Is 3CX right for me?

[nohatman]

Sorry to post here as an extreme newbie...

In the office part of my house, I have a nice (memorable) UK land-line number from BT that anyone who wants me will call - unless they call my mobile. I have an analogue phone (with headset port) connected to it, which I would like to emulate in any new set up. I don't have call waiting as the BT call waiting message is a bit cheesy, although of course whenever I am on the phone I never know if someone is trying to reach me. Nor do I have Caller-ID.

I also have a second land-line from Virgin Media which I don't really use - although I have an extension from the office into the 'home' part of my house to give me a fixed phone in the house should I ever need it (my wife also uses this for home working sometimes). I also have a couple of Skype accounts, although I allowed my Skype numbers to lapse as I never really used them enough.

I would like 3CX to do something like this...
...allow a call to come in on my BT number, but route(?) this to my Virgin line or VOIP line so that my BT number remains free for incoming and outgoing calls. I would also like Caller-ID and call waiting functions (would I need to buy these services from BT?). Plus it would be nice to have one of those fancy IP phones that have nice ring tones and extra functionality! I would like to be able to make a call from this phone on my desk without having to look at my PC. Clearly there are loads of other voicemail and forwarding options in 3CX which I am sure would be useful once I am up and running.

So, I thought I would try installing 3CX to see if I could muddle my way through the installation - but I fell at the first post when asked to enter details for IP/FQDN/SIP Domain which had me stumped (nor do I currently have a static IP address from my ISP).

The question is, would 3CX do what I want (and more) and make it worth investing the time to understand how to install and make it work - or should I just pay BT for caller ID and call waiting and get an answer-phone? I like to think I can keep up to date with technology, and that 3CX would unify and simplify my communications once I have it sorted - but is this too much for a beginner?

One final question - if 3CX manages everything and the PC crashes - does everything just stop working?

Many thanks for any thoughts or advice.

 

[StaffKB]

Hi there,

This is possible to do.... not all with the free version of 3cx but with the licensed version.

Regarding SKYPE... 3CX has a gateway which is ideally called the 3CX Skype gateway.. which will create a connection between 3cx an skype essentially to use your skype and to forward to extensions within your 3cx.

Regarding your analogue lines... You can use a PSTN Device which will have the Analogue line directly connected to the PSTN Device and it will be then connected to your LAN.

"I would also like Caller-ID and call waiting functions " >> Caller ID will have to be from the BT Point for example if you want it anonymous... "call waiting functions" are you refering to a sort of Queue? Then yes..

" IP/FQDN/SIP Domain " this field in the installer has to contain the Local IP of the PBX..

"One final question - if 3CX manages everything and the PC crashes - does everything just stop working?" >> Yes its stops working.

 

[leejor]

...allow a call to come in on my BT number, but route(?) this to my Virgin line or VOIP line so that my BT number remains free for incoming and outgoing calls.

You'd have to get (buy) call forwarding, sorry, Call Divert, from BT to your Virgin number for this to work.

I would also like Caller-ID and call waiting functions (would I need to buy these services from BT?).

Yes, you have to pay extra for those, but, if you had the BT number diverted to the Virgin line (all the time?) you would not be receiving any calls on the BT line and would only require Caller Id on the Virgin line.
Call waiting is probably NOT going to work as it generally requires that you do a hook flash to activate. 3CX won't pass that on to the line through a gateway, which is what you'd be using to get the PSTN (analog) lines into 3CX. Most call forwarding will only do one call at a time, so if one call was already diverted to the Virgin line, and you were on that call, the second caller to the BT number would get either busy (engaged) or go to BT's answerphone service, if that option is on the line.

IP/FQDN/SIP Domain which had me stumped (nor do I currently have a static IP address from my ISP)

Sip Domain is not critical for what you plan to do and a static IP isn't necessary either. In fact, unless the Virgin service is VoIP or you plan on using Skype again, you don't even need an internet connection for this to work.

I like to think I can keep up to date with technology, and that 3CX would unify and simplify my communications once I have it sorted - but is this too much for a beginner?

A lot depend how much free time you have and how easily you become frustrated when/if things don't work right off the bat. You'd certainly learn a lot about VoIP and 3CX.

One final question - if 3CX manages everything and the PC crashes - does everything just stop working?

Yes, if the PC running 3CX quits, so does you phone system. Same with a power outage. Many users run a dedicated PC just for 3CX, left running all the time. If you are running another application on your PC and it crashes, so do your phones. I'd make sure that the old phones were on standby, just in case.

 

[nohatman]

Thanks for the replies. I may have presented an overly complex scenario...

so if one call was already diverted to the Virgin line, and you were on that call, the second caller to the BT number would get either busy (engaged) or go to BT's answerphone service

If I forget the Virgin line for a moment - and have a VOIP provider, would I be able to transfer an incoming call from the BT line to VOIP and so free up the BT line for more incoming calls?
Similarly, if I dialled out on 3CX using VOIP would the BT line remain free for incoming calls? ...and would I be able to present my BT number as my Caller ID,

 

[Kevin Attard Compagno]

Hi there

Receiving a call via one channel/trunk and transferring it to another such that the first remains available for incoming calls is NOT possible. The only way to achieve this is to get the LINE operator (BT) to do this via a divert service of some sort.

(edited for clarity)

 

[leejor]

if I dialled out on 3CX using VOIP would the BT line remain free for incoming calls? ...and would I be able to present my BT number as my Caller ID,

Yes, the BT line would remain available for incoming if you were using the VoIP line.

It is technically possible but you would have to ask the VoIP provider if they allow you to change (spoof) the outgoing number when calling. Some VoIP providers do, and some don't. There may also be laws in certain countries that forbid them from offering this even if they wanted to.