Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls in VOIP Tech Chat

Re: FaktorTel----Flat rate US calls

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:03:35 EDT

said by nitzan :

Apparently FaktorTel lost it's interest in the US market. Not surprising considering the amount of competition.

Tough competition, but big rewards.

So many people in the USA.

It's been summer in Australia while winter here. Maybe they'll be back.

---------------------------------------

Education station:

Australia is a federation of 6 states (and 2 territories).

In many ways their Federal structure is modelled after the USA.

The six states jealously guard their prerogatives against the power of the central government.

Because of that, although Australia now can amend its own Federal constitution, the constitutions of the six states cannot be amended without the approval of the British parliament. That's they way the states want it.

The Queen of Australia is the same person as the Queen of the United Kingdom.

Because countries like the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc., recognize the same head of state (the Queen), those countries do not exchange ambassadors to each other. Rather, they exchange High Commissioners.

Re: FaktorTel----Flat rate US calls

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:49:56 EDT

nitzan : Start here: »/gbu

Aparrently FaktorTel lost it's interest in the US market. Not surprising considering the amount of competition. My guess is they saw very little interest in their US product and are just letting it die a slow death.

Pure speculation, of course. ;)

Re: FaktorTel----Flat rate US calls

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:29:17 EDT

wcweaver : I had Faktortel up and working. I had a temporary DID but it was not in the city I live in even though the exchange as listed on the Faktortel selection as a Fort Myers number.

The service was completely satisfactory but their customer support was slowwwww,. Their support 800 telephone number was always busy but not at first, only after I got the service working and my e-mails went unanswered.

The main issue was number porting. I could not get an answer from them ( they never responded to my last e-mail) about whether they could port my number or not. Switching numbers was a non starter for many reasons. My wife was absolutely not willing to get a new number.

Here is what I asked for in my last e-mail to them on January 7, 2009:

"Any update on ability and time frame to have my existing number which I listed below ported over to FactorTel? I like your service but without porting it is of no use to me regardless of cost. My wife WILL NOT change numbers. And I agree, Too many notifications to make. A lot of things are linked to our existing number.

Thanks

Bill

I have never received a reply to answer the porting issue. So, I canceled last month and they accomplished that in less than 48 hours.

I would still sign up with them for the unlimited residential plan if they would port my number.
Meanwhile, I am looking around for another VOIP service, The unlocked Linksys Phone Adapter that I own will support Vonage.

Any recommendations?

Chris Cowling, are you still out there?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:41:42 EDT

ccowling : Thats true. i'm very fortunate not to be in Cairns nor Victoria

This is where I live atm:

»www.nrw.qld.gov.au/about/documen···oast.jpg

»www.escapelocally.com.au/images/···oast.gif

But we do get some massive storm. (This is not uncommon) ;)

»www.goldcoast.com.au/images/uplo···0810.jpg

Chris

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:09:37 EDT

Test99 : Fires in the south, floods in the north. Chris is in the Goldilocks zone: not too wet and not too dry. :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:42:33 EDT

ccowling : Thanks for the thoughts. The death toll is now over 108 in Victoria and rising daily. Towns have literally been wiped off the map.

In regards to the activity. We are reassessing some of our US packages at the moment. And in fact I have a list of items to be looked into on my desk at the moment. We should continue our US rollout shortly with some new packages similar to the flat rate package(s) offered previously.

Chris.

Re: FaktorTel----Flat rate US calls

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:07:51 EDT

PX Eliezer : Re: Faktortel-----

Well, I just heard that Australia has been devestated this weekend by severe brush fires, and that the death toll may exceed 40. This is mainly in the Australian state of Victoria.

Our prayers and sympathies to our Australian friends.

Re: FaktorTel----Flat rate US calls

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:20:39 EDT

usa2k : Sure felt like a blip on the horizon!
ccowling Last seen: 2009-01-16 18:01:17
No so long ago ... and was a DSLR member long before the flurry of activity.

FaktorTel----Flat rate US calls

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 23:39:33 EDT

PX Eliezer : So what's up lately with FaktorTel??

Folks using it?

No news for several weeks, and no reviews have been posted.

(And flat rate plans no longer seem to be offered).

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 00:05:31 EDT

N9MD :

said by ccowling :

... In regards to the 2005 copyright ... you should see it change on our site just after the holidays.

I suspected you would! ;)

But make sure it says "2009" --- which I know it will in view of the update to an "automated year app". :D

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 23:44:33 EDT

ccowling : Thanks for the positive feedback. 2009 is the start of quite a large presence for us in the US as well as the UK (and of course Australia where we already represent a large part of the VOIP marketplace). Every comment helps, good, bad or best of all constructive. :)

In regards to the 2005 copyright, thats actually when the "footer.shtml" was last updated I believe. Although for sake of argument we can always just put a bit of PHP code in it to update it each year. :) Thats probably what the "most up to date" sites actually use. Now that it's been mentioned you should see it change on our site just after the holidays.

Merry Christmas everyone! :)
(It's boxing day here already.. *insert evil laugh here*)

Chris.

Re: Stale Copyright Notice Date

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:49:53 EDT

N9MD : Just out of curiosity, in looking over the FaktorTel website, I noted Copyright © 2005 at the bottom of each page. I have always felt that an “old” copyright notice date on a website suggests the company may be inactive or out of business, since the appearance is that the site is not being regularly updated.

Here's an alphabetical listing of a bunch of VoIP provider sites:


 
AxVoice		        2008
BroadVoice		2003-2008
CallCentric		2008
CallWithUs		2006-2008
FaktorTel		2005
Gizmo5			none shown
IpKall			2003-2006 (site has not been change in several years)
FreeDigits		2005-2008
Future-Nine 		2008
Packet8			2008
PhonePower		2008
QuantumVoice		2001-2008
StanaPhone		2007 (prophetic)
TeleBlend		2008
ViaTalk			none shown
VoicePulse		2008
VoiceStick		2003-2008
Voip.com		2008
Voip.ms			2007
VOIPo			2008
Vonage			2001-2008
Vonics			2004 (predicted)
ZingoTel		2008 (amazing)

Lest anyone considers my thinking off base, here’s a representative list of website copyright notice dates for some major US corporations, all of which have had internet sites for many years:


Verizon			2008
GM			2008
United Technologies	2008
Dunkin Donuts		2008 (my favorite)

Does anyone else put stock in the currency of a company’s website copyright notice date when considering the service or product?

Re: Factortel is great service!

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 06:32:02 EDT

usa2k : »www.telcodata.us/telcodata/telco and 1st 6 digits, you can narrow down your rate center. That is what Factortel would need presence in.

»www.faktortel.com is tricky to spell!

Facktor is great service!

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 01:30:06 EDT

wcweaver : Signed up and the service is great. The technical support was great especially Michael. :)

Had trouble getting a dial tone with manual configuration, however, on one of the sign up pages there is a configure your device arrow. One click and in a couple of minutes I had a dial tone and all is well.

Sound quality is great.

Now, if Chris can get number porting :) accomplished, I will be dropping Embarq in a heartbeat. My phone number outbound caller ID shows my phone is in Lehigh Acres and not Fort Myers. I tried two others and got Bonita Springs and Marco Island. None listed as Fort Myers DIDs actually display Fort Myers, not a big deal though.

Merry Christmas to the guys and gals "down under". :D

Re: Sign Up Info

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:49:18 EDT

Test99 : The standard question: have you tried connecting the adapter directly to the modem (to find out if the problem is related to the router)?

