JeffF wrote:Oh, I figured out the penny charge . . . . .
My invoice for the port & keys came to $132.17 - they took a penny less from the credit card. They then subsequently took the extra penny in a separate transaction. Strange, but true.
That does seem odd.
Should you require further clarification, please submit a ticket:
https://support.fongo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. Select "VoIP Unlock Key"-->"Billing and Payment Inquiry" for the issue type.
Why the SPA2102? My brother has several on his shelf
Oh, I see.
If we get reliable fax connections over the ATA
For outgoing faxing, I have better luck with an OBi202 (OBi202 has two phone ports) and FPL (FPL faxing works well for me, provided the call is a local call) than I ever did with the SPA series and FPL.
For incoming faxes, you can let FPL's voicemail system answer the call. Log in at
https://www.freephoneline.ca/voicemailSettings. If voicemail to email is set to copy (or forward), you'll receive a PDF file of the fax document via email. I prefer to use Fongo Mobile for incoming faxes though. The fax can be viewed in the app itself. Freephoneline, unofficially, supports T.38 fax protocol. Configuration settings are found on pages 31 and 32 of the OBi2xx PDF guide:
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18805#p73839.
if the Obi is that much better than the Linksys then I might buy one
You can do more with an Obihai 2xx series ATA and FPL than you can with any other ATA that's intended for residential usage.
However, there's some controversy surrounding Obihai's support policies. For example, Obihai declared the OBi1xx series EOL (end of line) or discontinued and refuse to upgrade firmware
for OBi1xx users to continue using Google Voice (many people buy them for GV support), despite the fact there's no technical reason why OBi1xx series ATAs couldn't be made continue supporting Google Voice.
Obihai wants people to buy OBi2xx ATAs now instead. That's one way to generate more revenue from their existing customer base. Also, after an Obihai device is out of warranty, in order to continue receiving firmware updates via the Obitalk.com web portal, users must pay $10 USD per year. Obihai hardware (in particular, the features) are very good. The support policies leave some people cold (if not, livid). Firmware updates aren't necessary for people to continue using FPL though. It's mostly just a concern for Google Voice users. Personally, I would be extremely inconvenienced by not using an Obihai device with Freephoneline due to the manner in which I deal with telemarketers. But Obihai's support policies do bother me. I realize, in today's market, it's rare for devices to be supported forever. However, Obihai customers aren't told up front that they must continue paying $10 USD yearly in order to receive firmware updates once their devices are out of warranty. So, there's third party (hacked firmware) being developed now by a user named naf at dslreports voip forum:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r317927 ... mware-mods (ask questions about it over there please; and use hacked firmware at your own risk). I'm reluctant to discuss Google's service further on FPL's forums; I certainly won't be supporting it. It's not as though you can obtain a Canadian phone number using Google Voice anyway.
I think FPL offers very good value for its service. OBi2xx series ATAs, in my opinion, allow users to get the most out FPL's service. I recommend reading through the PDF guide to see everything you can do with an OBi2xx series ATA and FPL when you have some free time:
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18805. OBi2xx series ATAs are sold at Newegg Canada online. However,
should you discover you're happy with your SPA2102, then don't bother buying anything else. I see no need for people to buy something else if they're already satisfied. By the way, the OBi3xx series is not an upgrade to the OBi2xx series. Rather, using official firmware, the OBi3xx series does not support Google Voice.