make "free" cell calls via 3000/voip provider?

[catrambull]

Hi,
I am interested in in making calls from a Nokia cell phone which
features
free incoming cell phone routed through FWD or a voip company like
Broadvoice with unlimited plan via the Sipura 3000. In order to
avoid using outgoing minits on my nextel, My thought was if I called my viop
phone from my Nextel and hung up and was able to program my Sipura 3000
to automatically have my voip line call me back so I could then call via
my unlimited voip plan. Could that work? What configuration of
equipment would I need to have? What equipment or phone plans would you
reccomend I acquire? how would I need to program the sipura 3000.

Note: I spoke to the owner or http://www.woodtel.com who sells a "phone
bridge"
that he said coupled with a sipura 2000 could achieve this, but I
thought that potentially the sipura 3000 could achieve this by itself
and i could save a lot of money. He also said that the voip provider
would need to be 3 way called enabled. Broad Voice is 3 way enabled.

But is FWD 3 way called enabled? With my FWD set up I currently have a
xlite soft phone with a Libretel phone number forwarded to it so I can
receive calls made from a pots line. I can also make calls from xlite
using IConnectHere service on my 1st proxie. The xlite has three lines
that I can conference, but is that true 3 way calling? I was thinking
of getting a sipura 2001 or 3000 hooked to a cordless phone so that I
could be free from my PC. In addition, would this allow me using the
above configuration, to make calls from my "free incoming nextel cell"
via a sipura 3000 via an "auto callback" through my IConnectHere
Service?

I am not a techie, but I seem to be able to follow a good percentage of
the the voip lingo.

The bottom line is I want to be able to make free calls from a cell
phone
via a voip phone plan. If someone has any other suggestions or proven
methods, I would love to know.

Any help would be deeply appreciated. Thanks Catrambull

[nabeelj]

I'm not sure about any other solutions, but the SPA-3000 does not have an option to "call you back". I suspect a Linux box running Asterisk could do what you want.

[catrambull]

Hmm that's too bad, this phone bridge that is availbale form woodtel will do that. Pulver innovations also has a bridge device, that is cheaper than the woodtel, but not sure if it has the call back feature. I have treid to contact Pulver, but have not heard back from them. I guess I will try again. I am not sure I want to get into asterisk, I am only a newbie (plus)! thanks for the reply!
Any info on this is helpful.

I guess the other thing I really need to determine is do I get the SIP 2001 or 3000.

[mberlant]

I hate to introduce the concept of cost effectiveness here, but I've been thinking about what you propose doing.

I'm wondering just how much you are paying per minute with Nextel that you feel you could save money by purchasing a $200 Woodtel callback interface to front-end a $100 Sipura ATA.

You don't mention where you live, but you may be better served by completely reversing the logic underlying your quest. Several cellular companies (like SunCom and MetroPCS) offer unlimited US calling from within your home calling area. If your lifestyle keeps you mostly inside your home calling area you could subscribe to a service like this and couple it with a Dock-n-Talk adapter for your home (or not, if you want to save that money and don't mind walking around the house using your cell phone).

I lived like that for three years, dropping my StarTAC into its Extensis cradle when I came home and using my cell phone as my primary vehicle for Long Distance. Perhaps this can work for you.

[catrambull]

Great advice, yeah I Live in NYC. I'll have to check out SunCom and MetroPCS to see if they are available here. Have not found an unlimited from local area here, but looking. Mobiity and nternatinal calling is the thing I need. Broadvoice has that awesome international unlimited plan for $20/mo. With the Nextel/woodtel/broadvoice set up, I can call 24 counties unlimited from my cell for about $70 to $80 per month. The set up is expensive, approx $300, but becouse of my extensive calling needs. It will pay for itself in a few months.

I I just spoke to Ed from wood tel and I think I'm going to go with the Sipura 2100 (which I get a good discount on when I sign up with Broadvoice) and Woodtel's upcoming CM 2000 which will allow me to seemlessly transfer my calls from my cell to Viop to desired end phone.

