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UPDATE! Download Cisco ATA-186 firmware in our VoIP Forums:
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That's it! I've had it with these $200 phone bills! I
exclaimed to my fiance. We've got to find a more inexpensive
solution. I was well aware of PC-to-Phone solutions, but my fiance wasn't about to boot up the PC and wear a headset in order to make a
phone call. And that still wouldn't solve the problem of inbound calls
-- wed have to pay SBC/SNET a monthly fee just for the privilege of
receiving calls. I don't think so!
Vonage
So I set upon a mission to get rid of SBC/SNET altogether and
since I cover the Internet telephony space, I knew there were much less
expensive alternatives. In fact, I was well aware of a company called
Vonage, which utilizes your existing broadband connection to offer flat
rate long-distance anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. In addition, they give
you a real phone number so you don't need a PC to receive VoIP-originated
calls.
How does it work?
Essentially Vonage works by mapping IP addresses to telephone numbers.
Vonage sends you a Cisco ATA-186 (SIP-compliant) gateway, which connects
via Ethernet to your broadband connection. The ATA-186 also has a phone
jack for connecting any standard analog phone. The telephone number is
then assigned remotely to the ATA-186s IP address when the device
registers with the network. Mapping the telephone number to the ATA-186
upon network registration allows you to use the same telephone number when
you travel assuming you have a broadband connection and you bring the
ATA-186 along.
In fact, I tested it last year for a product review and was very
pleased with the sound quality. At that time, Vonage was the only ITSP
offering both inbound (real phone number, not an IP address) and outbound
capabilities. But things change quickly in the Internet telephony
industry, so I thought I would research the other major ITSPs and see if
they are offering similar services to Vonage.
Pros:
Offers a real (Direct Inward Dial) phone number.
Cisco ATA-186 is included free when you sign-up.
Virtual number for another city for $5.00 per month.
Flat-rate monthly fee for long-distance to U.S. and Canada.
Offers 911 service with their VoIP service.
Provides numbers in more than 85 area codes.
Competitive International Rates.
Cons:
Their explosive growth has resulted in inability to provide good
customer service. Requires the ATA-186 to work. They dont offer their
own proprietary PC-phone software.
Doesnt work with Windows Messengers Communications Service
(SIP-based).
Incoming caller ID will only show the telephone number of the party
calling, not their name.
No call waiting caller ID.
Net2Phone
I contacted Net2Phone, a leader in the VoIP space, and asked them if
they planned on offering a service similar to Vonage. They told me that
they indeed offer something similar to Vonage in that you could use the
same Cisco ATA-186 gateway to connect to the Net2Phone network. They told
me it was in beta trials and added me to the list of beta users to try out
the service and they sent me detailed instructions on how to configure my
ATA to work with their service.
Hacking Ciscos ATA-186
In order to test the Net2Phone service, I first needed a SIP-enabled Cisco
ATA-186. I had two ATAs in the lab, one loaded with H.323 firmware and the
other set up to work with Vonage. One of these ATAs would have to have its
firmware erased or upgraded to support SIP. Actually the Vonage ATA unit
already had the SIP firmware, but its password-protected so you cant
access the ATAs Web interface to make changes to work with other ITSPs.
There are however ways of hacking the Vonage ATA to work with other
ITSPS by resetting it to defaults so you can access the Web interface, but
I don't recommend this unless you are willing to potentially lose your
Vonage access. Although, if you do try it you can in theory restore your
Vonage service by plugging these settings into the Web configuration page:
UseTFTP: 1
TFTP Url: Try either 12.144.47.24 or 64.157.171.150
Encrypt Key: 1
For kicks, I decided to upgrade both the H.323 ATA-186 to SIP and reset
the Vonage ATA back to defaults so I could enter the SIP parameters. When
I went to Ciscos site to download the SIP firmware I discovered that I
needed to have a paid support contract to download the firmware. So I
e-mailed Cisco explaining that I was writing about the ATA-186s power
and flexibility and ability to be used by multiple ITSPs. I mentioned that
in order to write about the ATA-186 I would need to reset the device to
factory defaults and that I would need to gain access to the SIP firmware
for download. The Cisco person told me that they dont just give away
the factory reset information. He then mentioned that information is only
available through Cisco TAC for qualified customers with active service
contracts. Oy! I thought to myself, doesn't he realize I'm
trying to give Cisco some press?
Beyond Top Secret
In any event, rather than try to explain myself, I figured the factory
reset information was probably to be found on the Internet somewhere
and I could probably find the SIP firmware as well. Sure enough, I simply
Googled reset ATA-186 and the information appeared. I simply needed
to dial 322873738# or FACTRESET on the phone. So much for paying Cisco for
that top-secret information!
Getting the SIP Firmware
Now the tough part -- finding the SIP firmware on the Internet. From what
I understand you have to pay a licensing fee to have a copy of the SIP
firmware installed onto your ATA-186. Thus, I didn't expect any
legitimate Web sites to blatantly offer the SIP firmware for downloading.
Most of my Google results for keyword Cisco ATA 186 SIP firmware
download kept taking me back to Cisco's site, which was pointless
since it was unavailable there unless you a paid contract. It took some
creative Googling, but I finally found the keywords to find the SIP
firmware. First, I should point out that 1,0,0,# are the DTMF keys
to get into the upgrade menu on the ATA-186. Thus, using the keywords: cisco
ATA 1,0,0,# brought up a few good results for upgrading the ATA-186
over an IP connection. Simply by touch-toning 213*137*73*159*8000# on the
ATA, I was able to connect to the TFTP server to upgrade my ATA-186s
firmware across the Internet. Whether or not I have a legitimately
licensed ATA-186 at this point is unclear, but Im doing this merely for
testing purposes and don't plan on keeping the ATAs SIP firmware
loaded without asking for Cisco's permission first.
