VoIPisms! What An ATA Is And Does

January 11, 2017 by Angela Burgin-Logan

Acronyms are everywhere these days. Especially on social media with acronyms like BRB (be right back), LOL (laugh out loud), and DM (direct message). Acronyms can even pop up in the business world with clever terms like MTD (month to date), ETA (estimated time of arrival) and OOO (out of office).

When it comes to the VoIP world, you will see acronyms like DID (direct inward dialing), FXO (foreign exchange office), FXS (foreign exchange station) and more telecommunications terms.

But, knowing what VoIP terms stand for and knowing how they can help businesses and residential customers can be two different things! Luckily, we speak VoIP! In our new series, VoIPisms we are going to be demystifying common VoIP acronyms and terms from A to Z! First up we explore what an ATA is.

 

ATA – Analog Telephone Adapter

It sounds pretty simple, right? But what does it do? An ATA, or analog telephone adapter, is a device that’s used to connect your old analog telephones or fax machines to a VoIP network. If you are looking to start using VoIP but you’re not comfortable getting rid of your old analog phones yet, this is the device that you’re going to want to start looking into. These devices are pretty small and compact. Small enough to fit in your pocket!

A good example of how small ATA’s can get would be the Grandstream HT802. The Grandstream HT802 is an advanced 2-port ATA that is packed into an award winning stylish compact design. Grandstream’s HT802 has market leading VoIP features and functionalities that are suitable for residential and business deployment.  You can watch VoIP Supply unbox the new Grandstream HT802 here.

Grandstream HT802 ATA

If you’re looking for more information on how ATA’s actually work, you can download our free Buyer’s Guide! You can purchase Grandstream’s HT802 ATA here. If you have more questions about ATA’s, VoIP products or services feel free to give the VoIP Supply experts a call at (800) 398-8647, or visit voipsupply.com

How Do I Reboot Grandstream GXP2130?

Our tech support team at VoIP Supply offers great pre- and post-sales support plus provisioning, consultations, configuration, and installation help. We get a lot of VoIP hardware and software questions and would like to share the solutions with everyone.

In the previous Mom’s calling Q&A series, we have discussed: Grandstream PBX UCM6102 Shows Account is not Registered. What Can I do? Today, we have more new real questions and answers from VoIP users just like you.

How Do I Reboot Grandstream GXP2130?

Q: Is there a way to reboot Grandstream GXP2130 without physically unplugging them? When we have a power outage, some of the phones don’t reconnect properly. The incoming and outgoing calls can no longer work. The phones need to be rebooted for the entire system to work.

A: You would have to reboot the switch then (hard reboot). On the phone display press the right arrow on the navigation pad where on the LCD display you will see the two dots “..” Then there should be an option to “Reboot”.

Stay Tuned

Come back for more VoIP questions and answers next time! If you have VoIP questions to ask us, please submit a technical support ticket or contact our VoIP experts today at 866-582-8591

VoIP Supply Named Eastern Region Direct Partner Of The Year At NextCon

NextCon16NextCon–Nextiva (www.nextiva.com), an industry-leading cloud communications company, awarded VoIP Supply North America’s leading Voice over Internet Protocol solutions provider, as their Eastern Region Direct Partner of the Year at NextCon16.

VoIP Supply Awarded Nextiva's Eastern Region Direct Partner of the Year at NextCon16

VoIP Supply and Nextiva have created a strong partnership which is grounded in helping businesses succeed. Nextiva’s commitment to businesses was showcased at NextCon. The breakthrough business conference drew over 1,500 attendees who were inspired by 50 speakers including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former chief evangelist of Apple Guy Kawasaki and other high octane tech superstars at 40 sessions which focused on multiple tracks ranging from entrepreneurship, business development, sales, marketing, IT, customer service and more.

