Configuration Possibilities

[silux]

I have been considering switching to via talk, mostly because you are a "local" company to me and I think this would be much easier to deal with. I do however have some questions which the site doesn't seem to address. I'll start by trying to explain what I would like to accomplish and see if I am missunderstanding and if what i would like to be done can...

1. Setting the caller-id myself, I know that asterisk has the capability of setting caller id dynamically based on rules you set up. For me this would be ideal for the following situations.
* When I call someone at my job (always starts with the same 3 digit
prefix) I would like it to show my caller-id as my work number. I'm a
private person and generally like to keep my home phone private. If I
choose I can forward my work phone but then it is my choice not
whomever is calling me.
* If I have a virtual number for family out of state, I would like to be able
to set the caller id to that number whenever I call them.

It is my understanding that I can change this manually through the viatalk control panel but really I want more direct control of this and I'm hoping that I will have this control. According to voip-info.org you override this data which is why I ask.

2. Will I be able to transfer a call (not forward, but transfer) and if so will it tie up my line while that phone call is active. In other words if I have calls come in from my office between certain times and I transfer them to my cell will it tie up my via talk line so no one else can call in? Also can I do that at all?

The last 2 are not technical questions per say but rather than making a second post I'll ask here.

3. Do the virtual numbers have any limit on the number of incoming/outgoing minutes, or is it unlimited like the regular plan?

4. Can I pay in person in cash?

[connervt]

4. Can I pay in person in cash?

You can send it to me, and I'll pay them. I'm trustworthy... :D

[KLH]

1. Caller ID can't be changed "on the fly" with Asterisk. Your name/number either will or will not show up. No changeing the number and/or name.
Now you can pay and have the named changed (Instead of John Smith, make it Susan Smith, or The Smiths).

2. You can transfer calls (especially easily done with Asterisk).
It is my understanding that with ViaTalk, you are allowed 2 incoming and 2 outgoing calls. (Transfering would be 1 incoming and 1 outgoing). This is info that I have read somewhere that a user has posted, and might not be correct.

3. I'm pretty sure it is unlimited.

4. I'm 90% positive the answer is no. I seem to remember reading that somewhere online.

[Brian188]

Just to piggy back on KLH and help answer #3. Virtual numbers are tied to your main line. You cannot make any calls from a virtual line, all calls are placed from your main line, therefore bound by your plan i.e. 500 min. or unlimited, or 1500, etc. for business.

All incoming calls no matter what line are free.

[infield]

Caller ID can't be changed "on the fly" with Asterisk.

So the outgoing CIDs are set by Viatalk and changing the out outgoing CID in my asterisk configuration will have no effect. Is that correct?

[connervt]

I believe that is correct, as well as being SOP for many VOIP providers.

[KLH]

So the outgoing CIDs are set by Viatalk and changing the out outgoing CID in my asterisk configuration will have no effect. Is that correct?

100% correct.

I've tried this multiple times, and no method ever worked.. :(

[IronHelix]

All 'standard' VoIP providers that I know of (viatalk, vonage, broadvoice, etc etc) do not usually let you set your own outbound CLID. You can deny it with *67 or similar, but you can't set it. If you use * and try to set your outbound CLID, it will probably either be ignored or the call won't go through.

Wholesale VoIP providers generally do let you set your outbound CLID. However you pay per-minute with a wholesale provider.

[sbradshaw]

Wholesale VoIP providers generally do let you set your outbound CLID. However you pay per-minute with a wholesale provider.

Exactly. VTWhite, for example, allows you to set your own outgoing Caller ID phone number. It will even transmit your own configured Caller ID name within the VT network.

[DracoFelis]

This is not ViaTalk or any other Voip vendor that limits, but the bells and government. If anyone could set caller-id, you could make it look like your call was from anyone, anywhere anytime. Imagine you get a call, it looks like your mom's phone number, but when you answer it's a telemarketer. See where it's headed?
Trouble is, we are already there! It's been a dirty little secret in the industry, that for years now some people with private phone switches could set their own CallerID, and "spoof" it to be anything they wanted. And apparently some people with less than great scruples had been doing just that.

The difference now, is that it's becoming very easy/cheap to "spoof" callerID, whereas previously it required inside knowledge of how the telco switches worked, and moderately expensive equipment. So we are seeing more and more cases of fraudsters, private detectives, stalkers, pranksters, etc, "spoofing" callerID info. In fact, while I don't know if they are still up and doing business (they may have been taken down by the authorities), there used to be a internet "business" that would let anyone spoof callerID for a small $5-$10 fee per call. And even if that "business" has now been taken down, there are still many other slightly more technical ways to cheaply "spoof" callerID (and some of those techniques are even cheaper than what the web site was charging)! :(

Which is not to say that there aren't legit uses to adjust your callerID. For example, if you have/use multiple phone lines, you might want to present the phone number of your main inbound line on your outbound callerID (so as to make it easier for others to recognize you and/or call you back). And if you are buying outbound only service from some place, it really is handy to put the info for one of your real/existing inbound numbers on CallerID when you make a call. And obviously VoIP firms like ViaTalk, need the ability to set appropriate callerID info for their customers. So the problem isn't that callerID can be adjusted. There are indeed many "legit" uses to adjust your callerID info.

The problem is, that there doesn't seem to be a lot of oversight as to what you set your callerID to, so it's pretty much left to the company doing the phone service to "police themselves". And while some companies have safeguards in place to limit callerID "spoofing" (by their customers) to legit uses (for example, they verify your proposed callerID matches a phone number you really "own"), other companies couldn't care less (and therefore let you put anything you want in for callerID). As a result, callerID is already a less then reliable source of who really is calling, because "the bad guys" have already figured out how to lie with their callerID info. :(

[rfriel]

i just want to set caller ID to that i can call home on my cell phone without using pk min and home phone can call me without using pk minutes, that's all. no sinister plot here, just wanting to not use pk minutes on my plan.

[leafgreen]

...there used to be a internet "business" that would let anyone spoof callerID for a small $5-$10 fee per call. And even if that "business" has now been taken down, there are still many other slightly more technical ways to cheaply "spoof" callerID (and some of those techniques are even cheaper than what the web site was charging)! :(
:(

naw, it's just about 17 cents per minute now through spoofcard (http://tinyurl.com/2muee7). :D It's less if you buy more minutes. I've been using it for about six months. Works great. You can even make your voice sound like a woman or man, lol.