TelaSIP SIP Overview

Telasip is an ITSP – Internet Telephone Service Provider – that offers Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based Internet telephone service to residential and business customers. With an SIP plan, the provider replaces the phone company’s twisted-copper wires with the Internet, where it is much cheaper to send data.

The company offers three residential plans:

VoIP Plus – $14.95 per month for unlimited incoming plus 500 minutes to the US and CanadaVoIP Premium – $24.95 per month for unlimited incoming plus 1500 minutes o the US48 and CanadaVoIP World – $34.95 per month for unlimited incoming plus 1500 minutes to the US48, Canada and selected international locations.

All residential programs include the ability to have 2 concurrent calls, and include call waiting, caller ID, three-way calling, voicemail, anonymous call rejection and caller-ID block plus emergency calling services. Virtual numbers and enhanced 911 are available as options for additional fees, as is international calling, with rates depending on the country called (a full list is available on the company website).

There are various ways you can purchase business VoIP services from Telasip. While the company website is very short on details (they are planing on re-designing it this year), a customer service representative was very helpful in filing in the blanks. Available plans include:

A by-the-minute plan (1.1¢/minute for incoming and 2.5¢/minute for outgoing) with a minimum of $40.
A basic 3,000-outgoing-minutes plan with unlimited incoming calls, voice-mail to e-mail and fax-to-e-mail features for $44.95 per month. Additional minutes cost 2.5¢ each.
Hosted flat-rate plans with 12 or 25 extensions for $249.94 and $399.95 per month respectively
Enterprise plans beginning at 24 ports with up to 60,000 minutes starting at $699.95 per month

Business plans include such features as call waiting and forwarding and caller ID.

The company also offers per minute, per port and carrier-level wholesale pricing on both inbound and outbound calling services.

As described in the company website, the company is as expanding its network to improve service levels and call quality. It has plans top build new facilities in Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Boston tp supplement the eight gateways it currently operates.

Telasip, which also does business as Epraxys, Inc., is a privately-held company based in Montgomery Village, Maryland. They can be reached at 240-396-1450.

VoicePulse SIP Overview

VoicePulse is a supplier of VoIP Telephony services aimed mostly at the residential (SOHO) and small business market, with the ability to serve larger customers and resellers as needed.  VoicePulse services use SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) technology that routes calls over the Internet instead of traditional phone company copper lines.

VoicePulse is primarily a supplier of services.  Although it does provide routers for certain service plans, VoicePulse customers generally supply their own PBX hardware and phones.  VoicePulse’s phone service includes a comprehensive range of features, included three-way calling, caller-ID with name, call waiting with caller-ID name, call return (*69) and call transfer. 

Other features enable you to block selected calls (such as telemarketers or calls without caller-ID) and to filter which calls get through and which ones won’t.  Also included are additional features such as speed-dialing and distinctive rings.

There are five basic service plans listed on the company’s website: 

Outgoing Long Distance (50 US States) call minutesAs low as 1.5¢ / Minute (Lower 48 states only)Outgoing Local and Regional US Calls*Cost/Min. Varies (see website)Cost/Min. Varies (see website)

*See website for breakdown of what comprises local and regional calls 

** Customer is responsible for providing SIP-compliant equipment.  SIP trunking typically comes with enough bandwidth for four simultaneous calls.  Additional simultaneous call c\apacity costs $20 per call.

As with most suppliers of VoIP, there is an entire laundry list of services and features available at an extra cost.  With VoicePulse, that list of extras includes phone numbers, activations, conference-calling capabilities (free with Business Unlimited only), virtual numbers (local numbers in another area code) and more.  Check the website carefully to be sure what will cost extra and what is included.

VoicePulse also offers custom “solutions” for such applications as large offices (20+ users), call centers, colleges and universities, and a wide variety of wholesalers / resellers of VoIP services.

VoicePulse is a privately-held company headquartered in North Brunswick, New Jersey.  They can be reached at 732-339-5100.  Customer service can be reached at the same number on weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm EST.

BroadVox SIP Overview

Broadvox is a supplier of low-cost SIP telephone service, which saves you money by routing calls over the Internet instead of over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), also known as the phone company. By using its own, proprietary network instead of the phone company’s twisted-copper wires, you get much higher quality calls at a lower price.

You can gradually migrate your phone service from old-style Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) technology to the newer digital Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) used in Broadvox’s Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems. In this new method, your phone call gets converted into data packets, and it travels the Internet the same way as a YouTube video or a spreadsheet.