Re: Sign Up Info

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:27:17 EDT

wcweaver : Well. I am signed up and spent an almost an hour on the phone.

Good employee Sebastian was his name I think. He went through all the settings.

No Joy Though. Unable to get the PAP to connect.

I am using a Linksys WRK54G router and following the Linksys factory instructions on hooking up a Linksys PAP2-NA behind the Linksys router.

All settings appear to be correct but the PAP will not connect.

I dial ****110# and I get 192.168.1.101 as an IP

All I get is two blue lights. No Line 1 light and not connected no dialtone..

The PAP setup page show Can't connect to login server.

The user name and password are correct.

Any help or suggestions?

Frustration time setting in and I am about to give up.

Any help would be appreciated. I sent an e-mail to support@faktortel.com.

See what happens

Bill

Sign Up Info

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:53:34 EDT

wcweaver : Chris

I have figured out how to sign up and received an e-mail with a user name and password. However when I get to the page "Your account details have been processed, press "Next >>" To continue to Step 2 of the sign up process." NEXT, I HAVE TO DISABLE my Lavasoft. I get the following message: You are not authorized to access this page. If you are the owner of this copy of vspPanel please make sure your signup page is listed as an allowed source in the customer signup settings menu.Your allowed source should be the full web path to your signup page:

I guess I will have to go into my firewall and turn on or off some setting. I like this firewall but it a little contrary.

Also my wife will not go for this if our current number cannot be ported sometime in the near future.

Is the number porting available now for 239-225-xxx (Florida).

It also appears that I have to sign up and then go to some members panel to port my number. Do I get a temporary number to use until the porting is accomplished.

Also, Can I sign up, for maybe a monthly account and then switch to the yearly plan before I request porting.

Thank you for all your help. Your company is looking good and on their way to be an excellent provider here in the U.S.

Thanks in advance for any help

Bill

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:02:26 EDT

glc650 : Anyone else still getting billed for toll-free calls?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:40:04 EDT

slow mo :

said by nitzan :

said by slow mo :

Lingo.com (5000 outgoing/mo + not measured incoming)

Lingo deems the usage of 5,000 or more minutes per month in violation of this Section III(F), and shall subject Customer to the immediate suspension and/or termination of the Service.

Seems like they measure both to me. Where did you see that they measure only outgoing?

I have Lingo. In the web management, it tells how many outgoing minutes are used in real time. It resets every month. At one time or another, I had 3500 outgoing minutes in a month.

P.S. The minutes include free W. Europen calls.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:47:56 EDT

nitzan :

said by slow mo :

Lingo.com (5000 outgoing/mo + not measured incoming)

Lingo deems the usage of 5,000 or more minutes per month in violation of this Section III(F), and shall subject Customer to the immediate suspension and/or termination of the Service.

Seems like they measure both to me. Where did you see that they measure only outgoing?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:44:09 EDT

nitzan : Could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Vonage measures both. Rule-of-thumb: unless it is specifically mentioned that a VSP measures only outgoing (in their TOS for example) then they measure both.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:49:51 EDT

slow mo :

said by nitzan :

said by slow mo :

So the 3000 min/mo is for the total of incoming and outgoing. Not exactly measure up to some other providers.

Almost all providers measure both incoming and outgoing towards their limits. There are very few providers that don't. This is not a plug, but to be honest I don't know of any company that doesn't measure incoming towards the magic limit expect for, well, my own. ;)

Lingo.com (5000 outgoing/mo + not measured incoming)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:34:40 EDT

soitgoes2 :

said by nitzan :

said by slow mo :

So the 3000 min/mo is for the total of incoming and outgoing. Not exactly measure up to some other providers.

phonepower.com
vonage.com
probably others. :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:41:15 EDT

Test99 :

said by nitzan :

This is not a plug

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:39:01 EDT

nitzan :

said by slow mo :

So the 3000 min/mo is for the total of incoming and outgoing. Not exactly measure up to some other providers.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:15:35 EDT

slow mo :

quote:
Acceptable Use

1. We have the right to suspend or discontinue service generally, or to disconnect your service, at any time. In addition we reserve the right to immediately disconnect your service at any time without notice.

2. Acceptable use of Unlimited packages is limited to.

a - 3000 minutes Inbound and Outbound for Residential unlimited packages. Inbound and outbound minutes are added together to form total minutes used.

b - 5000 minutes Inbound and Outbound for Business unlimited packages. Inbound and outbound minutes are added together to form total minutes used.

3. In the event an unlimited account exeeds acceptable usage as descibed in items 2(a) and 2(b) FaktorTel reserves the right to disconnect the customer.

So the 3000 min/mo is for the total of incoming and outgoing. Not exactly measure up to some other providers.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:51:56 EDT

Yippz Voip : Just got an email from Chris about their service. He asked me to post it here to update the thread.

BTW, just tried send a fax using the beta account -- flawless.

Here's his reply:

My appologies about the delayed reply, we've been steadily updating the site over the last few weeks to coincide with some of the more popular packages available in the US as well doing a major upgrade to our Aussie network and inital start to our european network.

I'm glad the US service has been great, we've really been working on making sure it's rock solid.

In regards to your questions, i've answered them below:

- All DID's have individual included minutes, these should be shown in the interface within the next week. Generally speaking however there is a 3000 minute limit on them for "unlimited packages". International DID's may vary slightly.

- The $0 package may be coming back. We're currently discussing it's viability in the US at the moment. The general consensus is to bring it back but we're not sure quite yet.

- There is a fault in the DID list at the moment which is causing a double up of destinations and is breaking some countires. This should be fixed in the next week as well.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:28:51 EDT

atrevete :

said by PX Eliezer :

How is this provider working out for people?

I don't see any posts lately from management. Just curious.

I've made a dozen and a half calls using a PAP2v1, and I've had no problems.

I'm very pleased with the service and audio quality so far, and I plan to buy
additional time from FaktorTel when I use up my 50 free calls.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:07:53 EDT

PX Eliezer : How is this provider working out for people?

I don't see any posts lately from management. Just curious.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:30:12 EDT

Yippz Voip :

said by gsar :

Wasn't this already answered here?

Nope, not answered. I've got a PM into Chris but haven't got the answer yet. Also, I notice they removed the 10c per call deal from the site -- hopefully we can remain on the plan if we're beta-trial users. Also looking for DIDs from Canada - they've got all the provinces listed along with cities but I can't find any DIDs yet... So far they've got a great sounding service.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:14:49 EDT

glc650 :

said by ccowling :

quote:
Just 800 numbers or all toll-free numbers?

All toll free will be free shortly, as soon as we have a quick moment to change the tarrifs. (I would assume monday morning).

Chris.

Any idea when this will be fixed? Just called an 800 number and got billed for it.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:39:05 EDT

gsar :

said by glc650 :

said by Yippz Voip :

said by glc650 :

Chris,

How many minutes per month are included with a DID?

Has this question been answered?? I'm very curious and interested too... Chris's service seems to work very well.

I haven't seen an answer to this yet. I'd also like to know what a ported number would cost monthly and how many minutes a month would be included with it as well.

Wasn't this already answered here?

said by ccowling :

In regards to incoming DIDs, on residential packages we do not have an incoming per minute fee at this time.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:27:27 EDT

glc650 :

said by jbmcdon :

Am I confused? Why are you asking for minutes included in a plan described as "flat rate" per call - .10 per call I read. Not a per minute plan....

