Recommended VOIP ATA device for Edmonton Alberta ?

[tanny]

Hi all,
A friend of ours wants to purchase a FPL "VOIP Unlock Key" setup.

His Location:
Edmonton Alberta.
ISP: High bandwidth Cable/Internet package. (I don't have their company namne But I can get it if you need it).
He purchased their Modem/WiFi/Router as a package deal, I don't have the exact make/model of it, but it has built-in WiFi, and (4) Lan ports, + a Wan port, afaik.?
(but if you need more info, let me know).

My question(s) here are:
1./ -is a freephonline.ca "VOIP Unlock Key" phone number available for him in Edmonton, Alberta.?

2./ -What is a good, simple, easy to setup "VOIP ATA device" today that he could purchase, preferably cheap, strictly for home/residential use, but of good quality.

3./ -Can he connect behind his existing ISP-provided Router? aka, his existing Cable/ISP-provided Router, is directly connected to his ISP Internet, and the VOIP ATA device would be connected into one of the LAN ports in the back, and assigned a local NAT IPaddress, just like the rest of his PC's and/or Laptop.

We tested his ISP-provided WiFi/Router with Teamviewer and Rustdesk and it appears his ports are all "PnP" automatically, since Teamviewer and Rustdesk work flawlessly between me and him.
------------------

I myself, am in Ontario, and have been with FPL for over 10 years, with my old trusty SPA2102, so I don't really know what a good VOIP ATA device is these days.
I've been reading here about Grandstrean, Obihai, ....?

Any recommendations or advice, regarding a good VOIP ATA device would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead.

[Liptonbrisk]

1./ -is a freephonline.ca "VOIP Unlock Key" phone number available for him in Edmonton, Alberta.?

Yes, according to https://support.freephoneline.ca/hc/art ... rs#alberta.

Freephoneline's servers are located in southern Ontario, and the longer the path to the servers, the greater the opportunity for a problem to occur along the path (in addition to increased jitter and pings). With that in mind, and since you use an SPA2102, read point 26 from viewtopic.php?p=80549#p80549. Specifically, refer to the ping and WinMTR tests from the bottom portion of point 26.

What is a good, simple, easy to setup "VOIP ATA device" today that he could purchase, preferably cheap, strictly for home/residential use, but of good quality.

I don't associate "cheap" with "good quality" generally. If cheap(er) is a priority, then a Grandstream HT-801 or HT-802 ATA are options. In fact, Fongo Home Phone uses Grandstream HT-801 ATAs; they are tested to work on Fongo's servers, so you know they will work with Freephoneline as well. If "cheap", "simple", and "easy to setup" are all desirable then Fongo Home Phone probably makes more sense, since the ATA is tied (or locked) to Fongo's provisioning server and pre-configured for the user. Freephoneline doesn't include free technical support, whereas it is included with Fongo Home Phone via online tickets. U.S. calling is also included with Fongo Home Phone's monthly price. The pricing for Fongo Home Phone can be found at https://account.fongo.com/home-phone/register/. Conversely, VoIP unlock keys now cost $119.95+tax, and an additional $1.95+tax per month is required for 911 access. Freephoneline does not include U.S. calling, and the 911 monthly fee is extra.

HT-801 and HT-801 VoIP unlock key owners should use this guide: viewtopic.php?p=79162#p79162.

A more powerful ATA is the Poly 402, which is the replacement for the Obihai OBi302 ATA (Obihai ATAs are now discontinued), but the Poly 4xx ATA series is more expensive and harder to find from reputable, well-known sellers in Canada. If I didn't own Obihai devices already, the Poly ATA 402 would be my choice (or, at least, I would be drawn to it first). However, I am not a typical user and am interested in the Poly's 402 more powerful (call routing) features. It also offers more useful information while on a call; it's simply a more powerful ATA. This guide likely works for the Poly 4xx ATA series for VoIP unlock key users: viewtopic.php?p=73839#p73839. Poly owns Obihai, and HP owns Poly: https://www.hp.com/ie-en/products/acces ... 2101854850.

3./ -Can he connect behind his existing ISP-provided Router?

Probably. Refer to points 1 and 2 from viewtopic.php?t=20199. Also read viewtopic.php?p=78976#p78976. If disabling SIP ALG (or using voip4.freephoneline.ca:6060 and avoiding UDP port 5060 locally) and understanding the four points from viewtopic.php?p=78976#p78976 seem daunting, Fongo Home Phone probably makes more sense since the user stops being his own technical support.

If you want a more specific answer, provide both the brand and model of a) the modem and b) the router being used.

[tanny]

...
Freephoneline's servers are located in Southern Ontario, and the longer the path to the servers, the greater the opportunity for a problem to occur along the path (in addition to increased jitter and pings).
...

Thanks for all the info, but,
If, for example, his pings from Edmonton, Alberta to freephoneline's servers (in southern Ontario), are really bad, then explain to me how Fongo's Home Phone monthly package deal would be any better for him in Edmonton, Alberta.?
Does Fongo's Home phones have servers in Alberta, ...?

[Liptonbrisk]

Thanks for all the info, but,
If, for example, his pings from Edmonton, Alberta to freephoneline's servers (in southern Ontario), are really bad, then explain to me how Fongo's Home Phone monthly package deal would be any better for him in Edmonton, Alberta.?

Issues arising due to the path taken between a user’s location and the servers would be the same since the server locations are the same for both services.

“[E]asy to setup” and package deals are independent from issues related to data routes. "[E]asy to setup" was a reason I mentioned Fongo Home Phone.

Does Fongo's Home phones have servers in Alberta

No.

If Fongo Mobile works reasonably well on a smartphone at your friend's home while connected to his router's Wi-Fi, I see no reason why Fongo Home Phone and Freephoneline wouldn't work reasonably well either. The Fongo Mobile app is free to use. The point I'm making is that it would be wise to test first, generally, before paying anything (examining jitter and pings to Freephoneline's servers is also useful when considering Fongo Home Phone).