asterisk users - Jan 2005 - Mediatrix voip gateway 1124 and 1204 in UK setting

Hello!

We are located in the UK, and we are planning to replace our old pbx with an
asterisk based pbx. For
outgoing calls our present pbx is connected to three PSTN lines which all have
the same number.
Internally, the pbx caters for quite a few extensions, and each extension can
make outbound phone
calls. Only very rarely does our call volume exceed three simultaneous
connections (inside to inside
plus inside to outside).

We have looked into the issue of connecting the phones and the outside lines to
the system.

For the fxo connectivity we want to stick with the three PSTN lines, because
they worked for us and
we don't see a need to upgrade to ISDN. The asterisk system will be also
connected to the internet
anyway so we can perform VOIP calls.

For the fxs connectivity we want to re-use the old telephone wiring and provide
standard two-wire
telephones. Putting in IP phones would mean a massive installation effort, as we
would have to put
an entire new computer network in place - plus many IP phones constantly
connected to mains, plus
admin headaches, plus security issues and so on. The two wire solution seems the
best solution for
our setting.

We have looked into using a channel bank for the analog conectivity, and we are
currently in contact
with Carrier Access to purchase a new Adit 600 unit with space for 48
extensions. We cannot provide
fxo connectivity via the channel bank because the fxo card from CA seems not to
be EU approved. One
downside of the channel bank is that we need a special T1 card for it to operate
with the asterisk
pbx. Also, channel banks seems to be a particular US concept, so we would have
difficulties to get
replacement parts, if something breaks.

Recently I heard of the alternative solution of a voip gateway, and the
particular units I have seen
are the Mediatrix 1124 for fxs connection and the Mediatrix 1204 for the fxo
connection. Both units
support the SIP protocol, so it should be possible to connect them to the
asterisk PC via standard
network connection. Mediatrix seems to have resellers in Europe as well, so it
might be possible
that their devices are Europe approved as well.

Question:

* Does anyone have any experience with these units in a UK setting?

* For the 1124: Does it work with standard UK two wire phones? Are there
impedance problems
         (especially concerning echo problems)?
         Is the audio quality sufficient? Are they transparent to the asterisk
system, i.e.
         does each fxs port look like a separate IP phone to the asterisk
system?


* For the 1204: Would it be approved for connection into the UK PSTN (The
prospectus from Mediatrix
         didn't say anything about regulatory approvals)? Can they initiate
outside calls / receive
         incoming calls or are there problems (signalling compatible with UK
PSTN)? Are they
         transparent to the asterisk system, i.e.does each fxo port look like a
separate IP phone
         to the asterisk system?


I do realize that these questions are quite broad, but do appreciate any info.
Thank you very much
for your consideration.


-- 
dyslexics of the world - untie !

Peter

One thing to consider if you only have 3 PSTN lines is the Sipura 
SPA-3000 (you would need 3 of them, one for each line)

We have 2 PSTN lines at our scout campsite, and they work very well, as 
well as providing a simple power outage solution.

They retail about ?80 + the VAT

I can supply more information once you have looked at the devices.

Regards
David
On 24 Jan 2005, at 11:20, Peter Hoppe wrote:
> Hello!
>
> We are located in the UK, and we are planning to replace our old pbx 
> with an asterisk based pbx. For outgoing calls our present pbx is 
> connected to three PSTN lines which all have the same number. 
> Internally, the pbx caters for quite a few extensions, and each 
> extension can make outbound phone calls. Only very rarely does our 
> call volume exceed three simultaneous connections (inside to inside 
> plus inside to outside).
>
> We have looked into the issue of connecting the phones and the outside 
> lines to the system.
>
> For the fxo connectivity we want to stick with the three PSTN lines, 
> because they worked for us and we don't see a need to upgrade to ISDN. 
> The asterisk system will be also connected to the internet anyway so 
> we can perform VOIP calls.
>
> For the fxs connectivity we want to re-use the old telephone wiring 
> and provide standard two-wire telephones. Putting in IP phones would 
> mean a massive installation effort, as we would have to put an entire 
> new computer network in place - plus many IP phones constantly 
> connected to mains, plus admin headaches, plus security issues and so 
> on. The two wire solution seems the best solution for our setting.
>
> We have looked into using a channel bank for the analog conectivity, 
> and we are currently in contact with Carrier Access to purchase a new 
> Adit 600 unit with space for 48 extensions. We cannot provide fxo 
> connectivity via the channel bank because the fxo card from CA seems 
> not to be EU approved. One downside of the channel bank is that we 
> need a special T1 card for it to operate with the asterisk pbx. Also, 
> channel banks seems to be a particular US concept, so we would have 
> difficulties to get replacement parts, if something breaks.
>
> Recently I heard of the alternative solution of a voip gateway, and 
> the particular units I have seen are the Mediatrix 1124 for fxs 
> connection and the Mediatrix 1204 for the fxo connection. Both units 
> support the SIP protocol, so it should be possible to connect them to 
> the asterisk PC via standard network connection. Mediatrix seems to 
> have resellers in Europe as well, so it might be possible that their 
> devices are Europe approved as well.
>
> Question:
>
> * Does anyone have any experience with these units in a UK setting?
>
> * For the 1124: Does it work with standard UK two wire phones? Are 
> there impedance problems
>         (especially concerning echo problems)?
>         Is the audio quality sufficient? Are they transparent to the 
> asterisk system, i.e.
>         does each fxs port look like a separate IP phone to the 
> asterisk system?
>
>
> * For the 1204: Would it be approved for connection into the UK PSTN 
> (The prospectus from Mediatrix
>         didn't say anything about regulatory approvals)? Can they 
> initiate outside calls / receive
>         incoming calls or are there problems (signalling compatible 
> with UK PSTN)? Are they
>         transparent to the asterisk system, i.e.does each fxo port 
> look like a separate IP phone
>         to the asterisk system?
>
>
> I do realize that these questions are quite broad, but do appreciate 
> any info. Thank you very much for your consideration.
>
>
> -- 
> dyslexics of the world - untie !
>
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