I thought that was outbound only. I'm asking about inbound (with a DID). Is it .10 per inbound call as well?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:15:53 EDT

jbmcdon : Am I confused? Why are you asking for minutes included in a plan described as "flat rate" per call - .10 per call I read. Not a per minute plan....

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:41:10 EDT

glc650 :

said by Yippz Voip :

said by glc650 :

Chris,

How many minutes per month are included with a DID?

Has this question been answered?? I'm very curious and interested too... Chris's service seems to work very well.

I haven't seen an answer to this yet. I'd also like to know what a ported number would cost monthly and how many minutes a month would be included with it as well.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:46:14 EDT

Yippz Voip :

said by glc650 :

Chris,

How many minutes per month are included with a DID?

Has this question been answered?? I'm very curious and interested too... Chris's service seems to work very well.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:06:28 EDT

glc650 : Chris,

How many minutes per month are included with a DID?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:32:20 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
I was having a heck of a time sighing up and finally figureded out that I hag to disable my firewall.

Really? What was it blocking? They are basically just web pages.

quote:
Any chance of number porting in the near future?

Yes, yes there is. :) We're putting porting into the interface right now as a matter of fact.

quote:
does the subscriber get any choice of the number to be assigned?

Yes, once signed up you can choose a number inside the members area. We don't do it on signup, everything is controlled from a nice smooth control panel. (If I do say so myself). You can check the numbers before hand though in the incoming numbers section of the website. (Click the big 9000+ numbers image)

quote:
will there be any discount offered for not using your Linksys PSAP2

Yes, but in reality it won't be that much. We have 20 new plans going on this week with all sorts of offers / deals for different types of signup so I would hold off till then.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:13:30 EDT

usa2k : Start here to see local calling »www.localcallingguide.com/lca_pr···&nxx=225

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:36:27 EDT

slow mo : You can see the available numbers at:

»www.faktortel.com/incoming-numbe···le.shtml

They have 239- 567, 645 and 985 exchanges in Ft. Myers.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:21:44 EDT

wcweaver : Chris

I have an unlocked Linksys PSAP2I adapter. I just went through the sign up process. I aborted at this point as I was asked to pay without receiving a phone number. I live in SW Florida, Fort Myers, 33912 and the current exchange is 239-225-xxxx. Are 239 area code phones available and does the subscriber get any choice of the number to be assigned?

Any chance of number porting in the near future?

Also, will there be any discount offered for not using your Linksys PSAP2 equipment but using personally owned equipment when paying for an annual subscribtion in one payment?

Thanks

Bill

I was having a heck of a time sighing up and finally figureded out that I hag to disable my firewall.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:14:21 EDT

aniskhwaja : snip

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:23:57 EDT

glc650 : Chris,

I see you've now got DIDs available in my general area. How many minutes does the monthly cost include or is it pay per minute?

Any plans to allow number porting to your service?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:48:22 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
Just 800 numbers or all toll-free numbers?

All toll free will be free shortly, as soon as we have a quick moment to change the tarrifs. (I would assume monday morning).

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:16:47 EDT

ccowling : We haven't put an SSL Cert on the myaccount login at the moment. The Self signed certificate will protect your data though and encrypt it.

We should have the cert installed shortly though. In the meantime you are protected.

Chris

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:27:25 EDT

glc650 : Chris,

I'm getting the above errors when trying to log in to my FaktorTel acct via https with FF and IE...

FF SSL error - FaktorTel
IE SSL error - FaktorTel

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:29:05 EDT

glc650 :

said by ccowling :

1) We're currently changing our bill plans to not charge for 800 number calls.

Just 800 numbers or all toll-free numbers?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:30:14 EDT

ccowling : Thanks all.

I'm looking into the slight deviations of bill vs actual charge at the moment. This should be fixed soon, it seems like a rounding issue.

Additionally, we noticed and fixed an instance where some calls from some equipment was not being charged. This is all sorted now and charges should be correct now.

I know I mentioned this earlier, however we are adding new pricing shortly to our network, so stay tuned.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:51:55 EDT

venk25 : You've got PMs ! :D

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:09:42 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
I still seem to have problems searching.

* Edit * - Was asking if it was an answered call, but noticed you said it had been charged, so will check it out. If you haven't already can you PM me the number so I can check it's hit the CDR's correctly.

I'll double and tripple check it though. :)

Thanks!

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:04:24 EDT

venk25 :

said by ccowling :

quote:
- Unanswered calls are also being charged.

I can't verify this as it hasn't happened since testing. Can you PM me the number this happened on for you? Additionally can you confirm it's not a PBX on the other end set to "answer" and fake ringing? (E.g. it's a person to person call)

You've got PM.

Yes, its not a PBX giving me a fake ring. I just tried calling one of my own numbers - I didn't answer it and hung up Faktortel line after 2 rings - the call has been charged.

said by ccowling :

Fixes Today:

1) We have fixed the "Find Call" section of the user interface. It should now display calls correctly.

I still seem to have problems searching. Infact, I tried to search for the call I just made to test unanswered calls being charged (above) and I can't get any result. But the call has been charged. When the end-date is today's date (time doesn't matter), "Find Call" doesn't work.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 03:47:42 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
Great.... uh, how do I get incoming numbers >0 allowed?

I'll have this enabled in the next few days for you all. We're just testing the incoming numbers, there was a small glitch with them which is now fixed. We're just making 100% sure they will be all ok before opening it up again.

Fixes Today:

1) We have fixed the "Find Call" section of the user interface. It should now display calls correctly.

2) Calls to System services should now not be charged. Note that we did change some system numbers, these are to be added to the website / welcome email tomorrow.

The new system numbers are:

123 - Time
124 - Echo Test
125 - DTMF Test
126 - CallerID Test

I really apprechiate the help you have all put in to get these items working perfectly. :) Thanks for all your PM's and suggestions here as well. We're moving as fast as possible to make sure everything is perfect. I'll keep updating here as we go and please PM me if anything appears to be out of sorts.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:02:58 EDT

soitgoes2 :

said by gbh2o :

Great.... uh, how do I get incoming numbers >0 allowed?

+1.
I'd like to know about this, too.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:21:39 EDT

Yippz Voip :

said by usa2k :

Just the number is getting passed? Will Faktortel set CNAM too? (Using a LIBD?). It seems these numbers that send the Name cost more. Even Vonage does not set it. (Packet8 will for free.)

Sorry, I wasn't clear enough in my previous message. Caller ID name IS getting passed in my tests from US to CAN.

Since the Faktortel test doesn't include DID only the name set in the caller ID name on the ATA is being sent, no numbers.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:30:38 EDT

usa2k : Just the number is getting passed? Will Faktortel set CNAM too? (Using a LIBD?). It seems these numbers that send the Name cost more. Even Vonage does not set it. (Packet8 will for free.)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:00:24 EDT

Yippz Voip :

said by laughingcow :

How can we set our outgoing caller ID? I'd like it to match one of my existing DIDs (with another provider).

It seems to work now, as long as you can set it in your ATA or VOIP device.

I've used Chris's service to make test calls to Canada and the Caller ID display in Canada displays the setting I entered in my SPA-2000 as well as my SPA-841.

It sounds like being able to set it from Faktortel's web interface is on the way for those that can't set it locally...

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:28:50 EDT

ccowling : You can't actually do it right now, however by the end of the week it should be in. We're actually building it as a system option as it may or may not be allowed later on in "future regulation", who knows. ;-) We'll support it till then though.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:42:16 EDT

laughingcow : How can we set our outgoing caller ID? I'd like it to match one of my existing DIDs (with another provider).