Broadvox’s basic product is called Go!Anywhere, and it allows unlimited local and long distance

calling, with what the company says will be a roughly 70% savings over the traditional telephone company. You can use your existing equipment or get an Internet-Enabled PBX system. The basic service costs $35 per concurrent call session, with a minimum of 3 sessions required. Prices drop for all services if you contract for more than 1 year of service. Incoming phone service is available for an additional fee, in increments of 5,000 minutes, starting at a little over 3 cents per minute. Or for 3.5 cents per minute a la carte.

The company also offers two variations of the program, one called Go!Local, which features unlimited local calling with the option of adding long-distance. Go!Domestic is a plan for call or contact centers that use T-1 lines. It eliminates the local component of incoming calls, reducing the cost per minute.

To all three of the above programs, the program offers the ability to add extras, such as enhanced local numbers, with which you can customize the outgoing caller ID information, virtual numbers, directory listings and local number portability.

Finally, Broadvox offers wholesale call origination and termination services for resellers.

The company has an extensive group of partner companies with which it works to provide the best possible level of service. Hardware partners include such well-known names as Alcatel / Lucent and Cisco. It also works with more than 35 vendors of IP phones, PBXs and other equipment, to be sure that their equipment is compatible with its networks.

Broadvox is a privately-held company headquartered in Dallas, Texas with it Network Operations Center in Cleveland, Ohio. It can be reached in Dallas at 213-646-8000 and in Cleveland at 216-373-4600.

Ingate SIP Firewalls Overview

As much time as we spend worying about data security, how many of us give a lot of thought to the security of our voice communications?  If you are a lawyer, accountant or scientist, for example, you probably talk about private and confidential matters on the phone without really worrying about someone eavesdropping on your conversation. 

But once you switch to the digitally-driven SIP environment of VoIP, the possibility that your conversation can be intercepted and overheard multiplies dramatically.  Hackers using packet sniffers and such well-known tools as VOMIT (we’re not kidding – google it) can intercept and turn your private conversations into .wav files they can listen to on any PC. 

Ingate supplies products that can reduce the chances someone will overhear what you say in conversations on an IP phone.   

First and foremost they make SIP firewalls.  Many personal and corporate firewalls –  especially many of the larger corporate legacy systems don’t recognize SIP (the protocol under which VoIP runs) so those calls don’t get the protection of a firewall.  Ingate makes firewalls in 5 models, ranging in capccity from 10 to 50 users.  All firewalls come complete with all the needed software to replace your existing firewall, including full NAT (network address translation) and PAT (port address translation) and TLS (transport layer security) support for encrypted instant messaging.   

If you have a substantial investment in your firewall and don’t want to replace it, Ingate also makes the aptly-named Siparator that connects to our existing firewall. SIParators offer all the functionality of the Ingate firewall.  The Siparator examines every packet of information coming into or going out of your network and blocks those that don’t belong. 

Employees who routinely work and place calls away from your office have unique security concerns. If you now have, or want to add, employees who will work outside of the system protected by your firewall, Ingate offers a software-based VPN (Virtual Private Network) program. Using strong encryption (AES, 3DES or IDSec encryption algorithms) this module enables you to establish a secure link over the internet and between networks without having to use a dedicated line.  It can communicate with any VPN client using IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) or IKE (Internet Key Exchange).  VPN is included with all firewalls and SIParators. 

Ingate is a great company with tons of great insight and information.  We highly suggest their services. 

Finally, for even more security, Ingate offers its Enhanced Security Module.  This software add-on supports both the IDS (Intrusion Detection System) and IPS (Intusion Protection System) and encrypts all real-time communications.  It supports both TLS (Transport Layer Security) and offers SRTP (Support For Realtime Protocol), and includes encryption, authentication and replay protection. 

Keep in mind that the more layers of security you use, the greater the chance that you will introduce noticable lag into your communications.  The manufacturer can best advise you as to how to protect the security of your voice calls without slowing them down. 

Other Ingate products include a QoS (Quality of Speech) module, which enables you to monitor calls and assess how to improve the quality of transmission, and a Remote SIP Connectivity module, which allopws you to extend SIP features and performance to remote locations, even when they are behind non-SIP-aware firewalls. 

Ingate is owned by Ingate Systems AB of Stockholm, Sweden.  They can be reached at +46-(0)8-600 77 50 or at ingate.com.  In the U.S., the company is located in Hollis, New Hampshire and can be reached at 603-883-6568.  Customer service can be accessed via e-mail at support  (@) ingate.com.  Because they are located in Sweden, the company’s customer support hours are from 2 am to 11 am EST, and they can be reached at +46-13-21 08 52.