“Our mission at VoIP Supply is to build a great company, with great people, who do great things. We endeavor to provide the utmost care for our customers and community placing them at the forefront of all that we do. We are proud to partner with a company like Nextiva who has a similar mission. We are tremendously honored for this recognition from a company that we admire and collaborate with to help businesses succeed.” said Benjamin P. Sayers.

Tomas Gorny, Nextiva’s CEO said, “Our company DNA is not just about selling products,” adding. “It is about helping businesses get better.”

Nextiva CEO Tomas Gorny

VoIP Supply is a company whose goals are centered around what’s best for the customer a sentiment that was echoed by Carl Katz, director of eastern U.S. channel sales at Nextiva who shared at NextCon that the company’s business model isn’t focused on simply selling a commoditized phone service instead he underscored Nextiva’s commitment to helping deliver what companies need to grow their business saying that Nextiva is focused on “solution selling”.

VoIP Supply which became Western New York’s first certified B Corporation driven by their commitment to improve the communities that they serve joined in with Nextiva’s social media campaign, #NextCon16. Nextiva has connected NextCon with their philanthropic and community outreach program Nextiva Cares and has made NextCon a non-profit event. Throughout #NextCon16 attendees were encouraged to share their experience on social media using #NextCon16. Nextiva Cares pledged five dollars to local non-profits for every social media post that included the hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. This led to over 4,100 social posts in just three days. As a result, Nextiva Cares donated $20,500 to twelve local non-profit organizations.

 

Nextiva's Xbert and Nextiva Cares Donation at NextCon16

Highlights from NextCon16!

ABOUT NEXTIVA Nextiva provides cloud-based communications and collaboration solutions designed to simplify the way businesses communicate. Founded in 2006 on the principle of Amazing ServiceÂŽ, Nextiva serves more than 100,000 businesses in the United States from its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. Learn more at www.nextiva.com.

About VoIP Supply

VoIP Supply, LLC (www.voipsupply.com) is North America’s leading VoIP solutions provider. Since 2002, VoIP Supply has delivered valuable solutions for some 125,000 customers worldwide. With passionate employees, 6,500 products, 20,000 square feet of office space and an unlimited number of VoIP solutions to meet your needs, whether you are a consumer, business, service provider or reseller, VoIP Supply has everything you need for VoIP. For sales and media inquiries contact [email protected].

To learn more, call (800) 398-8647, or visit voipsupply.com and follow VoIP Supply on social media: Facebook (VoIPSupply), Twitter (VoIPSupply) and LinkedIn (VoIPSupply)

VoIP Supply to Exhibit at ITEXPO Florida 2017

January 10, 2017 by Mary Cheney

VoIP Supply will showcase the RenegadePBX Mini, Partner Program and VoIP Fulfillment on February 8-10th at world’s leading business technology show.

itexpo2017

Buffalo, NY – January 10, 2017 – VoIP Supply, North America’s leading Voice over Internet Protocol solutions provider, announced today that it will be showcasing its RenegadePBX Mini, Partner Program and VoIP Fulfillment at ITEXPO, held February 8-10, 2017 at Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. ITEXPO is the world’s leading business technology tradeshow, and will converge education, innovation and networking across the entire community of IT professionals and thought leaders. Meet VoIP Supply at ITEXPO at booth #428 to learn more about the RenegadePBX Mini, Partner Program and VoIP Fulfillment.

At ITEXPO, executives, technology buyers, sellers, resellers and manufacturers from companies of all sizes and industries will assemble to forge new business partnerships, collaborate and learn together and from one another. Dozens of conferences sessions, keynotes and panels will be focused on helping attendees move their businesses forward.

“We are very excited to be participating as a Platinum Partner at ITEXPO this year.” said Paula Griffo, President and CFO of VoIP Supply. “It is a great opportunity for us to showcase our RenegadePBX Mini and programs to the technology community.”