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:32:52 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
- Unanswered calls are also being charged.

quote:
- Looks like some in-network calls are charged (like echo test etc.)

True, I forgot to add this to the list. Will fix that billing plan today.

quote:
- "Find Call" doesn't work for single day - like if the start and end dates are the same, even if time spans the entire day. The end date has to be at least one day later than the start date. Find call also seems to be flaky if current date is selected as end-date.

Added to the list. :)

Thanks!

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:55:57 EDT

venk25 :

said by ccowling :

Please let me know if you find any other "bugs" in the system as we are cleaning these up at the moment. :)
Chris.

Hi Chris,

I think I IMed you some of these earlier:

- Unanswered calls are also being charged.
- Looks like some in-network calls are charged (like echo test etc.)
- "Find Call" doesn't work for single day - like if the start and end dates are the same, even if time spans the entire day. The end date has to be at least one day later than the start date. Find call also seems to be flaky if current date is selected as end-date.

Thanks.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:30:18 EDT

gbh2o :

said by ccowling :

Hi All,

2) Choosing a number to add to your account when you have 0 allowed incoming numbers will no longer take your credit and not provide you with a DID.

Great.... uh, how do I get incoming numbers >0 allowed?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:27:21 EDT

ccowling : Hi All,

A few updates to the software have been done today:

1) Your billing should display the correct call costs from this point forward.

2) Choosing a number to add to your account when you have 0 allowed incoming numbers will no longer take your credit and not provide you with a DID.

3) Before removing a DID you will now be prompted with a confirm / deny dialog so you don't accidentally remove numbers from your account when adding diverts.

-

Items still to be done:

1) We're currently changing our bill plans to not charge for 800 number calls.

2) "600" will directly link to our office PBX shortly.

3) Incoming test recordings for DIDs should be available shortly so you know if your DID's are working without connecting your equipment.

Please let me know if you find any other "bugs" in the system as we are cleaning these up at the moment. :)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:42:00 EDT

dcdeadbeat :

said by deheza :

Try XXXXXXXXXX@db.faktortel.com

db.faktortel.com is the last entry on a tracert of sip.faktortel.com Hope it works for you. Works for me.

db.faktortel works great. So far I really like this company. :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:49:45 EDT

Yippz Voip :
Here is a link direct from the Faktortel support forum.

Seems like they've figured it out... maybe...

»www.faktortel.com.au/forums/inde···pic=16.0

Let us know... :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:40:09 EDT

deheza : Try XXXXXXXXXX@db.faktortel.com

db.faktortel.com is the last entry on a tracert of sip.faktortel.com Hope it works for you. Works for me.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:19:35 EDT

Yippz Voip :
Chris

Using the test account from Atlanta with g711u and the audio quality is outstanding.

Test equipment is a Sipura 841 and some very cool new sip hardware we're developing... Amazingly, your service is clearer and louder than 2 other sevices we're testing.

Nice job!! :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:20:07 EDT

dalrun :

said by ccowling :

Can you let us know where you are calling so we can investigate.

From/to WA. ULAW is first on the phone and set @ FaktorTel. Calls are fine w/ Callcentric and VoiceStick.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:55:44 EDT

dcdeadbeat :

said by ccowling :

quote:
Tried that. I even tried using the ip address of sip.faktortel.com.

Give it another go now and see how you fair.

The format is: XXXXXXXX@sip.faktortel.com

Chris.

Chris,

I tried putting my username in front of @sip.faktortel.com

and it does not work. Any other ideas? Being able to use sip uri is essential here.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:51:27 EDT

ccowling : Also make sure that your codec in your web interface is set to ulaw or alaw.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:47:47 EDT

gbh2o :

said by dalrun :

Call quality isn't very good. I've made two calls, days apart, and both were like a bad cell phone connections.

What CODECs have you selected? I originally allowed ulaw/alaw/g729 and GSM through my * boxes, but was dissatisfied with initial call quality. I have limited it to ulaw and alaw now, and have had no further problems.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:39:01 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
Call quality isn't very good.

Thats odd, we've had reports of great call quality (PSTN quality). Can you let us know where you are calling so we can investigate. Call quality is our number 1 priority.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:37:54 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
Tried that. I even tried using the ip address of sip.faktortel.com.

Give it another go now and see how you fair.

The format is: XXXXXXXX@sip.faktortel.com

quote:
What is a "faktortel"?

FaktorTel initially began was a subsidury of WarpFaktor, which as then a small ISP.

FaktorTel Dwarfed WarpFaktor, later WarpFaktor was disbanded.

FaktorTel was then incorporated.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:14:03 EDT

dalrun : Call quality isn't very good. I've made two calls, days apart, and both were like a bad cell phone connections.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:10:27 EDT

usa2k : What is a "faktortel"?
Does it mean anything?

Even here: »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FaktorTel
does not explain what the name represents.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:16:11 EDT

dcdeadbeat :

said by PX Eliezer :

This might be totally wrong, but do you need to do:

sip.faktortel.com.au ???

Tried that. I even tried using the ip address of sip.faktortel.com.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:56:29 EDT

PX Eliezer : This might be totally wrong, but do you need to do:

sip.faktortel.com.au ???

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:48:48 EDT

dcdeadbeat : Is there a way to call into a Faktortel account by sip uri?

I tried XXXXXXXXX@sip.faktortel.com where XXXX is the account number.

It does not go anywhere.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:12:08 EDT

Test99 : Daylight saving time ends at 2 AM Sunday morning.

9 AM AEST = 3 PM PST = 6 PM EST

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:31:03 EDT

dot_null :

said by ccowling :

SIP and IAX are actually running off the same equipment atm. I've restarted it though, so give it a go and let me know.

Chris.

Works fine now, thanks! :D
--
A little off center & loving it! »www.euphoricarythmia.com/

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:10:28 EDT

ccowling : First Fix Done: The system will now send emails to you with all the appropriate addresses and usernames / passwords. :)

Next Fix to Be Done: Incoming Numbers. - Update shortly.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:33:10 EDT

ccowling : SIP and IAX are actually running off the same equipment atm. I've restarted it though, so give it a go and let me know.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:29:14 EDT

dot_null : I can ping and reach the server just fine, it looks like IAX is down though. Just tried SIP on the same server and it works great, I can't use IAX though.

$ ping sip.faktortel.com
PING sip.faktortel.com (67.19.51.82): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 67.19.51.82: icmp_seq=0 ttl=53 time=32.729 ms
64 bytes from 67.19.51.82: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=31.381 ms
64 bytes from 67.19.51.82: icmp_seq=2 ttl=53 time=31.884 ms
64 bytes from 67.19.51.82: icmp_seq=3 ttl=53 time=33.343 ms
^C
--- sip.faktortel.com ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 31.381/32.334/33.343/0.756 ms
--
A little off center & loving it! »www.euphoricarythmia.com/

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:03:24 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
any time frame on when this problem will be fixed?

We're hoping within the next 24 -> 48hrs. We're working on it right now actually. :)

quote:
any idea when more DIDs in the USA 650 area code will be available?

Hmm, not quite sure about that one. I'll check on it.

quote:
Is IAX down for anyone else? My trunk status in Asterisk reports as "UNREACHABLE".

