[devp55]

Hi,

I do not have a "land line". The only line I have is from a VOIP provider(was SR now TB). I am interested in setting up a SPA3102 for international VOIP calls (with another SPA3102 on the other end). My questions are these (sorry if these have been answered else where, I have been searching for the past 2 days. I have learnt a great deal but not clear about these points) -

Will I be able to use the 3102 with a VOIP provider such as Teleblend or do I need ditch them and sign up with someone that allows BYOD (this is to be able to use 3102)?

If I do switch to another carrier (with BYOD -3102), how many accounts do I actually need Line1 and Gateway 1 (are 2 enough)? I am thinking the other SPA3102 (to be used abroad) will also have the same provider for Gateway 1, right?

Your help in clearing up this mystery will help me from going round in circles. I feel like I am missing something here...

Thanks for your time.

Dev

[DracoFelis]

Originally Posted by devp55

Will I be able to use the 3102 with a VOIP provider such as Teleblend or do I need ditch them and sign up with someone that allows BYOD (this is to be able to use 3102)?

You can only directly use the 3102 with BYOD providers.

However, it is possible to use your existing VoIP adapter as if it's the 3102's "POTS line". If you did that (running both VoIP adapters, with your existing VoIP adapter cabled up as if it's the POTS line for your 3102), than you could use the 3102 to add additional VoIP accounts, while still continuing to use all the features of your existing adapter/account (indirectly via the 3102 that is cabled up to your existing adapter).

Originally Posted by devp55

If I do switch to another carrier (with BYOD -3102), how many accounts do I actually need Line1 and Gateway 1 (are 2 enough)?

Totally up to you, and what rates you can get to the places you like to call. You might even find a single provider that is good for both your local calling and international rates. Or you might find you want multiple providers, each with good rates to various places you call.

And yes, with most (but not all) providers, you can use the "gateways" if/when you are only using the provider for outbound calling.

[devp55]

Thanks for the response.

If I choose to go with a BYOD provider, can I use the 3102 directly with that provider and not have to have a PSTN line?

Thx.
Dev

[DracoFelis]

Originally Posted by devp55

If I choose to go with a BYOD provider, can I use the 3102 directly with that provider and not have to have a PSTN line?

That's correct. The "Line" jack of the 3102 (and the older 3000) is OPTIONAL.

You CAN hook up a POTS line to the 3102's "Line" jack (and that is in fact what the jack is designed for). Or (alternatively) you can hook up a 2nd VoIP adapter (for example the VoIP adapter you currently use with your current provider) via that jack (in which case the 3102 would think/act like your 2nd VoIP adapter's output is its "POTS line", and be "none the wiser").

However, if "all" you want to do is BYOD VoIP account(s), you don't have to hook up anything to the adapter's "Line" jack. It's just that any of the PSTN only functions of the adapter will (obviously) only work if/when you have something hooked up to the PSTN "Line" jack (either a real POTS line, or something that "looks" like a POTS line such as the output of a 2nd VoIP adapter). But any of the VoIP only functions of the SPA3000/3102 (which is the majority, but not all of the adapter's functions) are happy to work with nothing hooked up to the "Line" jack at all!

In fact, that's currently how I'm running my SPA3000 (the older version of the 3102, but without the builtin router), and the unit is functioning fine (with multiple VoIP providers in it). While I do actually have a POTS line (the telco won't sell me DSL without it), I don't currently have it hooked up to my SPA3000's "Line" jack (so as far as my SPA3000 knows, I don't have a POTS line). Instead, I'm running my 3000 in it's BYOD VoIP only mode. Not only is the adapter happy to run that way, but (by clever use of the adapter "gateways" and "dial plan") I've actually combined several different VoIP accounts onto the adapter (so that my attached "phone" can use any of those VoIP accounts as if they were one giant super-VoIP provider)!

NOTE:
I put "phone" in quotes, because (just like a real POTS line) you don't have to hook up only a single phone to the :"Phone" jack of the SPA3000/3102.

In my case, I have a Uniden 2-line multi-handset wireless phone system. So I actually have both my POTS line and the output of my SPA3000 wired up to the base station of my multi-handset wireless phone system. The practical benefit of that (to me), is that anyone in the house (using any of the phone's handsets) can choose either my POTS line (seen as "line 1" on my phones) or my SPA-3000 (seen as "line 2" on the phones). And remember, my VoIP ("line 2" on my wireless phones) is setup with a very fancy dial plan and several different VoIP providers/accounts I can choose from!!!

WARNING:
The SPA3000/3102 is a PITA to configure some of its advanced features (such as multiple accounts). You can do it (I know, as I've done some truly amazing things with mine), but you may spend more hours in the forum than you might at first expect. So if you are not into "tinkering", you might want to consider something a little easier to setup (a "PhoneGnome", perhaps?). OTOH if you don't mind "rolling up your sleeves", the SPA-3000/3102 can do some pretty amazing things for such a small/cheap adapter...

[devp55]

Thanks for your detailed post. Appreciate it. I think I will start off the easy way and "grow" as time permits.

Dev