Configuring to work with Net2Phone
Once the firmware was loaded I then proceeded to configure the ATA to
work with Net2Phone, which simply required that I enter in the TFTP IP
address, setting the encryption key, and turning on TFTP
auto-provisioning. I should mention that my contact at Net2Phone
pre-programmed my existing Net2Phone account on their system and assigned
it to the MAC address of my ATA-186. Now, when the ATA-186 is booted, it
accesses the TFTP server, authenticates with the encryption key along with
the MAC address of the ATA-186, and then downloads the appropriate
settings to the ATA-186. I was able to just lift the receiver and dial out
with superb audio quality.
Pros:
Net2Phone has a worldwide network with many POPs.
Competitive International Rates.
Very diverse product offering, including their own VoIP gateways.
Supports PC-to-Phone, Phone-to-Phone, and calling cards.
Many POPs/local access numbers.
Supports ATA-186 and the ATA can utilize your existing Net2Phone
account number.
SIP Compliant.
Integrates with Windows Messengers Make a Phone Call
feature.
Cons:
Doesnt support incoming (DID) phone service to an ATA-186.
Doesnt work with Windows Messengers Communications Service
(SIP-based).
Deltathree
I tested Deltathrees service and like Vonage they offer both inbound
(DID) and outbound dialing. Unfortunately, the Deltathree service does not
currently support auto-provisioning via TFTP. Thus, I had to read their
Word document that explained all the settings that I had to define on the
ATA-186 manually. I configured the ATA-186 with static settings and then
proceeded with my tests. First, I made an outbound call to our office and
connected to one of our IT staff who told me that the voice quality was
excellent and that he couldn't tell that it was a VoIP call. Next, I
made an inbound call to the phone number that was mapped to the ATA-186.
The phone connected to the ATA-186 rang, I picked up the receiver, and
once again the voice quality was excellent. Unlike Vonage, Deltathree does
offer a SIP-based soft-client for making outbound calls. Unfortunately,
from what I can tell from their marketing literature, it doesn't look
like you can use this SIP client for inbound calls. Thus, you would still
need to lug the ATA-186 around if traveling and you want to receive
inbound calls.
Pros:
Offer a real (Direct Inward Dial) phone number.
Offer packages of outbound minutes or pay as you go $0.29/minute to
U.S.
Unlimited incoming minutes for just $9.95/month (cheaper than
Vonage).
Integrates with Windows Messengers Make a Phone Call
feature.
They offer their own SIP client software (PC-to-Phone).
Flexible pricing plan (can get inbound or outbound or both).
Cons:
Static settings as opposed to auto-provisioning using TFTP making
for a more complex install/setup. Deltathree told me TFTP
auto-provisioning is coming soon.
Fewer area codes offered than Vonage.
You cant port your existing phone number.
No E911 support.
CONCLUSION
A year after initially checking out Vonage, I found them to offer the best
solution for me at home. I cancelled my SBC/SNET landline and said goodbye
to ridiculous monthly phone bills. I should mention I wasn't aware that
Deltathree offered both inbound and outbound services until after I signed
up with Vonage, so I could have been just as pleased using their service.
Nevertheless, I like that Vonage gives me a real phone number as
well as unlimited virtual phone numbers that anyone can reach me on. I
signed up for Vonage's $25.99 plan, which gives me unlimited Local and
Regional service plus 500 nationwide long-distance and Canada calling
minutes every month. Its also just 3.9 per minute after the initial
500 minutes. Since Ive yet to go over 500 included minutes, the $25.99
plan was a better deal than the $39.99 unlimited local and long-distance
plan that most people choose when they sign up with Vonage.
With varying pricing schemes and per-minute charges varying across all
the ITSPs, there is no one single best ITSP to choose from. For one
country, Net2Phone might be cheapest, for another country, Deltathree
might be cheapest, and so on. I will say that if you make a lot of U.S.
calls, then Vonage makes the most sense with their $39.99 flat-rate plan.
But if you are using less than 3,999 minutes per month, then actually
Deltathree makes more sense since Deltathree is only $0.01 per minute.
Thus, for example, the first 3,900 minutes on Deltathree is only $39. If
you just make outbound calls or you require calling cards, then Net2Phone
might be your best choice.
If making international calls, the waters become much murkier with each
ITSP having less expensive rates in certain countries. The moral of the
story is price compare ITSPs against your most popular destinations and
choose accordingly. If you have a particular country you call most often,
you can figure out which ITSP is best for you. It may even be likely that
having two or more ITSPs will get you the best bang-for-the-buck if you
call several countries.
My room for improvement for the Cisco ATA-186 is that it should
allow multiple ITSPs to be configured per unit instead of allowing just
one. Then using some sort of Least Cost Routing algorithm, it should be
able to figure out which ITSP is the least expensive when making an
outbound call. Since rates change very often, perhaps it could access the
latest rates via the Internet.
All in all, Internet telephony has come a long way since its early
beginnings. Thanks to Internet telephony, I've cut the cord to Ma Bell
-- hopefully forever -- and Ill use the money I save each month to pay
for important things, like a 200HP supercharger for my Viper.
Tom Keating is CTO of Technology Marketing Corporation, and the executive
technology editor of TMC Labs. He can be reached at Tom Keating .
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