It's working for me. The server is up and reachable. (From Australia which is pretty far). Can you ping it? (sip.faktortel.com)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:00:33 EDT

dot_null : Is IAX down for anyone else? My trunk status in Asterisk reports as "UNREACHABLE".
--
A little off center & loving it! »www.euphoricarythmia.com/

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:58:43 EDT

glc650 :

said by soitgoes2 :

said by gbh2o :

You might want to hold up on DIDs until they give the go-ahead. My attempts to order them have resulted in messages that I'm allowed 0 and am at my maximum number, but then it goes ahead and charges the account as if it were activated.

Good advice. Chris has indicated that this is a known problem.

Chris, 1) any time frame on when this problem will be fixed? 2) And any idea when more DIDs in the USA 650 area code will be available? '388 - California: Peninsula south of San Francisco -- Sa - PALO ALTO' is the only one that comes up under this area code and it looks like it is maxed out:

quote:
There are not available incoming numbers in this area at this time. Please check back later, as more numbers are added frequently.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:31:05 EDT

soitgoes2 :

Good advice. Chris has indicated that this is a known problem.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:54:01 EDT

gbh2o :

said by glc650 :

said by dot_null :

I did notice you have very fair DID prices - I saw some as low as ~$1.60/month! Is this for unlimited usage, or billed per minute?

Where did you see this?

You might want to hold up on DIDs until they give the go-ahead. My attempts to order them have resulted in messages that I'm allowed 0 and am at my maximum number, but then it goes ahead and charges the account as if it were activated. The transaction never shows in the billing section, and no DID is provided that I can find.

FWIW, the area code 567 still has many DIDs available for under a $1.00.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:53:00 EDT

soitgoes2 :

said by glc650 :

said by dot_null :

I did notice you have very fair DID prices - I saw some as low as ~$1.60/month! Is this for unlimited usage, or billed per minute?

Where did you see this?

After you create an account (free with $5 credit), there's a DID ordering section.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:13:43 EDT

glc650 :

said by dot_null :

I did notice you have very fair DID prices - I saw some as low as ~$1.60/month! Is this for unlimited usage, or billed per minute?

Where did you see this?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:05:05 EDT

ccowling : Hey Guys,

Sorry it took a while for me to get back to you all, we've been compiling a list of all of the PM's and emails we've received about various issues with the system, including some rate center issues, the email issues, and a few general incoming number issues (e.g. you can't buy them... dum de dum).

We're implementing fixes for all of these this week, and will be tidying things up a bit.

I'm glad to hear the call quality is great :) We have some premium US routes so are happy they are working for everyone without a hitch.

Onwards and upwards is where we are off to now. Once these "critters" in the interface are fixed we have lots more to go.. :) - We love our web interface and basically want you to be able to control anything and everything from it.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:09:39 EDT

Test99 : Email confirmation doesn't seem to be working yet. But see above: »Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:36:12 EDT

81075031 : I signed up and I haven't got any confirmation email with the login details.
Email address I signed up was sarathbbigstringdotcom

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:15:42 EDT

deheza : Tried SIP calls from SJPhone and SPA1001 and the audio works great with ULAW and G729.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:51:48 EDT

ccowling : Hey All,

Just as a notice, we have fixed the incoming DID's for all the locations that were "Missing" area's in them.

E.g. Johannesburg is now available in South Africa (appologies if I spelt it wrong). And Tokyo in Japan, etc.

Chris. :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:26:01 EDT

81075031 : Rates to India are not good when compared to other providers.Teleblend and some other providers are offering unlimited calls to India.Your provider is still charging 11 cents/minute which is not that competitive.
Thanks

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:04:19 EDT

Test99 : Just heard the noise again. But it was quite soft this time.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:03:47 EDT

ccowling : Hi All,

I've had a few of you PM'ing me and asking for the free account link. Please find it here:

»www.faktortel.com/products-freeoffer1.shtml

Additionally, I have removed the DID as there was none included with this pack, so it shouldn't be on this page now.

In regards to incoming DIDs, on residential packages we do not have an incoming per minute fee at this time.

We're also re-evaluating our packages, so as soon as next week there will most likely be MUCH more inviting unlimited style packages available. ;-)

* Yes, I really do love what I do, thats why I sound so chipper *

quote:
Oh, HELL yes. I drank so much VB in a 3 week period that my girlfriend was threatening to drop me off at detox on the way home from the airport.

We're currently hosting the Nikkon Indy 300 this weekend on the Gold Coast of Australia. (I'm sure you can tune in on TV over there) so we're expecting a lot of drinking to that magnitude around Surfers Paradise (across the bridge from our offices) this weekend.

»www.indy.com.au/

Chris.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:55:41 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
One time there was a short burst of noise after the called phone hung up.

Hmm, That seems odd. I'll make sure everything in the voice stream on our side is fine on hangup. It's good to hear the audio issue is cleared up though. :) Those can be tricky sometimes as you start to follow the path from user through to the carrier at the other end of the E1 (T1) or Sip Trunk.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:50:37 EDT

Test99 : I made two calls. Both were good.

One time there was a short burst of noise after the called phone hung up. Not sure what that was about. But it wasn't anything serious.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:45:01 EDT

ccowling : I've made the route change across the board, if you want to confirm it's working 2 way just one more time then it should all be ok. :) (I really apprechiate the assistance)

Note: For those who have noticed calls 600 etc being billed as 10c calls, i will be refreshing the billing system shortly to fix this. Call longer to change as they need to be double checked.

Additionally, the email and bill templates are on their way to being sorted out as well. :)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:39:47 EDT

Test99 : I just did another call: 2-way audio.

I'll stay up for a bit in case you want to run more tests. Let me know when you don't need me.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:35:28 EDT

ccowling : Aha! I have the issue nailed (well i'm pretty sure) if thats the case. Should be fixed shortly then.

:)

Thanks for the test calls. I'll do a permenant route change to fix it and see if everyone else gets good results as well.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:33:22 EDT

Test99 : Yes. I have audio both ways.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:31:25 EDT

ccowling : Test99 I've changed your route, whenever you would like can you see if you still get 1 way audio?

Ta!

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:14:29 EDT

Test99 : During a call, Wireshark shows a continuous stream of RTP packets in both directions. So it doesn't seem as if the firewall is causing a problem.

Correction: there is a continuous stream of RTP packets going to the server. But there are none coming back. Sorry about that.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:09:53 EDT

ccowling : Hmm.. Then it would appear the termination may be the cause as the echo test is direct off the server. We can change the termination, thats no issue, it will just take a few hours unless we route it out Australia which is undesirable. ;-)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:06:38 EDT

Test99 :

said by ccowling :

Do you get audio on the echo test? (600)

Yes.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:56:17 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
Servers are back up, but calls have no audio.

Do you get audio on the echo test? (600)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:54:08 EDT

Test99 :

said by ccowling :

we're currently doing some kernel upgrades on the servers so they may be off line for a bit

Servers are back up, but calls have no audio.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:25:34 EDT

dot_null :

said by ccowling :

quote:
Am I reading correctly on the main signup page that we get a free DID upon signing up?

Where is this and which page? As it is included on the non $0 packages, but not the $0 p.mo package. Something to definately fix. ;-) (Sorry)

Chris.

Haha, I thought it sounded a little too good to be true. ;) It's toward the bottom of this page: »www.faktortel.com/products-freeoffer1.shtml

I did notice you have very fair DID prices - I saw some as low as ~$1.60/month! Is this for unlimited usage, or billed per minute?
--
A little off center & loving it! »www.euphoricarythmia.com/

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:47:28 EDT

venk25 : Hi Chris,

Apart from the SIP voice issue, I also noticed that calls to some of your network/test numbers (like 600) are being charged too (meaning, money deducted from the $5 credit).