Since 2002, VoIP Supply has provided expert knowledge to the VoIP industry, its customers, and has also provided unmatched product availability to over 125,000 customers. In early 2015, Founder and CEO Ben Sayers saw a need in the current VoIP market for a simple, universal, and unique appliance that would meet the demands of a growing industry. With our RenegadePBX line, we are able to provide our customers with an affordable solution for VoIP that allows them the freedom to choose the model that best fits their needs. The VoIP Supply Partner Program is designed to assist all of our partners who want to offer the perfect telecommunications solution to their clients. Our straightforward program and commission structure makes it easy for you to choose what is best for your business. And lastly but certainly not least Fulfillment by VoIP Supply. The team behind VoIP Fulfillment has been providing provisioning and fulfillment to VoIP Service Providers since the industry’s beginning. Our services have continued to evolve and improve over time, leveraging current technologies and passing along the access and efficiency to our customers.

Event: ITEXPO Florida 2017

Date & Time: February 8-10, 2017

Location: Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Booth #428

Reserve your seats at ITEXPO today! 

Simple Phone Co. Increases Sales and Efficiency with Fulfillment by VoIP Supply

January 9, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

simple-phone-coSimple Phone Co. is a cloud-based phone service provider for business and teams based in California. What started as tiny IT consulting project in 2009 is now a growing start-up making a splash in the vast ocean of voice. Their mission is to build incredible experiences that take the hassle out of managing phone solutions, and just this month launched their unique Provide white-label solution for wholesale and providers.

 

Lost Time in Managing Fulfillment and Inventories

As Simple Phone Co. expands their personalized support and intuitive solutions, they realized they had lost critical time in managing fulfillment and inventories – which distracted them from their core experience focuses. At that point, Simple Phone Company started looking for a professional fulfillment team who shares the same attention to detail and efficiency on product fulfillment, to meet their fast growing needs.

Referred by their Managed Network development partner, Simple Phone Company consulted and partnered with VoIP Supply to discuss their growth and how VoIP Supply could assist them with their Fulfillment needs.

fulfillment-by-voipsupply

When asked about the reason they chose VoIP Supply, Chris Meadows, Founder and CEO of Simple Phone Company, said “Relationship is the basis of any work with a partner or vendor we do business with. With every phone and box shipped and delivered with VoIP Supply, our customers receive the experience only possible between two partners who value it so critically. Every phone delivers on time, with quick fulfillment upon order, in clean boxes, and perfectly placed collateral…When was the last time you received a clean package, and delivered with straight labels?”

 

Quick Delivery with Customized Colors and Logo

Since partnering with Fulfillment by VoIP Supply, Simple Phone Company has enjoyed the quick delivery service and worry-free inventory management. They benefit from the wide array of hardware resources that enables Simple Phone Company to ship phones in every make and model, in customized colors, with their own logo, and personalized collateral. And, most important of all, now they finally have more time to focus on their core business development and continuing to develop more great experiences.

voip-logoThey have not only seen an increase in sales and customer satisfaction but they were also able to bring their unique fulfillment experience to their exciting new wholesale solutions by allowing white-label users to tap into the same great resources.

“As a critical partner, VoIP Supply has enabled us to better master the tangible parts of our experience, while allowing our teams to deliver great hardware and work like our users – around the world and in any time zone.” – Chris Meadows, Founder and CEO of Simple Phone Co.

Simple Phone Company plans to expand their deliverable resources with Fulfillment by VoIP Supply in 2017 to meet their business growth needs.

Does your business need a VoIP fulfillment service? What’s your fulfillment experience? Contact our Channel Manager, Don Stefanie, at 716-213-6906 for a free consultation today to discover your business potential.

Updated VoIP Guides Available!

January 6, 2017 by Ying-Hui Chen

Are you a VoIP beginner who likes to learn at your own pace? Are you interested in learning VoIP with an easy-to-follow guide? Take advantage of our free VoIP Buyers Guides!

buyers-guides

The educational guides offer you an understandable definition and examples of the VoIP hardware, system, or service being discussed. The guides also show you applicable situations for which the respective hardware can fit into.

