Unreliable WISP, looking for alternatives

XperiAnce

XperiAnce

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We run our VOIP using a WISP (whom I won't name out of respect). It's incredibly unreliable and we have to email / call their support desk weekly to deal with high latency and issues. Apparently there is a lot of interference in our area. I'm sure they're telling the truth, it's just a product that's not working for us.

We use Centracom as our SIP Provider (no issues with them), and only have around 3 - 4 calls going at once.

I'm looking for an alternative now. I got a quote for a diginet line but... yikes... it's a lot more than we're paying now. I was able to get it running over 3G, but when the connection hops between 3G and HSDPA the call drops, and I can't figure out how to lock it to one spectrum.

Factoring in our low concurrent-call volume, would a 1 (or 2) meg ADSL line work for us? It would be dedicated to VOIP, no other traffic. Our DSLAM is 'literally' on the corner, we have an attenuation of 9db and a SNR of 30db. We'd get unshaped traffic.

We're using Elastix on a dedicated server.

Any feedback would be appreciated. If you believe ADSL is a bad choice, please let me know recommended alternatives. I have read through this sub-forum already, but most posts are for larger volume situations and might not apply to me.
 
If you are going to be dedicating the ADSL line to only voice, it can work. You can also speak to your VoIP provider about implementing a QoS service like Vibe if they offer it (I can also help wtih Vibe, drop me a PM).

The main concern with ADSL is it's a best effort service, so you need to factor in potential downtime and how it affects your business.
 
XperiAnce said:
We run our VOIP using a WISP (whom I won't name out of respect). It's incredibly unreliable and we have to email / call their support desk weekly to deal with high latency and issues. Apparently there is a lot of interference in our area. I'm sure they're telling the truth, it's just a product that's not working for us.

We use Centracom as our SIP Provider (no issues with them), and only have around 3 - 4 calls going at once.

I'm looking for an alternative now. I got a quote for a diginet line but... yikes... it's a lot more than we're paying now. I was able to get it running over 3G, but when the connection hops between 3G and HSDPA the call drops, and I can't figure out how to lock it to one spectrum.

Factoring in our low concurrent-call volume, would a 1 (or 2) meg ADSL line work for us? It would be dedicated to VOIP, no other traffic. Our DSLAM is 'literally' on the corner, we have an attenuation of 9db and a SNR of 30db. We'd get unshaped traffic.

We're using Elastix on a dedicated server.

Any feedback would be appreciated. If you believe ADSL is a bad choice, please let me know recommended alternatives. I have read through this sub-forum already, but most posts are for larger volume situations and might not apply to me.
Click to expand...

Hmmm understand your problem!

But where are you situated ?
 
Check to see if you can get Neotel fibre at your offices, we have been using it for quite a while and its rock solid and has synchronous line speeds.
 
Rocket-Boy said:
Check to see if you can get Neotel fibre at your offices, we have been using it for quite a while and its rock solid and has synchronous line speeds.
Click to expand...

Fibre is always nice, but overkill for 3-4 concurrent calls?
 
I'd recommend Comtel. We are using them at a few of our sites without any issues. They have very scaleable solutions. One of our big sites that runs almost non-stop on 25+ calls uses about 6Gb a month for their calls.
 
Hi Rebel,

The only reason you would use a WISP or Fibre type connection over ADSL is because of the guaranteed up-time and service level agreement offered by the last mile provider. (We offer 99% on Wireless and 99.5% on Fibre)

Considering your volumes are low and sounds like the ADSL should be solid as you are so close to the DSLAM i also recommend you go ADSL as it will be your most cost effective solution.

A dedicated ADSL Line with the correct ISP account will work 100% for 6-8 concurrent calls.

If you are interested we have our own ADSL ISP accounts that allow priority traffic to our Voice Network.

i'm sure Centracom will have something similar from the carrier they are routing too.

Regards,

BitCo
 
My experience with wisps are that they are definitely only an option where copper is not reliable.

Sorry, just my opinion.
 
Hi Rebel,

Yeah due to the fact we have 100's of WISPS all trying to provide services using the 5GHZ band it does indeed cause problems.

Hopefully ICASA will allocate some spectrum to the WISPS managing proper national networks thus allowing faster more reliable broadband for everyone. :-)

Regards,
 
I Use VOiP with a 512kbps Diginet and ViBE. ViBE so far reduce the bandwidth required and I can easily have up to 16 simultaneous conversations.

The Diginet is managed by my Voip Supplier (I'm tired of dealing with Hellkom) but so far I know, is supplied by Sainet and is a 1:1 running on the local loop only (it connects from my pbx to the voip supplier only). I believe is going for around R1000 a month (with 24 months agreement).
 
DSL is a bad idea FULL STOP ! In saying that low call concurrencies as in yours can work if the line is good, dedicated and stays good, it is apparent that DSL is getting worse and contentions getting higher, so who knows what the future holds.
My suggestion is as follows, you say Diginet is expensive, you can get a leased line and router very cheaply, you can look at LTE which is cheap now, so forget about 3g & HSDPA or even look at a quality WISP ( they do exist).Fibre may also be an option if you share the cost with your broadband internet requirements, voice and data on the the same line, this works very well if you run VLANS so that there is always available bandwidth for voice . All these options really depend on where you are so if you would care to PM me i would gladly explain your options
 
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