For the Outgoing CID/CLI, I'd prefer to have my current home phone number go out rather than 09xxxxxx number. Let me know if you want me to PM you or if it'd be enabled in the web interface.

Cheers !

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:36:28 EDT

ccowling : Ok, Wow.. I just checked my PM list and apparently I have 33 messages waiting. :)

Please bare with me as I check your messages and get back to you all. I really do appreciate all of the testing / calls you guys and gals are putting through and the reports back of things which may or may not be working correctly. Such as the purchase of a DID etc.

- Note we're currently doing some kernel upgrades on the servers so they may be off line for a bit as part of making sure everything is rock solid.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:32:44 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
Am I reading correctly on the main signup page that we get a free DID upon signing up?

Where is this and which page? As it is included on the non $0 packages, but not the $0 p.mo package. Something to definately fix. ;-) (Sorry)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:29:04 EDT

dot_null : Am I reading correctly on the main signup page that we get a free DID upon signing up? If so, how would one go about adding a DID to their account? Thanks! :)
--
A little off center & loving it! »www.euphoricarythmia.com/

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:55:39 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
FaktorTel has a SIP audio problem in my opinion

We're checking our firewalls on our side at the moment, as it's possible were blocking the incoming audio stream. :-/ There is always a fine line between useability and security. :)

I'll get back to you guys asap (today).

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:55:53 EDT

jester121 :

said by jay_rm :

I don't think anybody in Oz actually drinks Fosters - make it a VB, mate !

Oh, HELL yes. I drank so much VB in a 3 week period that my girlfriend was threatening to drop me off at detox on the way home from the airport.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:55:09 EDT

jay_rm :

said by RockyBB :

IMO excessive consumption of Fosters and Vegemite lead to bad business decisions

I don't think anybody in Oz actually drinks Fosters - make it a VB, mate !
--
3500/512 5.7 GHz Motorola Canopy Wireless; FoxValley.net
"Peace through superior firepower"

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:42:34 EDT

cbrain : I signed up yesterday. It was simple, fast, no credit card info and I got the credentials immediately. I entered the basic registration string for an IAX2 trunk in Asterisk and was registered. This afternoon I google settings and finished my trunk setup. The first call worked. I made several more and all were good and the CID from my calling extension is sent by default. I made several test calls to my IPKall line and heard about 30 seconds of DTMF tones from both ends then one way audio with high latency. All other calls so far are good and calls to IPKall from cell work. I looked at the web "my account" and set "Account Codecs / Protocols" to match my Asterisk settings but it made no difference.

I won't be able to play until tomorrow. Any ideas of why this one problem? IPKall is set to directly forward by SIP/URI to my Asterisk box and has always worked well. Could it be an IAX2 to SIP problem?

PS: Just had another thought. I made a call from an Asterisk extension to IPKall. It went VoicePulse Connect. No DTMF's but one way audio. I never had an audio problem with either provider. Must have something to do with originating an termination at the same box.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:40:29 EDT

atrevete : No audio here either using a Linksys PAP2. FreeDigits, VBuzzer, etc., continue to work flawlessly using the same PAP2.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:44:50 EDT

dalrun : My sip phone has a fixed public IP address, so I know its not a firewall issue. I have yet to have audio problems with any other provider. My bet is that all sip users have no audio.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:12:46 EDT

Yippz Voip : Exactly the problem I've been having. The call is running but there is no audio.

I've been in email contact with Chris but I still can't get audio to work. We thought it could be a firewall issue on my end, but it clearly isn't as we can make calls with audio using 2 other SIP providers we're testing.

Anyone else besides Dalrun, Deheza and I that are having the audio issue? BTW, this is using SIP, not IAX.

Also, I did make note that 1-800 calls and 123 echo test were charging the .10c rate -- Chris told me that is being fixed.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:36:47 EDT

deheza : Using IAX with Idefisk works for me, but have tried a lot of combinations with SIP and can't get any audio. Audio doesn't come through with Sjphone or my SPA2102 with or without DMZ enabled on my WRT54G-TM router running Tomato. Calls on my system work great using SIP on CallWithus, Future-Nine, NuFone, QuantumVoice, TutTele and Callcentric. FaktorTel has a SIP audio problem in my opinion. The SIP calls answer and charge the account, but no audio either direction.
--
RoadRunner, QuantumVoice, Future-Nine, Vitelity, CallWithUs, TutTele, NuFone, Stanaphone

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:25:27 EDT

dalrun : Has anyone actually made outgoing calls (using sip protocol) with the $5 credit account? Audio is fine when I use the test numbers. Outgoing calls connect but at no point is their any audio on either end.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:06:31 EDT

BruceN : Welcome to this great place!

Bruce Nicklin Voice Stick and MyGlobalTalk

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:03:45 EDT

wierdo :

said by ccowling :

We're more then happy to set the CID as a users home number, etc. The legislation is interesting though.

If by interesting you mean idiotic. When I first had the capability, I would occasionally send odd caller ID..the novelty wore off in about 10 minutes.

We do make extensive use of that ability, though. Each user of our system gets their caller ID set appropriately when they dial in, and we have some DIDs that forward to cell phones, and we forward the caller ID through.

Only one of our three (at the moment) termination providers has any restriction on it. We have an arrangement with the other that allows us to set any caller ID from a predetermined list. We don't use that one much, as I haven't gotten around to programming the necessary logic to allow its use when someone on that list is placing the call.

Basically, I use it for personal calls and for certain destinations where our other carriers are either too expensive, don't pass DTMF, or are otherwise unsuitable.

It always amazes me that these days Caller ID can show up correctly on phones in nearly all the countries we call to or from.

Even at home I find it handy, so I can set the caller ID to the appropriate person's direct number, although that list is much smaller than the one at work. ;)
--
It's wierdo, not weirdo. Yes, I know that's not the 'proper' spelling of the similar english language word. ;)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:41:46 EDT

ccowling : Ah ok.

We're more then happy to set the CID as a users home number, etc. The legislation is interesting though.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:35:20 EDT

Test99 :

said by ccowling :

Do most providers allow you to send any CLI or is it only of numbers you own?

Some providers let you set the outgoing caller ID. CallWithUs and Teliax come to mind.

See this post: »Re: [General] Any service with this feature set? The legislation mentioned there has not become law. My guess is that it won't, at least not this year.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:03:26 EDT

Test99 :

said by ccowling :

I've had that done now. ;)

Changes don't get made much faster than that. Must be a record. :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:58:03 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
lol. We had some users doing that too when we were giving out 30 cents of call credit.

Lol, yeah, thats kind of crazy. :) I guess there are some in every bunch.

quote:
Then you would have everything you need to register an adapter/soft phone.

Thanks! I've had that done now. ;)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:51:27 EDT

Test99 : At completion of the signup process, the page displays your assigned user name and password. But I didn't see the server URL displayed there. It would be helpful if the server URL (sip.faktortel.com) was displayed on the same page. Then you would have everything you need to register an adapter/soft phone.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:09:10 EDT

nitzan :

said by ccowling :

Just a note,

For those of you who are creating accounts with a name of "Free Account 5.00" and creating it 50 times so you can get $250 free credit for use later...

A heads up.. We delete them, so don't do it. Be honest please.

