Back-up ITSP

[Pablo]

Are there best practices re: the number of ITSPs or SIP trunks? To date, I've relied on two trunks: (1) PSTN gateway w/an SPA3000 and (2) SIP registration via CallCentric. I only have 1 hardline, so I've been relying heavily on CallCentric for inbound calls (especially given their unlimited incoming minutes for a low monthly rate).

Unfortunately, CallCentric has recently been on the receiving end of some nasty DoS attacks that brought their service to a screeching halt for days. So, I've started exploring other ITSPs to use as a back-up and have come across the following three: (1) VoipVoip; (2) Flowroute; (3) Vitelity?

What are some of your experiences w/any of these ITSPs and/or do you have other recommendations?

RE: My first Q., do businesses usually stick to one ITSP or is it a good idea to have accounts w/multiple ITSPs?

[Vodia PBX]

From snom ONE side, we are trying to stay unbiased regarding specific providers. We'll leave it to other users to share their experience with the various service providers.

 

The problem with multiple providers are inbound calls. You simply have to port the number over when you switch from one provider to another, which usually requires manual actions and takes time. It seems like the time has come where service providers have to offer more than just the cheapest routes. Topics like NAT and DoS obviously also need to be addressed (for example, automatic DoS handling was introduced in version 4 of the PBX several years ago).

 

Regarding PSTN lines, the problem is similar. If you use it as a backup trunk, you have to have a solution for the number porting. If you have PSTN lines set up for inbound calls, many users use ITSP only for the expensive outbound calls (e.g. international calls if you have a flat rate for domestic calls). This way you can balance reliability with cost.