Earlier today pal Cory Andrews broke the news about the newest SMB VoIP product from Cisco, the SPA8800.

The Cisco SPA8800 is an affordable VoIP Gateway option for small medium businesses and VoIP service providers. The Cisco SPA8800 is SIP based and features four (4) FXS ports for connecting traditional telephones and or fax machines.

The Cisco SPA8800 also features four (4) FXO ports for connecting POTS lines, allowing PSTN connectivity for voip phone systems. In addition, the SPA8800 features a convenient amphenol connector interface on the back of the gateway allowing for an easy connection to a telco punch-down block or mini RJ11 patch panel.

The SPA8800 comes with the familiar Linksys web based GUI and in playing with unit, even inexperienced users shouldn’t have much trouble setting up and maintain the gateway.

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With the long term future of Microsoft’s Response Point software still unknown one would think that it’s a signal that the Windows Telephony market is dud. And while Microsoft’s attempt to capture a juicy chunk of the massive small business market seems to have hit a snag, it’s not deterring other VoIP industry players from jumping in with two feet.

One such player is Sangoma. The publicly traded supplier of telephony cards and software out of Markham, Ontario is looking to emerge from the enormous shadow cast by Digium by developing solutions that work with Windows.

Sangoma’s latest offerings (NetBoarder VoIP Gateway Cards and NetBoarder Express 2.0 software), announced today, are designed for those end users, systems builders, reseller and integrators leveraging Windows who want to roll their own VoIP gateways and voip phone systems. Similar to what tens of thousands of folks have been doing for the last few years with Linux based platforms like Asterisk.

While a home grown VoIP gateway or phone system is nothing new, Sangoma’s move into the Windows market is and can be seen as a signal that market for Windows based telephony products is a viable one.

Only time will tell if this is the case, but for now at least one Windows proponent is excited about Sangoma’s move.

Nick Galea, CEO of 3CX, whose Windows based phone system has continued to win favor with customers, says the move by Sangoma is, “[Good] for our customers because the complete solution of Sangoma, plus NetBoarder Express 2.0, plus 3CX will be easy to install, easy to use and very cost effective.”

That’s an offering that’s sure to attract interest from the Windows market.

Here goes Vonage again.

The oft criticized VoIP provider recently launched their latest ad campaign. And they seem to gearing up for a push on none other than call quality.

Gone are the heavy “save money” overtones in favor for a message of “sounds good”, an obvious play on the combination of savings AND call quality.
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VoIP gateways have steadily grown in popularity over the last six months. As businesses have been scrambling to reduce costs and stretch budgets, VoIP gateways have emerged as a low cost way to leverage VoIP using existing infrastructure.

Unfortunately, purchasing the right VoIP gateway isn’t always that easy, especially for small medium business owners and staff who probably have a million things on their mind. In fact if you don’t know what to look for in a VoIP gateway you will lose time and money - something no one can afford in these times.

Luckily, you can make the VoIP gateway purchasing process much smoother by understand the four keys to a successful VoIP gateway purchase.

1. Know your FXS and FXO. The most common, but oft overlooked aspect of purchasing a VoIP gateway is knowing which port configurations you need - that means understanding FXS (Foreign eXchange Station) and FXO (Foreign eXchange Office). FXS VoIP gateways are used for connecting telephones to a VoIP phone system and PBX systems to a VoIP service. FXO  VoIP gateways are primarily used to connect VoIP phone systems to the PSTN.
2. Check your network. Since your VoIP gateway will be connected to your network and your VoIP service will be riding across your network, you’ll want to make sure that it can handle the increase in traffic. You don’t want to experience packet loss that will result in call degradation.
3. Ensure you’re compatible. Most of today’s VoIP gateways support the most widely used voice codecs and VoIP protocols, but since you’re likely using a VoIP gateway to VoIP enable an existing PBX system, you’ll want to triple check. In addition you’ll want to consult your VoIP service provider to ensure their service is compatible with your gateway.
4. Configuring, installing and supporting your gateway. On the surface VoIP gateways seem like an easy piece of equipment to deal with. But for most, configuring, installing and supporting a VoIP gateway can become a nightmare. So before you purchase your VoIP gateway, consult your supplier to ensure they can do this for you (if needed).

It should go without saying that budget should also be a consideration, so consider that another key (free of charge). VoIP gateways range in price starting around $199 to up over $3,000, depending on the configuration.

As with most VoIP equipment, you get what you pay for with a VoIP gateway. That means make sure your budget is reasonable such that you can afford a quality brand and model like AudioCodes or Quintum.

Looking for a VoIP gateway? I can help! Contact me to find out how I can help you purchase the right VoIP gateway (and I’ll do it for FREE).

A day or so ago I read a post over at No Jitter by Matt Brunk that cast the IP communications channel as an eroding numbers game. The post was interesting to me as I’ve experienced the continual squeeze on margins through the years. Plus I’ve witnessed the frustrations of channel sales and marketing in today’s environment from working closely with many a manufacturerand service provider.

While Matt’s take on the current state of the IP communications channel is very real, his reasoning for it and resolution for improving it are off.

The present issues within the IP communications channel is not due to a numbers game as Matt suggests, but due to that channel game changing. All due to the Internet.

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Word hit the streets this week that AT&T will soon be canceling their VoIP offering CallVantage, leaving many customers without a phone service. After spending the last 48 hours helping many CallVantage customers find suitable VoIP service replacements on Twitter, I though it’d be helpful to create a list of my top VoIP service recommendations.

These VoIP service recommendations are made based on my personal experiences using these services as a primary or secondary residential voice line over the last few years. They are listed in no particular order.
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