Chris.

lol. We had some users doing that too when we were giving out 30 cents of call credit. It was pretty ridiculous to see a guy creating 50 accounts so he can make a whopping $15 of calls. Probably took him longer than it would take to work to earn those $15. :)
--
Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:00:23 EDT

ccowling : Just a note,

For those of you who are creating accounts with a name of "Free Account 5.00" and creating it 50 times so you can get $250 free credit for use later...

A heads up.. We delete them, so don't do it. Be honest please.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:52:04 EDT

Test99 : 9 AM AEST = 4 PM PDT = 7 PM EDT

No daylight saving in Queensland. :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:41:52 EDT

ccowling : Sure. Basically we're 14hrs->17hrs ahead of you, depending on where you are in the US.

Ever wondered what the future is like? Just contact and Australian.. :)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:35:24 EDT

PX Eliezer : To avoid any misunderstandings, you might want to review for everyone the time difference between Queensland, Australia and the major USA time zones. :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:35:19 EDT

gbh2o :

said by ccowling :

quote:
Here we go again!!! Another anonymous poster

My thoughts exactly mate. I hope my justification in my quote of him wasn't too harsh.

FWIW, you can always »/useremail/u/0?ignore and see no more anonymous users... none, nada or whatever is appropriate down south. It can make it interesting when reading a forum thread. ;-)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:48:52 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
here in the Web Interface do I set this ?

If you go to »www.faktortel.com/members.shtml you will be able to access your members area. The CLI is however only able to be added as one of your incoming numbers to prevent CID Spoofing. We're not sure how other providers in the US handle this though? Do most providers allow you to send any CLI or is it only of numbers you own?

quote:
Here we go again!!! Another Nit...! Worms his way into the forum, get's a few people interested, and right off the bat has the standard amateur, problem-ridden system.

Mate.. We're one of the largest providers in Australia already, running tried and tested software. Moving from one country to another always causes some issues but they are very easy to fix. As you can see above most people have it working instantly with excellent call quality. Of course, being anonymous who knows if you'll ever get this message?

Btw, we are so confident in our billing system we released it to the public: »www.vsppanel.com and mentioned it on our WikiPedia page along with our QLD Gov't Grant: »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FaktorTel

(Sorry, snide comments shit me no end... be helpful, thats what forums are for buddy).

quote:
I was so used to having that kind of service in Aus but everyone I spoke to here said it would never happen.

I'm not sure when we'll be getting montreal DID's, however it should be soon, we have a few more places to source them from.

We were quite surprised about no flat rate providers in the US as well, but maybe there is a reason.. We'll have to wait and see, but for the moment we're sticking to our guns. ;-)

quote:
Could this be a little 'critter'?

Yes most definately, the Email doesn't appear to be going out at the moment which i'm having our head techs look at, at the moment (it's probably a reverse DNS issue) and the incoming DID's are just need to be set on signup. It's actually a setting in the software so should be fixed later this evening.

quote:
Here we go again!!! Another anonymous poster

My thoughts exactly mate. I hope my justification in my quote of him wasn't too harsh.

(Finally, please bare with me for a while guys, it appears I have a lot of PM's at the moment so will be mailing you back asap).

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:38:20 EDT

nitzan :

said by Another One :

Here we go again!!! Another Nit...! Worms his way into the forum, get's a few people interested, and right off the bat has the standard amateur, problem-ridden system.

Oooohhhh were will it ever end?

Here we go again!!! Another anonymous poster worms his way into the forum, making inflammatory remarks under the sweet cover of anonymity!

Oooohhhh when will it ever end?
--
Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:13:49 EDT

eviljafar : Hi Chris.

I signed up, thanks for the offer.

When will you be providing DIDs for Montreal? I'd be happy to take a free one for testing purposes ;)

I'm from Australia, been in Montreal for a year or so. When I moved here I searched high and low for a flat rate nth american provider, but I don't think one exists - until now.

I was so used to having that kind of service in Aus but everyone I spoke to here said it would never happen.

Cheers,

Jaf.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:46:45 EDT

anon : Here we go again!!! Another Nit...! Worms his way into the forum, get's a few people interested, and right off the bat has the standard amateur, problem-ridden system.

Oooohhhh were will it ever end?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:20:25 EDT

gbh2o : A couple of notes. I signed up for the generous $5.00 credit and was immediately allowed access to my account. I attempted to find the mentioned

" ^ Free incoming phone numbers can be provided to the following locations: Click Here For A Full List" ;-)

but couldn't find them. However, I then tried to sign up for a paid DID and was notified that I already had the maximum allowed '0'. When I returned to the main panel I noticed that the balance was minus the monthly fee for the DID I wasn't allowed to purchase. Could this be a little 'critter'?

I had not received _any_ email delivery attempt 15 minutes after my signup, so I haven't received any credentials yet.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:56:16 EDT

venk25 : Just signed up.

said by ccowling :

CLI (CID) is passed through as set. You can set your CID in your web interface.

Where in the Web Interface do I set this ?

And, what is "PSTN" codec ?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:15:34 EDT

dot_null : Just tried out a short test call - to assess call quality I dialed my Vitelity provided DID (excellent sound quality, IMO - serviced by XO) from my new Faktortel IAX account and listened to a couple of minutes of music on hold. Sound quality was excellent (ulaw codec, call was made from my Grandstream GXP-2000 routed through asterisk), it was just as good as if I had listened to the music from an internal phone. Not bad at all!

My VoIP requirements are pretty much met by other providers, but I'll definitely keep Faktortel in my outgoing provider queue. I really like the idea of a flat rate pricing scheme. It reminds me of pay-by-the-call metered rate landlines without all the junk "taxes" and fees. :)
--
A little off center & loving it! »www.euphoricarythmia.com/

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:57:51 EDT

JohnnyBeGood : Welcome aboard!

Using eyeBeam I've successfully registerd to sip.faktortel.com
Calls started going thru after I entered stun1.faktortel.com as a STUN server.
Clicking on "Registration Status" show as "Not Registered"

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:29:52 EDT

dot_null : ^ Haha thanks! :D

Here's the link to the config that worked for me, in case anyone does the same thing I did: »www.faktortel.com/support-trixbo···rd.shtml

I'm registered now, haven't had a chance to try out the service yet though.

I'll shoot you a PM about the welcome email.
--
A little off center & loving it! »www.euphoricarythmia.com/

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:27:24 EDT

ccowling : ["Completely my fault. Sorry about that!"]

Hey no problem at all. :)

In the near future we want to have both running accepting either types of connections but we thought to start it would be a little overwhelming on the support. ;-)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:25:56 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
I can't stop myself... do you all have roo bars on your Fords?

Lol.. Hey we're not that far out.. We're actually located here:

»www.goldcoastaustralia.com/subur···ise.html

^^ Yes, that is what I see from my office window. :)

I think it's equivilant to Florida in the US.. does it look the same?

quote:
just wanted to let you know if this was supposed to be the case.

No worries, it should be working with IAX immediately for you. Can you connect with SIP on your account and it's just IAX being block / not registered against? If you could PM me your username i'll check it out. I'll also check out that welcome email.

Thanks for the feedback!

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:16:36 EDT

dot_null : Welcome to BBR, ccowling !

I just signed up and tried to set up my Asterisk box with the IAX settings on faktortel's site, and was rejected when logging into the prepaid and main server. Is IAX (and use with Asterisk) allowed on this plan? Thanks!