What Updated VoIP Guides Are Available?

thumbnail_aguidetovoipphonesTo make your learning experience even better, we have updated some of our VoIP guides. Follow the links below to find the four updated VoIP guides:

What Other VoIP Guides Do I Have?

As of today, our VoIP guides cover 10 main topics. Aside from the four topics above, we also provide:

If any of the guide content raises any questions, just raise your hand by calling 800-398-VoIP to talk to an Account Manager. We look forward to helping your VoIP learning!


See All the VoIP Guides

New and Improved T4S Series from Yealink

January 5, 2017 by Youleidy Vega

Today, Yealink a leading manufacturer of VoIP Phones and Unified Communications equipment released the T4S Series of IP Phones, which are the enhanced version of the previous T4G/P models.

As you can see from the image below, the T4S Series have the same elegant look you’ve come to know and love. However, the hardware in the phone has been enhanced to handle faster response on the phone’s user interface and also to support future firmware upgrades.t4s-series-comparison This way as Yealink continues to add more features to the phone’s firmware, the T4S Series are equipped to handle them.

The T4S Series share the same V81 firmware across all models so that managing and provisioning the phones is easier and convenient.

In addition, and a feature that many were asking for, the new T4S Series have Opus Support, a popular High Definition (HD) audio codec that is well known and highly used in the Carrier/ITSP market. With Opus, the T4S Series are a competitive phone that feature high-end speech quality.

But that is not all, the T4S also have the advantage of being Hearing Aid (HAC) Compatible. The handset makes it easy for a person who suffers from hearing loss to hear more clearly. And for users who prefer to use the speakerphone, the speaker components have been enhanced to optimize acoustic performance over the speakerphone.t42s-left

Unlike its predecessors, the new T41S and T42S have a USB port for added extension capabilities such as a Wi-Fi dongle (WF40) or a USB headset. Both of these models also feature Bluetooth connectivity through the Yealink BT40 dongle so that users can pair with a Bluetooth headset or smartphone in order to synchronize calling, contacts and call history.  The T4S Series are compatible with the same accessories used with the T4 G/P models. The YHS32 Headset, the EHS36 Electronic Hookswitch, the BT40 Bluetooth dongle, the WF40 Wi-Fi dongle, and the same power adapters and wall mounts (corresponding to like models) can be used.

The best part of this new release is that the T4S models boast tons of enhancements, but at no extra cost since they have the same price point as the old T4 series.

Enhancements summarized:

  • Device performance enhancement/ faster response on the phone’s user interface.
  • Opus support
  • Enhanced speaker performance
  • Additional USB port for the T42S & T41S (USB functions available circa 1Q2017)
  • Unified Firmware
  • Hearing aid compatible (HAC) Handset

Although the T4S models are coming in hot, the previous versions are still available with no EOL (End of Life) plan in view. If the old models do become EOL’d, don’t worry, Yealink will continue to offer service, firmware upgrades and additional features for the T4G/P Series.

Check out the T4S Series here. And if you have any questions don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-398-VoIP.

Skype Ready Phones – Best Phones for Skype

December 28, 2016 by Ying-Hui Chen

SKYPE Whether you are a current Skype user or you are just about to step into the Skype world, you may have already experienced or heard a lot of complaints about not being about to get Skype to function smoothly during the calls.

In the blog: Improve Skype for Business Audio/Video Quality, we discussed the top factors that affect your Skype call quality. Choosing an ideal Skype-optimized phone is the first step to building a satisfactory Skype call experience.

Here we highlight the best Skype ready phones at VoIP Supply that will take your communication to the next level!

 

What are the Best Skype Ready Phones?

grandstream-gxv-3240The Grandstream GXV 3240 is one of the most popular Skype phones that is designed for all size companies and Android smartphone users. It is a 6-line multimedia Gigabit VoIP video phone that comes with a 3-way video conferencing, a tiltable CMOS camera and HD audio/ voice.

