VOIP w/Distinctive Ring?

I think "additional users" on ATT CallVantage can have distinctive ring. (This is a shared single line, not a 2nd line) There is an additional fee too.

Lingo does, standard feature.

Guess I don't understand how the equipment on my end will help. Doesn't the provider have to support some type of distinctive ringing so that you can have multiple phone numbers on 1 line.

Ideally what I would like is to have several phone numbers coming into 1 line and be able to detect which number is being called prior to answering the phone. Can this be done with VOIP currently or possibly in the near future.

Depends on the equipment you're using. My Sipura SPA-2000 ATA has a choice of 8 different ring cadences. The Grandstream ATA-486 is limited to the US single ring style.

Ivor

I think there are two different kinds of "distinctive ring" being discussed. You are talking about something that would be implemented by the provider. You would have several DIDs, each directed to one line and each assigned a distinctive ring by the provider. Equipment like the Linksys PAP2/Sipura SPA2000 have a native feature called "distinctive ring." This is implemented on the user's end. There is a table where you assign a distinctive ring (from a list of 8) to a set of up to 8 incoming numbers. For instance if your mother call you from 555-1111 you can assign that to ring #1 and if your brother calls from 555-2222, you can assign that call to ring #2, and so on. The ATA simply looks at the CID information and if it matches a number on the list, the ring cadence assigned to the number is used.

For example of how "distinctive ring" are configured on the Siprua 2000, take a look here:

What do you mean multiple phone numbers on one "line" - do you mean one account, one broadband connection, what..?

The ringing cadence to the phone, assuming you're using an analogue phone plugged into an ATA, is generated by that ATA, not the provider. Some are user-programmable in this respect, some are not.

Not into one line, at least not as far as I know. I have two phones on two different accounts operating through the same ATA with a different ringing cadence for each one.

Ivor

Not only that, but you can assign a default ring to both line 1 and line 2 so even if you don't set a ring for a particular number as you describe, you can still set the line to ring in a particuar way as a default.

Ivor

The Cisco ATA-186 supports selectable ring cadences, so you'd just need the selection to be indicated in the call setup. Whether any commercial VoIP providers do this, I don't know, but if you roll your own, you sure can.

miguel

I guess he means something similar to BT's CallSign in the UK.

David

Well with a Sipura SPA-2000 or similar you can have two "lines" but these terminate on two separate RJ11 sockets into which you plug two separate phones. You could use something like a BT Converse 2025 2-line phone though I suppose.

Ivor

Yeah, my answer to so many questions like this is "Suck it up and spend the $60-$100 for a little VoIP router." It's a tiny investment and will allow so much more functionality and the use of much less expensive providers.

--kyler

I'm pretty sure SunRocket offers a number of distinctive rings with thier service.

Interesting, because on our VOIP system the CID information is not available until the SECOND "ring". So I can't see that it could work as you describe under such a system.

If you use Windows, you can look for distinctive ring info here:

....through the POTS port.

The "trick" is to have the device use the CID as soon as it's available (as soon as the call is initiated) instead of waiting for it to finish emulating the POTS version of it.

--kyler