Call forwarding without forward on no answer?

[325xi]

That's kinda strange that having so extensive functionality of call routing Voxalot doesn't offer such basics as call hunt. It should take nothing to implement that...

[emoci]

Originally Posted by 325xi

That's kinda strange that having so extensive functionality of call routing Voxalot doesn't offer such basics as call hunt. It should take nothing to implement that...

That would've been my reaction a few months ago too...but I've done some testing since then:

1. PBXes has a Call Hunting Feature via Ring Groups
2. MySipSwitch has a raw implementation of simultaneous calls

The issue I have found is that while most of these solutions can ring multiple destinations, receiving and carrying out a call gets tricky....audio gets lost, calls drop...and so on

One issue that VoXalot and other hosted PBX systems have to deal with, that successful implementations of this feature like CallWithUs, CallCentric (I believe Acanac too), and of course something like GC can skip over, is that not only do we want to forward to multiple destinations, but we want to do it via multiple providers, or we want to do it via a single consumer level provider that probably supports no more than one or two simultaneous channels....routing SIP this way is the easy part, but making sure the media is routed correctly when one of these destinations picks up seems problematic

I've noted that many successful implementations of this, have you pay them for the Call Routing feature, and force you to use their service for placing the call as well, having the adavntage of maintaining control of the call all the way to the PSTN destination...

Note, I say this as someone whose understanding of the process is just from a user point of view, lacking complete comprehension of what the backend truly looks like.....

[325xi]

Originally Posted by emoci

One issue that VoXalot and other hosted PBX systems have to deal with, that successful implementations of this feature like CallWithUs, CallCentric (I believe Acanac too), and of course something like GC can skip over, is that not only do we want to forward to multiple destinations, but we want to do it via multiple providers, or we want to do it via a single consumer level provider that probably supports no more than one or two simultaneous channels....routing SIP this way is the easy part, but making sure the media is routed correctly when one of these destinations picks up seems problematic

That's understandable, but at least sequential (not simultaneous) call hunt, and forward-at-no-answer/busy as a part of this still can be (supposedly) easily implemented.

Currently services offered by both payed Voxalot and free mysipswitch are not logically complete, so one cannot build robust VoIP solution based on just one (and even two) services. Unfortunately it most likely drives many people out of VoIP...

[emoci]

Originally Posted by 325xi

That's understandable, but at least sequential (not simultaneous) call hunt, and forward-at-no-answer/busy as a part of this still can be (supposedly) easily implemented.

Currently services offered by both payed Voxalot and free mysipswitch are not logically complete, so one cannot build robust VoIP solution based on just one (and even two) services. Unfortunately it most likely drives many people out of VoIP...

The features you mention here though have never been considered as features for the consumer...hence the issue:

The trouble is this:

Business VoIP Service

Benefits:
-High Reliability
-Simultaneous Ringing, Hunting Groups
-Call Que

Limitations
-Can only buy DID numbers from them (pay for incoming calls to those DIDs)
-Can only use them for outgoing Calls

A good Business VoIP starter that'll let you start with a Free A la Carte acct, is onSIP

Consumer Minded Aggregator Platform

Benefits:
-Multiple Providers of your Choice for inbound and outbound calls
-Call Routing and Smart Call dial plans to chose lowest cost routes

Limitations:
-Lack of complex Call Forward features, or issues with complex Call Forward features when they exist due to compatibility issues with third party providers

Good examples of such services are Voxalot - Home, SIP Switch : Use multiple VoIP providers with one SIP phone, or www.PBXes.com

To put things bluntly: We are reaching a point where we as consumers want business class features but with a consumer level price, VoIP is probably one of those services that can actually achieve this, but we are not there yet

[325xi]

I agree with most of the above, but... This is how it probably started, business services are for business use, aggregation platforms are for geeks and other enthusiasts . As in other areas of the same nature, things were developed mostly during afterhours, driven by people's excitment about possibilities that VoIP opens. So we had limited services that were easier to develop, with no real "home phone replacement for general population" idea in mind.

But now it's coming, and real consumers (not just geeks) get involved, but with totally different goals in mind: pay less, get more (features, minutes, etc)... this is what VoIP is about after all, isn't it? But here open platforms tend to stay behind, they still provide geek-oriented features, something very cool to play with, but not complete and reliable enough to serve as "next gen home phone".
Business platforms are still designed and priced for businesses. There's very little in between...

To put is simply, services I was asking about aren't really business class, they are natural for both markets, but they're absent in consumer platforms. Business class services start much higher, so things don't really overlap...