[FONT='Trebuchet MS','sans-serif']Hi[/font]
[FONT='Trebuchet MS','sans-serif']I live in North America but travel frequently on business to a Caribbean Island where I have an office and residence. I have VoIP service in both locations so when I am in office/residence I am not incurring long distance rates to the USA and Canada.[/font]
[FONT='Trebuchet MS','sans-serif']My problem is that I spend most of my time on the road and must use my cell phone (with a local carrier) to make international calls. The carrier’s rate is mighty expensive and is proving to be cost prohibitive. The other problem is that people in the USA/Canada are also finding it expensive to call me when I am on the road.[/font]
[FONT='Trebuchet MS','sans-serif']I would love to know how to connect to a device that functions as a bridge between my cell phone and my VoIP provider that would enable me to call into the device from my cell phone (a local call) and then call out to my international contacts. Similarly, to save my international contacts long distance charges, I would want them to be able to a USA/Canada number which connects/routes them to my cell phone.[/font]
[FONT='Trebuchet MS','sans-serif']A friend mentioned in passing about a SPA device- he did not know too much about it but thinks that is what I am looking for – If there is a solution to my problem please can someone tell me what device(s) to get and how to set-up such as system.[/font]
[FONT='Trebuchet MS','sans-serif']Thanks[/font]
[FONT='Trebuchet MS','sans-serif']TRG[/font]

[hwittenb]

The Linksys SPA3102 was designed to bridge calls from a pstn line attached to the adapter to a VoIP line configured on the adapter. It is used extensively for this purpose.

You can configure an incoming VoIP call to automatically forward to a pstn line number or you can configure the adapter to give a dial tone to the caller and let the caller dial a number.

You can configure the adapter to give a dial tone to a caller on the pstn line so that the caller can dial any VoIP number over the configured VoIP network.

Most of the discussion about the SPA3102 is found in the Linksys (Sipura) VoIP Support Forum.

It is fair to say that there is a learning curve involved in getting the adapter setup properly. The adapter is very flexible, has a lot of settings, and the settings need to be made correctly or it doesn't work and some people get frustrated with the level of detail required. Linksys tries to minimize their customer support costs, hence they don't sell the adapter thru regular retail channels, only specialized sellers.

[edongp]

You can connect WoodTel's (www.woodtel.com) DialMate CM1003 to your VoIP ATA and do Call Bridge, Call Forward or Call Back to and from your cell phone, without the need for an extra telephone line. The only requirement is your VoIP carrier must support Call Transfer or 3-way calling.