Need 4-line SOHO system, would like VOIP but I'm confused...

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: May 13, 2005 Posts: 3

I am moving from a home office to a commercial space and I need to set a phone strategy. Vonage Voip sounds appealing but I am surprised by how steep the learning curve is... I am a resonably tech aware Web designer but I am confused by several aspects. I have submitted the VAR contact for (twice) but nobody has contacted me. I have a lot of questions, which may be overwhelming but please respond even if you address partial aspects of the questions below.

- Do Voip systems (more than one phone) use phone lines at all, or they just use Ethernet?
- Can Voip rely on landline type phone systems?
- Does having 4 phone numbers imply having 4 telephone lines?
- Does Vonage support a phone like the Qwest NSQ412? 4 lines, supports non-square configuration, up
- What is a non-square phone configuration?

Basically I will need three phone numbers when I move in my new office; two private office phones and a fax (not adjacent to either phone). I want to be able to add at least one more phone number in the near future, for a potential additional employee. So I quantify my need as 4 lines, assuming that a "line" identifies a phone number. Otherwise I think two-three lines would be sufficient (I don't expect more than two lines would be active at any one time) but I want 4 discreet phone numbers (one for each of three people and one dedicated to fax). My office has low voice usage, mostly local calls and very rare usage of fax.

Because of my Voip confusion I am inclined to get started with regular landline from Qwest (which is providing my DSL) particularly since they can upgrade the download from 1.5 Mbps to 7 (!) Mbps for only $5 if I get any phone service. They recommended the $199 Qwest NSQ412 4-line phone, which I wouldn’t mind getting as long as I can still access its features after I migrate one or all of the lines to Vonage. Particularly I am interested in the intercom paging capabilities. But my understanding is that the phones are able to page each other and interact because they are connected through the phone line. So how would this work if my phone are connected only to the Ethernet (LAN)?

- If I connect my phones to the Ethernet, would they still be aware of each other such that intercoming would work?
- Would I need to get a Vonage phone adapter for each of the phones (actually three phones and one fax)?
- Or can I get just one phone adapter and use the phone wiring (currently in place in the office location I am moving to) to connect all other phones? (Would one phone adapter be able to handle 4 discreet phone numbers?

Do you have any specific configuration recommendations? I am removing previous Ethernet wiring at this location and laying down CAT5e for Gigabit Ethernet. I am providing one jack in each of the two private offices and one in several locations in the larger space (giving flexibility to where I would want set up an additional working station). I did not look into what type of telephone wiring is in place there, assuming all data and voice network will be handled by Ethernet, maybe that was a naïve assumption… In any case, I have not purchased any hardware yet (DSL modem, wireless access point, router, phone system, etc. so I hope to get a smooth integrated solution (and without breaking the bank).

Any insights and recommendations greatly appreciated.

Posts: 2264 · Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 1:38 pm Post subject: Value Added Reseller

You might want to request some help from a Vonage Value Added Reseller

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: May 13, 2005 Posts: 3

I attempted twice to contact the Vonage Value Added Reseller and did not hear back at all.

Posts: 2264 · Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 1:47 pm Post subject: Re: Vonage VAR not responsive

Razvan wrote:

I attempted twice to contact the Vonage Value Added Reseller and did not hear back at all.

Really? From this site?

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: May 13, 2005 Posts: 3

Yes, from this site. First one was two days ago, the second one was last night. The good news is that I just got in touch with a very helpful person, Donald Budzik (ISI Communications) and I am getting a lot of useful information.