Combined the functionality of a multimedia platform with a 6-line video phone for an all-in-one voice, video, data, and mobility solution, the Grandstream GXV 3240 is the most powerful solution for users connecting from different channels.

Popular Features:

  • 6 lines with up to 6 SIP accounts including FREE IPVideoTalk account with video mail
  • Phonebook with up to 1000 contacts and call history with up to 1000 records
  • Up to 6-way audio conference and 3-way video conference
  • Dual switched auto-sensing 10/100/1000 Mbps network ports
  • Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), PoE+, Bluetooth, USB, SD, HDMI, EHS with Plantronics headsets support

 

Snom MeetingPointThe Konftel 300 Conference Phone

If you are looking for a solution that allows you to set up multi-party calls easily and quality, the Konftel 300 Conference Phone will fit in just right. With the Konftel 300, you can easily combine or switch between connections to analog lines, mobile phones, or PCs at the drop of a hat.

Covering an area of up to 323 feet (or 10 people), the Konftel 300 also enables wireless headsets and external loudspeakers/ microphones connection to ensure that you hear and are being heard loud and clear.

Popular Features:

  • A new generation of OmniSound audio technology
  • USB connection for VoIP calls
  • The line mode makes it easy for you to combine and switch between connectivity technologies (analog, USB, GSM)
  • The conference guide makes it easy to set up multiparty calls
  • Record and listen to your meetings with an SD memory card.

 

The Polycom VVX 500 MS Skype for Business Edition is another great choice for people who are searching for a dependable, multi-tasking business media phone that can keep you up with your busy work schedule.

polycom-vvx500The Polycom VVX 500 is a Lync-licensed 12 SIP line IP phone with HD Voice featuring a 3.5 inch TFT color touchscreen, 2 USB 2.0 ports for multiple media uses and storage applications. Users benefit from useful functionalities such as managing exchange calendars and contacts on the phone, meeting reminders and extend PC desktop to include the VVX 500’s phone screen to increase work efficiency.

Popular Features:

  • Gesture-based, multitouch-capable, capacitive touchscreen
  • 3.5-in TFT LCD display at QVGA (320×240 pixel) resolution, 4:3 aspect ratio
  • Streaming media video playback
  • Screensaver and digital picture frame mode
  • On-screen virtual keyboard
  • Voicemail and video mail support
  • Dual USB ports (2.0 compliant) for media and storage applications

See More Skype Phones!

Grandstream PBX UCM6102 Shows Account is not Registered. What Can I do?

Our tech support team at VoIP Supply offers great pre- and post-sales support plus provisioning, consultations, configuration, and installation help. We get a lot of VoIP hardware and software questions and would like to share the solutions with everyone.

In previous Mom’s calling Q&A series, we have discussed: Jabra UC Voice 550 MS: How to Increase the Speaking Volume? Today, we have more new real questions and answers from VoIP users just like you.

 

Grandstream PBX UCM6102 Shows Account is not Registered. What Can I do?

grandstreamucmQ: I am using a Grandstream PBX (UCM6102 in the demo kit) for the first time. My phone is showing up under zero config but I get “Account is not registered”. What am I overlooking?

A: You must create the extension first and then assign the extension in Zero config by clicking on the edit (“pencil icon”) and then drop down to the Account, you will see the extension there and this will associate with the IP address of the phone. Click on the “update icon” and this will send a NOTIFY to the phone to SIP register the phone.

 

Stay Tuned

Come back for more VoIP questions and answers next time! If you have VoIP questions to ask us, please submit a technical support ticket or contact our VoIP experts today at (866) 582-8591.

