read about the difference between FXO and FXS,
and trying to determine whether the doohickeys we want are supposed to
have FXO ports. 

My understanding is that the Bell lines are expensive enough that if
we could replace two Bell lines with two VoIP ones, we could use the
money we save to pay for a second Internet connection. That helps keep
the reliability up. 

As for lost costs: the Nortel systems themselves are not going
anywhere soon. But there is one community voicemail box that we have
no backup system for, and there is some nonzero probability that we
will be setting up phone systems for buildings in the future. In
either of those cases Asterisk might prove useful. 

> 	Bear in mind, you probably have Centrex lines - which are
> not analogue incoming lines. Moreover, you're probably
> getting a discount for having multiple lines. As you
> migrate, you'll lose the discount. You'll need to
> take this into account in you cost strategy.

This I don't understand. Are you saying that the lines Bell gives me
are different than regular telephone lines? I could believe that, but
I am still trying to verify this. 

> There are a lot of options, and telephony is complex. 

You're not kidding. Getting thrown into the world of telephony when I
started this job was a big shock, and for the most part I still am a
glaring newbie. But IT people are supposed to know everything about
everything, so this is part of the curve. 

- Paul




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