Also, I didn't receive a "welcome" email either when signing up, just wanted to let you know if this was supposed to be the case. :)

EDIT: Doh! Just found out I was using the .au settings instead of the US settings. Switched to the US settings and I'm registered. Completely my fault. Sorry about that!
--
A little off center & loving it! »www.euphoricarythmia.com/

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:10:40 EDT

RockyBB :

said by ccowling :

No unfortunately not. ;-)

I can't stop myself... do you all have roo bars on your Fords?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:55:04 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
does that mean you'll add 10¢ to our credit balance for every call we make?

No unfortunately not. ;-)

["Out of curiosity- where are your servers located?"]

Our servers are located in Texas. (ThePlanet)

feel free to traceroute: sip.faktortel.com

CLI (CID) is passed through as set. You can set your CID in your web interface.

We also have an Australian cluster for those in the southern hemisphere.

And yes, calls to Australia go to our direct routes in Australia. :)

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:44:06 EDT

nitzan : I wouldn't consider this spam. Welcome to the forum! :)

Out of curiosity- where are your servers located? this might be critical for US customers if your servers are in Australia. (too much latency) Do you have US servers too?

Do you offer CLI (Caller ID) with the calls or do they show with a random CID?
--
Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:24:23 EDT

RockyBB :

said by ccowling :

and don't forget that our toilets flush the otherway

said by ccowling :

i'll send you back the link for the free signup page with $5.00 credit.

does that mean you'll add 10¢ to our credit balance for every call we make?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:12:56 EDT

ccowling : Well as it seems that most people don't seem to mind, i'll put the link up here to make it a little easier.

Basically it's $5.00 call credit to spend as you like. US Calls are charged at 10c Flat Rate.

»www.faktortel.com/products-freeoffer1.shtml

- If you do have any problems, please let me know as we do try to keep all our connections premium quality. (And the site is new, so something may just simply not work).

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:11:58 EDT

scott2020 : Third. I don't see much difference in what he is doing as compared to 10 other high level VOIP company executives that frequent this forum.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:57:38 EDT

PX Eliezer :

said by soitgoes2 :

I for one do not consider this spam. Service announcements/offers have a place on this site. They exist in a mutually beneficial relationship with users.

I second that. :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:55:47 EDT

soitgoes2 :

said by llast08 :

# SPAM is Not Welcome Here!
Spam (Commercial advertising of a product or service) will be deleted and if persistent, further action will be taken.

I for one do not consider this spam. Service announcements/offers have a place on this site. They exist in a mutually beneficial relationship with users.

Welcome, Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:48:41 EDT

ccowling : As an addition and so as to keep within the rules, anyone who wants to give the flat rate service a test for us is more then welcome, shoot me off a PM and i'll send you back the link for the free signup page with $5.00 credit.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:42:20 EDT

ccowling :

quote:
And most folks are nice, just a few figjams.

Haha, do you guys actually use that slang in the states? FIGJAMS.. There used to be a BMW parked down the road from me with that as a license plate..

quote:
So put a voip on the barbie

That I can do. :)

quote:
and use you only for their predictable long calls

Well that is true. It's the risk we take, and is why we only offer it as a residential solution not as a wholesale solution. Wholesale is still per minute. ;-) Who knows that package may very quickly jump off the page.

quote:
Fosters and Vegemite lead to bad business decisions

Fosters? Mate..... *in long drawn out tone*

quote:
Down there it runs uphill---they are nearer to the South Pole!

Hey, and don't forget that our toilets flush the otherway and our VOIP calls come out backwards if you call from Aus to the US. :P

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:21:10 EDT

PX Eliezer :

said by RockyBB :

g'day, mate. I've never been down under to see for myself, but here in the States water runs downhill.

Down there it runs uphill---they are nearer to the South Pole!

:)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:19:09 EDT

usa2k : Rocky has a funny accent!

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:17:09 EDT

RockyBB : g'day, mate. I've never been down under to see for myself, but here in the States water runs downhill. With a pay per call service, in the middle of a very competitive market, you will attract not the low spend crowd, but the long talk crowd. You will move a lot of minutes from other providers to your service, but as you have no fee they will not cancel their other service. They will keep the other guy for incoming and short calls, and use you only for their predictable long calls. Sheilas who now feel slightly guilty for tying up the phone for 45 minutes, will feel no guilt for extending their conversations. If your termination costs are $0.005 they will break you with calls lasting more than 20 minutes. IMO excessive consumption of Fosters and Vegemite lead to bad business decisions ... we yanks will smoke 'ya.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:16:25 EDT

PX Eliezer :

said by mazilo :

Chris, welcome aboard and we hope you will find friends here.

I agree.

And most folks are nice, just a few figjams.

So put a voip on the barbie. :)

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:59:50 EDT

mazilo : Chris, welcome aboard and we hope you will find friends here.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:43:34 EDT

ccowling : Thanks for replying so quickly (i'll go in reverse for a sec here)

Did I guess right?

Yes, thats me. To be honest I didn't even know that article still existed. I guess once in the news, always in the news. :) , except where it says faktortel.com.au it's faktortel.com for the US...

Telstra is like your "Verizon" it's the largest telco in Australia, so I suppose when you accuse them of tampering with their routers to block VOIP it's something that sticks around. ;-)

IMHO I think you walked the tightrope well with the post

Thanks, as you can see, i'm a whirlpool rep in Australia (Whirlpool being basically our biggest broadband forum) and have a pretty bright aura (rating) on there, so i'm used to making sure things are done right as i'm more then aware that Forums aren't looked kindly upon as a place for spammers...

A fee per call service is an interesting approach

We've had this for a while in Australia and it's very popular, basically it allows you to pay for only what you use which is nice for people with lower spends. We do offer unlimited calls for a set price per month to meet the rest of the market, but I really hadn't seen a flat "Dime Per Call" plan in the US yet, which seemed really odd to us anyway.

Chris.

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:29:45 EDT

Test99 : A Google search of the .au domain found Chris Cowling at Faktortel in 2005: »www.smh.com.au/news/next/free-pa···eStories

The Whirlpool VOIP forum list of providers includes this entry for Faktortel.

Did I guess right?

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:23:27 EDT

llast08 : # SPAM is Not Welcome Here!
Spam (Commercial advertising of a product or service) will be deleted and if persistent, further action will be taken.

Rules are rules...

Re: [Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:53:46 EDT

usa2k : IMHO I think you walked the tightrope well with the post, but my opinion is mine alone. (You could have posted as someone discovering a great new service, but I think you did much better.)

The services I am used to here are Pay as you go (PAYG) and Monthly flat rate calling. A fee per call service is an interesting approach. Nothing I desire, but still interesting -- kind of like a local pay phone call.
--
Jim, VoIP since 12/2002, VOIPo 2/7/2007

FAH-Tool ... Whales ... VOIPo Forum ... VOIPo Review

[Other] Flat rate US calls

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:44:55 EDT

ccowling : Hey All,

I would like to start off this post by stating that I do represent a VOIP company offering flat rate calls to the US (E.g. $0 per month package with 10c untimed calls to the US).

With that out of the way and not posting a link as i really don't want to get "banned" on one of my first posts here.

Are there any other companies that offer a flat rate call to the US? and if so do you guys have any links?

Additionally, we want to offer a free package for all DSLReports users with $5 credit on it here, however can someone enlighten me as to whether this is against the rules before I post the link? (It doesn't appear to be, but again I don't want to "spam" one of the largest voip forums in the country)

We're one of the top 7 largest providers in Australia but are taking baby steps into the US market place so any information would be great.

Thanks!
Chris.