VIOP phones

Do 'standard' DECT phones work with VIOP (eg BT4600, Panasonic KX-TGD620EB) or will I still need an ATA ? Is there a simple way of finding a VIOP phone that doesn't need an ATA ?

Thanks

In reply to a post by mikegg:

Do 'standard' DECT phones work with VIOP (eg BT4600, Panasonic KX-TGD620EB) or will I still need an ATA ? Is there a simple way of finding a VIOP phone that doesn't need an ATA ?

To use VOIP a DECT station could be connected to an ATA.

There is the Gigaset N300 VOIP DECT base station, which has an ethernet RJ45 port. It works best with Gigaset DECT phones.

In reply to a post by mikegg:

Do 'standard' DECT phones work with VIOP (eg BT4600, Panasonic KX-TGD620EB) or will I still need an ATA ? Is there a simple way of finding a VIOP phone that doesn't need an ATA ?

Thanks

Good recommendation above.👍

The Gigaset N300 IP and N300A IP (A denotes answering machine built-in) are great little bases for a very reasonable cost. You can hook up your broadband connection directly to the base with an Ethernet cable. There are lots of 3rd party VoIP services that are preconfigured on the base or use your own custom config. Really easy compared to an ATA. You can even run a regular analogue PSTN line to the base and run both simultaneously. Good DECT coverage too.

Another good choice is a Yealink W60P, these are the phones often given out by BT for their BT Voice service so you would hope they are reliable, so you get a DECT base station with VoIP and a DECT handset.

All I would say about the older Gigaset products is that they don't support secure SIP. That may or may not be an issue depending on your chosen provider.

The N300A IP - easy to set up easy to manage. 6 x VoIP connections from up to 6 providers plus an analog if you wish. A range of good Gigaset Handset.

Sometime it will be sold as something like S850 GO - teh GO refers to te N300A IP.

The Yealink seem good BUT I have not tried it with the usual user interface just with the restricted BT access.

Many thanks - Looks like I need an ATA then if most DECT phones need one - which would you suggest at a reasonable price ?

Only worth getting an ATA if you already have a lot of DECT phones you want to reuse, or need it to support older equipment (alarm systems for example).

Personally I'd get a something as mentioned, a new DECT system that supports VoIP. Not only is it a tidier setup, you will likely save on power consumptions costs. The Yealink I have (W60P) only draws 1.2 Watts, the handsets once charged register 0 watts. This is quite a bit less than the analogue DECT base station I had a few years ago and will pay for itself given time.

Also with an ATA that outputs analogue it will lose you the ability to easily benefit form HD voice, especially if feeding into older telephones, and things like Caller ID may not work as expected.

Edited by E300 (Tue 10-Aug-21 09:27:25)

I looked at an ATA option a few years back and decided then to move to a VoIP base station. Not much extra in cost at that time and don't regret it.

https://www.ligo.co.uk/gigaset-s850a-go-cordless-phone An N300A IP base plus handset - £79.99 and extra handsets of the same style or others easily available.

There are one or two routers with built in DECT/Voip base stations such as the Fritzbox which make for a tidier set up. I use the Fritzbox 7530 and a Voipfone account--works perfectly.
I imagine with the foothold that VOIP is getting now other manufacturers may follow suit.
best
Phil

In reply to a post by mikegg:

Many thanks - Looks like I need an ATA then if most DECT phones need one - which would you suggest at a reasonable price ?

In all honesty ATA are bloody horrid things. Try to avoid if you can. As above.

I'm currently using the Fritzbox Zen give customers as a ATA wi-fi bridge as I have a much more powerful router hooked already. It was a bit of hassle setting it up in that mode, but seems OK

A Fritzbox is quite heavy on the power consumption for the task it is doing, could be around £1.50 a month to just run that box as an ATA, compared to a dedicated VoIP device at around 19p a month, so always worth taking hidden costs into account. Would work out cheaper after around 5 or 6 years if buying a dedicated VoIP/DECT system rather than hacking a free router, not to mention a dedicated DECT set up being easier to configure, tidier and offering more functionality. Just saying

It's not just acting as an ATA it is also acting as a wireless bridge to a couple of things by the phone (replacing another old router that used to do the job)

In reply to a post by jpm:

All I would say about the older Gigaset products is that they don't support secure SIP. That may or may not be an issue depending on your chosen provider.

I am new to investigating VoIP, but of course security is always a consideration.
Are you saying secure SIP could be an issue with some providers as they might require secure connections for call setup, and that this does not affect the voice call itself?

I note from the S850 GO manual it sys: "Security: The phone supports the establishment of secure data connections on the Internet with the TLS security protocol". Sorry if I am mixing things up .

Specifically, it seems N300 IP can be configured to work with Sipgate. Not sure how that differs from Go Box 100 (inc with S850 Go).

In reply to a post by aks:

I am new to investigating VoIP, but of course security is always a consideration.
Are you saying secure SIP could be an issue with some providers as they might require secure connections for call setup, and that this does not affect the voice call itself?

I note from the S850 GO manual it sys: "Security: The phone supports the establishment of secure data connections on the Internet with the TLS security protocol". Sorry if I am mixing things up .

Specifically, it seems N300 IP can be configured to work with Sipgate. Not sure how that differs from Go Box 100 (inc with S850 Go).

Sipgate don't support any form of encryption. If you are in control of your own network in your own home then this doesn't pose much more (or even less) of a security risk than a normal landline which can be tapped at any point between your house and the exchange. If for example you use a shared network, perhaps a Wi-Fi network shared between a few different flats, or to be used in the office on their network as your private phone, then it is quite easy for someone without your knowing to capture the packets of data on the network and listen to the phone call. Once that data leaves your home and gets mingled up with everyone else's it takes some specialist knowledge and kit to break inti the network and listen to your call, so if they are that well equipped to listen to your call it is some top government department and they will listening to your calls regardless of your encryption settings as they'll have the means!

So yes the N300IP can be used with Sipgate, maybe not as future proofed if it doesn't support secure connections that you might have available later and want to use.

Just for clarity, the GoBox100 is an N300A IP - the A referring to the integral answer machine.

Agreed.

Most of the hacks and exploits happen when folks expose their own (improperly secured) asterisk boxes to the open internet. These are a much juicier potential feast for hackers, than a single resi SIP client behind a firewall.

Ah ok, thanks - just a rebranding exercise !

Thanks for sharing advice! We are all tracked by governments wherever we are, and who knows what the spooks are up to .