More from: Q & A Ying-Hui Chen

RIP Elastix – Hello Renegade and FreePBX

December 21, 2016 by Marc Spehalski

If you haven’t heard, Elastix, which was once considered a permanent and trusted fixture in open source VoIP, is no longer a thing.

At least, not in the way it traditionally existed. It is now a product of 3CX, which is a good serviceable platform, but it is not the Elastix we all knew and loved. It now joins Trixbox, as the dearly departed.

What’s going on with Elastix?

Elastix Asterisk-based open source PBX platformElastix was one of the first platforms I tinkered with when I first discovered the strangely interesting world of VoIP, and I really liked what it offered. It has a built-in mail server, instant messaging, calendar, CRM, fax server, and of course an Asterisk phone system. It was built on top of FreePBX, which had been a supporter of Elastix for many years. With that said, it never really stood on its own legs. It sported its own user interface, but under the hood sat a somewhat dated version of FreePBX, and of course Asterisk.

Elastix entered a rapid decline after FreePBX version 13 was released almost a year ago, which was a true re-definition of FreePBX and raised the bar for open source telephony. The lack of updated to Elastix (other than cosmetic), left those interested in deploying an open source phone system seeking alternative solutions. While the Elastix software remained functional, Sangoma proved its ability to commercially support its software, and release timely updates and patches.

Before going any further, I’d like to address any confusion on IP PBX appliances since some of my posts encourage cloud based hosting versus on-premise appliances. There are several factors that some use to dictate whether or not you should host your phone system in the cloud or use an appliance. The usual two are CapX and OpX, and which best fits with organizations.  The dirty truth about modern IP phone systems is that they are incredibly inexpensive when compared to systems 10 to 15 years ago. With that said, it’s fairly cheap to use an appliance on-premise which saves you recurring costs and also Internet bandwidth, which might be a game changer for those with limited options when connecting to the Internet (assuming using SIP trunking). There is, of course, another device to maintain, power, and keep cool, but since the CapX is very low, it may be worth it for you.

Conversely, the advantages of a cloud hosted system are apparent, with convenience being a top benefit, but you will always have that monthly expense. You can, of course, migrate from one platform to another (with software like FreePBX) if you find that a particular solution works better for you. Truthfully, I like both solutions for different situations, but for this posting, we’ll be talking about appliances.

Renegade PBX Mini and FreePBX

RenegadePBX mini Appliance (with FreePBX)For those of you looking to migrate from Elastix, or even start fresh, I’d like to introduce to you the Renegade PBX Mini from VoIP Supply. The Renegade Mini is a purpose-built appliance with the small to medium size businesses in mind. It can support up to 100 SIP extensions and 75 concurrent calls. It’s also paired well with Sangoma’s FreePBX, which can ship on the Renegade Mini directly from VoIP Supply.

Inside the Renegade Mini, there’s a dual-core Atom processor, 2 Gigs of memory and SSD storage. It also includes one Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI out, VGA out, and four USB ports, and one PCI-E port fo telephony cards.

The Renegade Mini can be ordered with various telephony cards with FXS, FXO, and T1 interfaces, so it can use your existing telco connection (FXO, T1) while also fully supporting SIP trunking. A major benefit to the Renegade Mini is that there is a very low total cost of ownership. Essentially, the software is free (utilizing FreePBX), which does not require any licensing, and does not impose any limitations on things like the number of extensions that can exist, or concurrent calls. The only limitations are hardware resource based. FreePBX does offer commercial modules, which you pay for, but none of them are required to have a fully functional system.

As of last week, Sangoma has released a Conversion Tool to help with migration from Elastix (with FreePBX 2.9 or newer) which can save you a lot of time and effort, especially if you were not the one who originally configured the system.

VoIP Supply can also help you migrate from one system to another (even if you are not coming from Elastix), or even provision a brand new deployment for you for an additional charge. If you’re new to VoIP and want to hit the ground running with an appliance-based solution, reach out to VoIP Supply and they’ll be happy to take care of you.

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