Telephone Adapter for BroadVoice service

Caiman · #1 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 01:28 AM

Hello, wonder which may be the best TA that I can use with BV but also with some other provider if I decide to change it later.

Thanks for your expertise and advise!

rizsher · #2 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 02:06 AM

Depends on your need. Sipura has a host of different devices with different features. If U need VoIP to PSTN and vice versa gateway function, then SPA3000 is the best bet.

Caiman · #3 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 02:34 AM

Actually I am a little frustrated after I found the Linksys PAP2 I bought only works with vonage. Now that I would like to try BV I will need another one. Is there such a TA that may work with any provider or at least most of them? I really would like to try a few of them before settle down with the one I need (probably BV), however I would not like to be returning and buying back and forth these devices until I find the right provider. One TA that I can carry from one provider to another would do the job for me.

mberlant · #4 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 03:27 AM

Any unlocked adapter is technically compatible with any VoIP provider who uses SIP as its underlying technology, however many providers only support a limited range of user-supplied equipment, or none at all.

Have a look at the Voxilla Compare service. Up near the top of each reviewed provider you will find entries that tell you whether they accept BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and, if so, what devices they support (to the best of our knowledge). This should save you a lot of leg work and allow you to further investigate the providers who interest you.

You will find that most of the providers who permit BYOD will support the Cisco ATA186 and Sipura SPA-1000/1001/2000/2100 ATAs, and that most will lock Line 1 when you subscribe with them. The device is still owned by you, and the lock will be released when you terminate service.

Caiman · #5 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 03:46 AM

Would that mean that my Linksys PAP2 was blocked? I checked that Vonage also uses SIP, same as BV. Could I unblock my TA and use it with BV? no reference in their site regarding support for this device. Also any thoughts about the Sipura 3000? where can I find differences and advantages among the different versions of Sipura? Thanks!

mberlant · #6 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 03:54 AM

The Linksys PAP2 (without the -NA suffix) is an ATA that was commissioned by Vonage specifically to be hardware locked to Vonage. Although it is a SIP based ATA, the hardware/firmware of the PAP2 are hobbled to only work with Vonage.

This is not the same as the configuration lock I described above. With a configuration lock the provider puts its configuration information into the ATA and then locks the administration pages to prevent the user from making a change that would inhibit good service and prevent a bad guy from cloning the credentials to steal service. Generally a configuration lock of this type is removed by performing a factory reset, which wipes out the lock as it wipes out the credentials.

Caiman · #7 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 04:05 AM

Thanks for the information. I guess my Linksys is not of any help unless I continue using Vonage which I do not want to. I'd rather prefer to use the flexibility to suscribe with BV and the choice to buy my own ATA, however, I stil need advise to see which Sipura would allow me to configure it with another provider (is it possible to have two providers in one ATA?

mberlant · #8 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 04:21 AM

It is possible, with a few limitations, to have two different providers on the two ports of a Sipura ATA, but only one of them can be on Line 1 (the lockable Line). I have set up SPA-2000s in a variety of combinations of unlocked providers. I have had just about every conceivable pairing of BroadVoice, StanaPhone, FWD, VoicePulse Connect and Asterisk PBX configured at one time or another on my own SPA-2000.

As you read the postings here you will learn some of these caveats, like how BV treats star codes and how they treat VIA headers, which may constrain some provider pairings. Mostly, however, an unlocked service on Line 2 will get along just fine with a locked or unlocked service on Line 1.

Some other brands, notably Cisco's ATA186, are constrained to use the same service provider on both Line 1 and Line 2, although they can have different phone numbers from the same provider.

Caiman · #9 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 04:34 AM

Thanks for the lecture, I'm definitely learning and narrowing things down, at this moment I am in the dilemma of deciding whether a Sipura 2000 or 3000 would do the job for me. Which one would you or any other reader recommend?

mberlant · #10 (**permalink**) May 6th, 2005, 05:14 AM

Those are two good choices, and equivalent as far as compatibility with service providers. The SPA-2000 is a two FXS ATA, which means that it has two completely independent ordinary-telephone-to-VoIP-service-provider channels under the hood. There are a few common bits that affect both Lines together, like how to handle STUN and VIA headers, but mostly they are separate channels.

The SPA-3000, on the other hand, has one FXS interface and one FXO interface, each with its own VoIP service provider connection. This means that you can connect an ordinary phone to the FXS side and an active telephone line to the FXO interface. Unlike the SPA-2000, there are a few features in the -3000 that facilitate connecting "the outside world" with "the inside world".

You can read about both of these devices, their features and limitations, right here on our Sipura User Group forum.