Primus Canada offers a service called TalkBroadband.
Subscribers to this service get a real PSTN phone number that people can call (you get to pick which area code it's in, and can even use your existing phone number). You get free local calls within that areacode, cheaper long distance, and free calls to anybody on the primus VoIP network. The basic package includes call display and call waiting (more expensive packages have extra features).
It works through a little hardware VoIP gateway from D-Link that plugs into your telephones and internet connection.
This is a pretty reasonable service, offering local number portability (keep your old landline phone number), and allowing customers to choose any area code in the country for their line. Calls local to that area code are considered 'local calls', even if you are in Vancouver and the line is terminated in Toronto.
Primus offers an Agent program and a VAR program, and sell blocks of TalkBroadband lines wholesale.
Note: Also note that this service uses MGCP and not SIP, which means it's not possible to connect using software only, extra hardware is required to get it to work with Asterisk. Cards that convert analog lines to SIP lines is what is needed to get TBB to work with Asterisk.
Note2: Primus is now shipping a Linksys SPA2100 which does SIP so you can now use SIP.
(does "hard" mean impossible, or just annoying? Does someone have a working config?)
Subscribers to this service get a real PSTN phone number that people can call (you get to pick which area code it's in, and can even use your existing phone number). You get free local calls within that areacode, cheaper long distance, and free calls to anybody on the primus VoIP network. The basic package includes call display and call waiting (more expensive packages have extra features).
It works through a little hardware VoIP gateway from D-Link that plugs into your telephones and internet connection.
This is a pretty reasonable service, offering local number portability (keep your old landline phone number), and allowing customers to choose any area code in the country for their line. Calls local to that area code are considered 'local calls', even if you are in Vancouver and the line is terminated in Toronto.
Primus offers an Agent program and a VAR program, and sell blocks of TalkBroadband lines wholesale.
Note: Also note that this service uses MGCP and not SIP, which means it's not possible to connect using software only, extra hardware is required to get it to work with Asterisk. Cards that convert analog lines to SIP lines is what is needed to get TBB to work with Asterisk.
Note2: Primus is now shipping a Linksys SPA2100 which does SIP so you can now use SIP.
(does "hard" mean impossible, or just annoying? Does someone have a working config?)