reneg8or
Well-Known Member
My IQ is not higher than my body weight in pounds and I guess that I need to derive some higher intelligence from someone who has it! Jokes aside, I have a situation requiring the advice of someone a tad more IT-literate than myself.
SITUATION
I presently reside in a prime area yet we suffer from the lack of a proper mobile signal. Around my humble home are a number of 5-star hotels, exquisite guest houses, higher-end restaurants and also some corporate HQ's. When we moved here in 2009, we had the benefit of excellent cellular broadband. Over time, first Vodacom's signal went down, then MTN's, then that of 8ta and now also Cell C. Communicating the problems we have been experiencing to the service providers remains a challenging task as the CRM help desk works according to a set matrix and anything above their level of expertise gets escalated to File 13. One company did shine; that would be 8ta. They did send out a technician in December 2011, he tested the signals and promised an improvement within fourteen days. Despite the kind gentleman's diligence, the signal did not improve. As our rented Art Deco home does not allow for ADSL or fibre installation for the lack of cabling and an owner who won't oblige, we are now considering to relocate.
Presently, I am retired but intend to start a new consulting practice sometime later this year or the next...no need to rush anything. It will be a family business run by myself and my two adult children. What we will most definitely need, is this:
Fixed line broadband installed at home. We will only move to premises where leased lines, ADSL or fibre can be installed. I have read somewhere that ADSL is unsuited to VoIP telephony and that even a leased 384kb/s line will be better. Comments welcome.
I intend to make use of a universal Internet phone number or unique Internet phone numbers for each user – or to have a home PBX over wireless network that can hunt and route according to pre-set rules. I see that my current phone allows for both SIP and Internet phone numbers but I don't know what the difference is, if any. When not at home, calls should automatically follow me/us/them.
I was thinking of marrying our mobile phones' wireless networking function to handle calls via the intended wireless home network via the router from the intended broadband connection, or via either a hardware or software PBX. I don't want to spend a fortune on something that should be able to do this automatically. Also, I don't want to hire a receptionist but require an automated system instead. What would be the best way of achieving this?
As we are adventure travellers over and above doing consulting work, we require the freedom to roam. What is needed, is a means to use the same universal/internet number(s) for incoming calls wherever we are on earth. Obviously, when travelling, we won't always have a signal but at least we then can return calls from time to time, using our cell phones. I have been advised that cellular phones are not ideal for VoIP – is this so? What would be my best option here?
How much data will I need monthly to service 1-3 VoIP users, email and basic web browsing? We don't watch movies online, nor do we download lots of data. I have no idea of how much data one would be using per minute for A. VoIP calls and B. Video calls.
I also need to buy three new smartphones and I have a bias towards Android devices. We will need 3-4 phones, each with wireless hotspot capabilities, USB or Bluetooth mass storage connectivity, tethering as internet modems when travelling, etc. Robust construction, utter reliability and, above all, battery life need to be exceptional. I have looked at JCB Toughphone which may be an option, as well as Motorola Razr Maxx & HD. IP67 certification is a good start but battery life is the main issue, also call quality. Some industrial deafness calls for crisp voice quality. What would a good phone be for this task?
We are migrating to Linux as neither of us here have a taste for Windows 8. Past experience of AriOS, Mint, openSuSe, Sabayon and Ubuntu has been more than satisfactory. The only weakness is the lack of a mobile phone suite on the laptop, to sync PIM data between phone and computer when at venues lacking cellular signal.
Please suggest what you have found to be working for you. Please, no brand bashing and also, if not an adult or a mature, experienced user, please refrain from showering me with “ahh, a Galaxy S3 is cool but wait for the S4...”
I really need help from someone knowledgeable.
In anticipation, thank you kindly for your advice!
SITUATION
I presently reside in a prime area yet we suffer from the lack of a proper mobile signal. Around my humble home are a number of 5-star hotels, exquisite guest houses, higher-end restaurants and also some corporate HQ's. When we moved here in 2009, we had the benefit of excellent cellular broadband. Over time, first Vodacom's signal went down, then MTN's, then that of 8ta and now also Cell C. Communicating the problems we have been experiencing to the service providers remains a challenging task as the CRM help desk works according to a set matrix and anything above their level of expertise gets escalated to File 13. One company did shine; that would be 8ta. They did send out a technician in December 2011, he tested the signals and promised an improvement within fourteen days. Despite the kind gentleman's diligence, the signal did not improve. As our rented Art Deco home does not allow for ADSL or fibre installation for the lack of cabling and an owner who won't oblige, we are now considering to relocate.
Presently, I am retired but intend to start a new consulting practice sometime later this year or the next...no need to rush anything. It will be a family business run by myself and my two adult children. What we will most definitely need, is this:
Fixed line broadband installed at home. We will only move to premises where leased lines, ADSL or fibre can be installed. I have read somewhere that ADSL is unsuited to VoIP telephony and that even a leased 384kb/s line will be better. Comments welcome.
I intend to make use of a universal Internet phone number or unique Internet phone numbers for each user – or to have a home PBX over wireless network that can hunt and route according to pre-set rules. I see that my current phone allows for both SIP and Internet phone numbers but I don't know what the difference is, if any. When not at home, calls should automatically follow me/us/them.
I was thinking of marrying our mobile phones' wireless networking function to handle calls via the intended wireless home network via the router from the intended broadband connection, or via either a hardware or software PBX. I don't want to spend a fortune on something that should be able to do this automatically. Also, I don't want to hire a receptionist but require an automated system instead. What would be the best way of achieving this?
As we are adventure travellers over and above doing consulting work, we require the freedom to roam. What is needed, is a means to use the same universal/internet number(s) for incoming calls wherever we are on earth. Obviously, when travelling, we won't always have a signal but at least we then can return calls from time to time, using our cell phones. I have been advised that cellular phones are not ideal for VoIP – is this so? What would be my best option here?
How much data will I need monthly to service 1-3 VoIP users, email and basic web browsing? We don't watch movies online, nor do we download lots of data. I have no idea of how much data one would be using per minute for A. VoIP calls and B. Video calls.
I also need to buy three new smartphones and I have a bias towards Android devices. We will need 3-4 phones, each with wireless hotspot capabilities, USB or Bluetooth mass storage connectivity, tethering as internet modems when travelling, etc. Robust construction, utter reliability and, above all, battery life need to be exceptional. I have looked at JCB Toughphone which may be an option, as well as Motorola Razr Maxx & HD. IP67 certification is a good start but battery life is the main issue, also call quality. Some industrial deafness calls for crisp voice quality. What would a good phone be for this task?
We are migrating to Linux as neither of us here have a taste for Windows 8. Past experience of AriOS, Mint, openSuSe, Sabayon and Ubuntu has been more than satisfactory. The only weakness is the lack of a mobile phone suite on the laptop, to sync PIM data between phone and computer when at venues lacking cellular signal.
Please suggest what you have found to be working for you. Please, no brand bashing and also, if not an adult or a mature, experienced user, please refrain from showering me with “ahh, a Galaxy S3 is cool but wait for the S4...”
I really need help from someone knowledgeable.In anticipation, thank you kindly for your advice!
