asterisk users - Dec 2004 - Kind of off-topic: VoIP services and multiple callers

Hello Everyone,

I've been running Asterisk as our PBX for several months now, and
recently I've been thinking about using one of the VoIP providers to
lower our phone bill.  

I know that VoIP providers can supply their customers with a local
number and/or virtual numbers, and then that number/account can be used
with Asterisk (well, it depends on the provider and whether or not their
service is compatible with Asterisk).  However, I have a question: can
more than one person make/receive a call at the same using one VoIP
line?  

In the analog world this obviously isn't possible, but with VoIP, it's
just bandwidth: the more callers, the more bandwidth.  I keep saying to
myself it should be possible, but the VoIP providers don't provide any
information about this.

If five people in the office all need to use their phones at the same
time, would I need five VoIP lines, or would I only need one VoIP line?
Am I over-thinking this?

Thanks in advance,

Ranbir

-- 
Kanwar Ranbir Sandhu
Systems Aligned Inc.
www.systemsaligned.com

Inline...
> I know that VoIP providers can supply their customers with a local
> number and/or virtual numbers, and then that number/account can be used
> with Asterisk (well, it depends on the provider and whether or not their
> service is compatible with Asterisk).  However, I have a question: can
> more than one person make/receive a call at the same using one VoIP
> line?  
Some providers support multiple calls, others don't.
 
> If five people in the office all need to use their phones at the same
> time, would I need five VoIP lines, or would I only need one VoIP line?
> Am I over-thinking this?
Same answer. Its up to the provider, and when they do support multiple
calls, they typically charge a fee/minute/call so its no skin off their
back.

I guess it is going to depend upon your provider.  

Our providers do support multiple calls.  We use one provider for inbound
calls and one provider for outbound calls.  We can have up to five
simultaneous inbound calls (why five?) and up to 25 simultaneous outbound
calls.  We can't even begin to test these limits so I can't confirm
them.

Bill Seddon

-----Original Message-----
From: asterisk-users-bounces@lists.digium.com
[mailto:asterisk-users-bounces@lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Kanwar Ranbir
Sandhu
Sent: December 06, 2004 8:58 PM
To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
Subject: [Asterisk-Users] Kind of off-topic: VoIP services and
multiplecallers

Hello Everyone,

I've been running Asterisk as our PBX for several months now, and
recently I've been thinking about using one of the VoIP providers to
lower our phone bill.  

I know that VoIP providers can supply their customers with a local
number and/or virtual numbers, and then that number/account can be used
with Asterisk (well, it depends on the provider and whether or not their
service is compatible with Asterisk).  However, I have a question: can
more than one person make/receive a call at the same using one VoIP
line?  

In the analog world this obviously isn't possible, but with VoIP, it's
just bandwidth: the more callers, the more bandwidth.  I keep saying to
myself it should be possible, but the VoIP providers don't provide any
information about this.

If five people in the office all need to use their phones at the same
time, would I need five VoIP lines, or would I only need one VoIP line?
Am I over-thinking this?

Thanks in advance,

Ranbir

-- 
Kanwar Ranbir Sandhu
Systems Aligned Inc.
www.systemsaligned.com

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