You can get Nextel's national free incoming plan with 300 peak min for 50 bucks. With Woodtel's Dialmate's CM2000, you call it from your cell and hang up, and it is programed to call you back, were you then dail the number you are calling (US,Cananda and 22 other countries) and it will transfer that call and your connected unlimitedly.

I've been looking for a number of optons and I wojld like to keep it simple, but I'm aslking for a lot of access, so I'm just looking for some creative options while tring to keep the costs down. What do ya' think?

I do agreea and appreciate your advice, so thanks again!

catrambull

[mberlant]

The one thing that a cellular plan cannot give you that VoIP can is international calling. If that is important to you, then that definitely tips the scale to the Woodtel/Sipura solution.

You just mentioned that you are looking at the SPA-2100 as your ATA. This is probably a good choice over the SPA-2000. For just $10 more you get a QoS-capable router function and the promise of T.38. If you think you might ever need either of these two functions you should pay the $10 extra to have them.

Now, all you will have to worry about is buying extra batteries for your Nextel.

[PhoneBoy]

I dunno if nextel has free "mobile-to-mobile" calling like most other providers, but if you get a second nextel phone, a dock-n-talk, plug it into a SPA-3000, then you can make BroadVoice calls. I did this with a couple of different Nokia phones I've got here.

I did get a notice from Phone Labs they have Nextel cables, but I don't see them on our store.

[catrambull]

Interesting... Actually I am currently on Verizon, and they definetly have mobile to mobile. I would not have to switch to Nextel and I could avoid Verizons cancel fee ($175 bucks prior to the end of the contract!). The issue is then how much do my montly fees increase by getting a second line at Verizon. Must check that out, in addition, the cost of the dock and talk unit. This set up might also workout financially! Thanks

JUst checked, vox sells thee dockntalk for $140 hmmm...

[mberlant]

catrambull,

You've been holding out on us. We've been chasing a Nextel solution and you've been on VZW all along.

If you are on any America's Choice plan, all you need to do is sign up for a second VZW phone on their Family Plan ($20/mo, if memory serves). It shares your peak minutes (which you don't particularly care about) and has unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling with any other VZW customer (even if the other customer has to pay for their end).

Just choose a phone from amongst the ones they'll give you for free that has a Dock-n-Talk cable available for it. With the Dock-n-Talk connected to the PSTN Line port of the SPA-3000 you can have the best of all worlds. You can have the SPA recognize your Caller ID and give you a VoIP Dial Tone. You can have incoming VoIP calls forwarded to your cell phone. The possibilities multiply.

Let us know what you end up doing.

Michael

[catrambull]

Sorry for the holdout Micheal, unintentional! , I am going to check the costs out at VZW (their rates area are down right now). But let me get this striaght. do you mean that when the 2nd cell is docked and programed into the Sipura 3000, that I do not get get a charge for theconnection between my VZW cell and Broadvoice # on my VZW account? Do you know what I mean? also, when people are calling my Broadvoice and via the Sipura 3000, the call gets transfered to my VZW phone would I not recive a charge for that "call"? I am having trouble understanding how those charges are avoided.

thanks!!!

Ive been reading your post, and I think, you avoid the charges, because (somehow?) the SPA 3000 gives you a Voip dial tone on you cell initiated call. Is that right? Anyway, I hope you can explain it to me.

I guess the bottom line is that I will be able to make and receive unlimited calls in 24 countries from my primary VZW cell phone via my 2nd VZW cell with mobile to moblle/dockntalk/SPA3000/Broadvoice set up for about $80 to $90 per month with about an initial $200 to $300 equipment cost. Is this correct?

Ok if your ready for this, I would now like to figure out how to make my calls blue tooth enabled. Am I right to assume, that in order to do this, the cell phone that I am going to dock, does not need to be blue tooth enabled, but the cell phone I will be walking around and calling from does ? Is this accurate, or does the docked phone also need to be blue toothed, or is that even desirable?

Many Questions, many thanks!!!