Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#1

Post by shytey » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 3:35 PM UTC

I run a small business. We have four different locations and four numbers that customers can call or text. We employ a remote operations team that handles the calls and texts.

I have spent hours searching for a simple service that can offer an online dashboard for texting and calling, and a phone app to receive calls on.

We are currently using Google Voice which is terrible (I cannot tell which number/location is being called when I receive a call among other quirks).

I have trialed Grasshopper and Dialpad, both terrible online dashboards for texting. Horrible UI and the call quality is poor. Grasshopper doesn't allow someone from abroad log in to the dashboard.

How has this problem not been fixed yet? What is so difficult about calling and texting on the internet?

Re: Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#2

Post by PaulHoule » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 3:36 PM UTC

I have struggled to find a VoIP client that works with Twillio. There is a huge opportunity for open communications systems but it seems that industry wants to force people to use Skype, WhatsApp, Discord, ...

Re: Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#3

Post by notyourday » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 3:44 PM UTC

> How has this problem not been fixed yet? What is so difficult about calling and texting on the internet?

The amount of money the customers are willing to pay for this service is lower than the cost of running this service. It is because the service sits between "Free" and "Mid-tier"

Re: Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#4

Post by toomuchtodo » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 4:00 PM UTC

I recommend https://www.openphone.co/

Disclosure: No affiliation other than as a satisfied customer.

EDIT: @tapvt: They support IVR, if you have questions, their team is responsive and top notch if you reach out to them. I use them to replace a Google Voice personal number and for several business ventures.

https://help.openphone.co/en/articles/4034271-how-to-set-up-...

https://www.openphone.co/blog/how-to-get-an-auto-attendant-f...

Re: Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#5

Post by qwerty456127 » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 4:20 PM UTC

Almost everybody seems using hardware phones (which are slightly harder to crack than softphones) to speak and Asterisk to implement any logic they need.

You will have to configure these yourself or pay somebody to do this for you.

100% hosted and supported services are way better because your are never gonna stop being attacked.

Re: Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#6

Post by tapvt » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 4:21 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #4

I recommend https://www.openphone.co/ Disclosure: No affiliation other than as a satisfied customer. EDIT: @tapvt: They support IVR, if you have questions, their team is responsive and top notch if you reach out to them. I use them to replace a Google Voice personal number and for several business ventures. https://help.openphone.co/en/articles/4034271-how-to-set-up-... https://www.openphone.co/blog/how-to-get-an-aut…

Do you know if they have support for IVR features? It would be amazing if I could retire an old FreePBX/Asterisk server that a client relies on.

I could find any mention on their site.

Re: Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#7

Post by Vixel » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 4:36 PM UTC

You're trying consumer services. Try commercial services such as Star2Star, Nextiva, Mitel, Ring Central. I believe all of them have voice, SMS and desktop/mobile apps.

Re: Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#8

Post by the_only_law » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 4:37 PM UTC

qwerty456127 wrote: post #5

Almost everybody seems using hardware phones (which are slightly harder to crack than softphones) to speak and Asterisk to implement any logic they need. You will have to configure these yourself or pay somebody to do this for you. 100% hosted and supported services are way better because your are never gonna stop being attacked.

Random, but is there much money in Asterisk. I looked at it briefly for something, turns out it didn't fit my needs, but nearly all production grade telephony interfaces seem to be biased towards it (try getting help with DAHDI if you aren't using it). I'm just curious if it's and product worth learning how to hack on.

Re: Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#9

Post by icedchai » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 4:59 PM UTC

qwerty456127 wrote: post #5

Almost everybody seems using hardware phones (which are slightly harder to crack than softphones) to speak and Asterisk to implement any logic they need. You will have to configure these yourself or pay somebody to do this for you. 100% hosted and supported services are way better because your are never gonna stop being attacked.

You may also want to take a look at Freeswitch, another open source PBX.

Re: Ask HN: What is wrong with the VoIP industry?

#10

Post by gomox » Mon, Jan 25, 2021, 5:13 PM UTC

Vixel wrote: post #7

You're trying consumer services. Try commercial services such as Star2Star, Nextiva, Mitel, Ring Central. I believe all of them have voice, SMS and desktop/mobile apps.

Ring Central seems appallingly expensive to me with their per-seat pricing (we are a software company, I need people to receive calls with a professional sounding IVR, route them to the right individual, local numbers for customers to call on, that's it).

Can you recommend any specific provider?