Intermittent audio Grandstream HT-286 ATA

[rj_snah]

Folks,

I am not very happy with freephoneline.ca customer service / tech support. I called multiple times before ordering my ATA asking if it would work with Xplornet Broadband Wireless internet and was told "yes it will work". I ordered my ATA and it arrived last week. I had intermittent audio issues right from the start. Finally my neighbour's son...an IT manager at University of Toronto...helped me troubleshoot my issues. Here's what we did:

- Forwarded UDP ports 5060-5061 and 10000-20000
- connected directly to my wireless broadband modem (removing the router from the equation)
- took my ATA to my neighbours and connected using their router and then direct connected to their modem

All options failed to give me a stable telephone connection. On some calls, out of each 10 seconds of connection I might get 1 or 2 seconds of audio. Other calls one party could hear the other but the other heard nothing.

I called on Tuesday to ask for a refund on the ATA as I'd like to get a Linksys PAP2 and try it. This morning my refund request was refused and the tech support guy says it's my wireless broadband internet that is the issue. Why would customer service lie to me that it would work?!? I want to get rid of Bell Canada but freephoneline.ca's customer service is no better!!!

Ok, so I'm stuck with this Grandstream paperweight unless someone here can help me out. Here's my set up:

- Xplornet Wireless Broadband internet connection with Motorola antenna and modem
- D-Link DIR-655 N router
- Grandstream HT-286 ATA
- Corded GE phone

Any advice would be appreciated.

RJ Snah

[ddd]

You must have a wired Internet: through phone wires or cable. Satellite and 3G (cellular) cannot warranty QoS (error free: no voice cut, no lost of registration) needed for VoIP.

VoIP cannot correct errors, or else, it's better to use walky talky. Download can gives you higher speed even with wireless error corrections. It isn't high speed that counts most for phone over Internet.

[rj_snah]

My Speedtest.net results are pretty consistent at 2.9 download and about .5 upload.

I wish customer service had this information about wireless broadband so they could have discouraged me from forking over $99.99 + tax for a paperweight. Anyone interested in buying an ATA with a 613 area code config file?

RJ

[rj_snah]

If anyone has any ideas please let me know. I really don't want to throw away a $100 investment.

Thanks...

RJ

[Jake]

Your problem unfortunately is probably xplorenet. I have had VERY bad experience with them a few years back before I was lucky enough to get DSL.

Although you speeds are pretty good on Speedtest.net, those speeds are not the full truth, and this is something xplorenet make it very hard for you to find out. It has only been in the last year or so that they actually put this information on their website. Before that they flat out denied they throttled the connection.

From those speeds you quoted I am guessing you have the xpress connection. Check out this page http://www.xplornet.com/legal/canopy-itmp.aspx and read this paragraph

Code: Select all

The Fair Access Policy on this service operates only during peak hours (between 8am and 1am local time). During this time, we subject traffic related to applications that are considered non time-sensitive (such as peer-to-peer file sharing, news groups, and online data storage) to a peak transfer speed of 300kbps download and 100kbps upload.  During non-peak hours (between 1am and 8am local time) this policy is not active.

Which tells me that they will throttle anything they want to 300kbs down and 100kbs up at all times between 8 in the morning to 1 the next day. At any rate your connection will be throttled after 3.5mb down or 600kb up.

What this all means is if you are doing things like web browsing, testing your speed, or getting emails; your connection will be fairly OK. Trying to do anything sustained or 'might' consume a lot of bandwidth is painful.

I'm sure xplorenet has a package that you will get reliable voip over, but you are going to be paying through the nose for it.

[ddd]

Once again, speed has nothing to do with Quality of Service needed for VoIP. Any wireless Internet cannot warranty QoS.

[rj_snah]

ddd you say...

[quote="ddd"]You must have a wired Internet: through phone wires or cable. Satellite and 3G (cellular) cannot warranty QoS (error free: no voice cut, no lost of registration) needed for VoIP.

...but Xplornet has their own VOIP service called IPTalk...

http://www.xplornet.com/technology/ipta ... rvice.aspx

How is it that Xplornet can provide VOIP over their service but freephoneline.ca can't?

freephoneline.ca? I guess you get what you pay for...nothing in life is free!!!

RJ

[rj_snah]

Jake,

I thought I had the Zoom package but maybe it is Xpress. I signed up just as the throttling policy was to be brought in but I am now under the impression that they did not implement it...I may be wrong though.

I have nothing but great things to say about Xplornet. Good service, great customer service, great tech support.

RJ

[Jake]

Well all I can say is I was with them 3 years ago, and they were throttling my connection then, but it was only until I got escalated up the tech reps as high as I could that would admit it. The first two levels I spoke to denied that they did anything of the sorts. I knew they did, and I eventually got them to admit they did. I really don't like it when a company lies to me. They blamed the slow connection on all sorts, one being the walk about phones I don't have, and another that there was a lot of leaves on the trees between me and the tower. They had not been here, so how they knew this I don't know, plus I had a pole put up along the edge of my property for the equipment and I have a VERY direct line of sight to the tower across one field with nothing between us.

For me the quality of the connection was poor (when throttled), but I probably have different internet use than you do, and being lied to and given the run around left a very bad taste in my mouth.

I use their flyers to light my fire with in the winter, and smile while I do it Childish I know, but it feels like I am getting my own back a little.

[rj_snah]

Jake,

We probably are quite different users. The only thing I use that might use considerable bandwidth is my Boxee Box for the occasional movie or hockey game.

I signed up with Xplornet as they were implementing (or first publicizing?) their throttling policy. When I read about the policy and as it was within my 30 day cancellation period I called immediately to cancel. I was contacted by their customer loyalty department within 24 hours asking how they could make things right. I had only been a customer for 72 hours!!! They extended my cancellation to 60 days, threw in 3 months free service and doubled the speed of my package for the duration of my 24 month contract. I like their customer service for this reason. I had an issue with trees on my property blocking my direct line of sight to their tower about 6 months after signing up. The local installer came out to my place and cut a limb off my tree so I could get a clear signal. He didn't have to do this but did so to make me happy.

I hate company's like freephoneline.ca. Their sales people told me repeatedly that the ATA would work with Xplornet. When I requested a refund because it did not work, the tech support people told me it was my fault for buying the ATA because it won't work in my situation. Refund refused!!! I'm not done with this. They will be getting daily calls from me until I have been given a fair shake. Failing that word of mouth goes a long way!

RJ

[OverDrive]

Once again, speed has nothing to do with Quality of Service needed for VoIP. Any wireless Internet cannot warranty QoS.

I rebuttle this statement

At work we have a line of sight technology, 100% wireless with a radio antenae on our roof. We have a PRI that gives us our phones, however we have a siptrunk to our Montreal office, and that's going through our site to site vpn, with no QoS, who is also on this line of sight technology (I won't name the company as we're leaving them soon, as we're getting raped with the price and service).

Our connection is 100% stable with regards to our voip traffic being shunted through the connection.

Now, RESIDENTIAL wireless may have issues, but I can 100% guarantee you that "Wireless" internet (ie, not fibre, cable, dsl, or anything else connected physically) performs perfectly fine with VOIP.

[rj_snah]

Thanks for your input Overdrive. I spoke to someone in tech support and they may re-open my ticket and send me a "trade" ATA. I'll give it a try.

RJ