After a few years, I'm back with some questions... (And a lot to catch up)

[titodj]

It's good to be back.

The fact is that after many years having my own PIAF everyone started using messaging apps so it didn't make sense to have my international DID's to keep in touch with family and friends so I just stopped using my PIAF.
Lately I have been thinking of setting one up for my home office, using my Proxmox server. (And I will soon do it)

But this post is because my brother in law called me from Monterrey Mexico asking me if I could set up a VoiIp system for his office and I said I was pretty sure I could.

I'm thinking of deploying the Incredible PBX in the cloud with dome international DID's and a few extensions with a mix of soft phones and IP -phones. (I assume around 10-15)
And the normal options, voicemail, call waiting, interactive answering etc. (I know I was easily able to do that before, so I guess I could now)

So my questions are these:
Is the approach I'm thinking correct?
Are there any recommended (budget friendly) soft-phone and IpPhones?
Do you know of a reliable company providing international DID's that can reliably pass the DID CID? (I was never able to do that before)
I got a Cepstral TTS way back, is that still a good option? or should I look for something better?
What of the nerdvittles options is the one I should take? I think I'll have it hosted using ubuntu, unless you guys have a better suggestion.


Thanks!

 

[atsak]

Yes, should be fine, I would use Zoiper on laptops and Groundwire on mobile phones. I am not sure about international DID's I use DIDWW if I need one of those. CID seems to work but haven't tested with Mexico. But the carrier you choose to call WITH is more important than where you get the DID from. If you use premium routes with Anveo Direct it should pass CID. Voip.ms should pass CID as well, on their premium route.

I have continued using IBM TTS but there's a couple other ones - have a look at the Incredible PBX guides for what's mentioned there.

Ubuntu has been fine - I think there's a proxmox build turnkey ready for 2025 or 2027 you could use to save yourself a bunch of time.

 

[kenn10]

You can do all that with the latest IncrediblePBX-2025 (with Asterisk 22, FreePBX-17, php8.2). VM of your choice but I recommend Debian-12 rather than Ubuntu. Ubuntu has been causing some issues and straight Debian-12 has been solid.

A lot has changed since you used PIAF. There is no more chan_sip as it is replaced with chan_pjsip. PJSIP allows you to register multiple phones to one extension when convenient (like an IP phone and a soft phone.) For voicemail to email with TTS translation, you can chose between Google TTS or IBM Watson. Both are covered in these forums and on Ward Mundy's www.nerdvitles.com.

There are many budget friendly hard phones both new and used. Yealink, Grandstream, Fanvil, etc. You'd need to research.
For IP softphones, if you want to run a client on a smartphone, ClearlyIP's IPAnywhere softphone clients are affordable and have excellent support from ClearlyIP.

For International DID's others may chime in but I like Avneo-Direct. There are probably other recommendations from others.

Check out https://nerdvittles.com/introducing-incredible-pbx-2025-with-asterisk-22-and-freepbx-17/ and go from there.

 

[Halea]

You and/or your brother-in-law need(s) to figure out first if it's ok to use a US based provider for both origination and termination for an end user located in Mexico. If it's not, then your choice will be limited to Mexican companies.
The law/regulations are quite complex for companies/end-users under Mexican jurisdiction. (It might be a gray area for a Mexican business to get telecom/voip service in the US for origination or termination)
If it's ok to act as a US based entity, then many DID providers are available. I personally would suggest Anveo Direct for under $3/mo per DID plus usage fees. Or you can associate the DID with a flat rate incoming trunk.
The caller id will definitely work in this scenario for incoming calls. For outgoing calls it will depend on the grade of the termination route(s) you choose. The cheapest ones might not give you 100% satisfactory CID transmission, but if you go for one level up (or premium routes, which by the way are really cheap!) you won't have any issues. Latin America, including Mexico has top notch infrastructure nowadays.
I also recommend that you go for IncrediblePBX 2025 on Debian 12. If you elect to set it up on a VPS, I suggest you pick one in Los Angeles, or on the west coast of Mexico. Internet connections between Monterrey, Mexico and Los Angeles are "insanely" fast!