Landline phone with own router on FTTP

[bruce_miranda]

Just got FTTP and everything is working fine off the VF router. Phone lines are plugged into the VF router, VF router's WiFi is switched off. 3rd party Mesh has been switched to Bridge mode and plugged into the VF's ethernet port.

However I am shocked at how feature poor the VF router is. e.g. There are no Parental controls at all. I know I can get rid of the VF router and plug my own Mesh router into the Openreach ONT, but what about the Landline. 

Are there any 3rd party routers in the market that have a telephone socket at the back to allow the home phone to be plugged in? 

[Pollypo]

Thanks for the quick reply!!!

I'll be able to change the settings and fiddle around like you suggested tomorrow and I'll post how it goes

[cf996]

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@bruce_miranda wrote:

Anyway, now why would I need Asterisk running if I am using a VOIP phone?

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There are a few reasons I can think of.

The config required has to be exactly as in the Github repo. The phone therefore needs to support setting different SIP/audio TOS values, RTP source port 10000-10010, SIP source port 5065, SRV DNS lookup. The most awkward I have found is the Route header suppression setting (On Grandstream devices it's called Remove OBP from Route Header). If any of these options aren't supported, the phone can't be used. I have been able to connect and place calls directly from a Grandstream WP810, but not the WP820 - the latter doesn't support RTP source port 10000 (have informed Grandstream and awaiting a fix).

The second reason is that due to the required source port of 5065, only one registration can be made, ie one device can use the service. In an Asterisk setup this limit wouldn't matter as calls can be forwarded to multiple clients.

Just to add as well. I checked various Android SIP clients and none of them can replicate the required config.

[bruce_miranda]

So how does the IP phone connect the Asterisk server? What settings are made at the phone end?

[cf996]

It would be a case of connecting to the local network address the Asterisk server is running on, in this case on port 5065 (unless there is some port mapping going on that would allow you to use the default 5060 - Asterisk can't listen on multiple ports.). In normal cases, no special settings would be needed so the account ID, password and possibly codec preference would be all that's needed.

[bruce_miranda]

I could run the Asterisk server on my QNAP NAS. Another question.  We've gotten used to the multiple DECT handsets scattered around the house. 

So I'm guessing my best solution is to just buy a cheap ATA and stick it between the network and my DECT phone base. I can then point the ATA to my Asterisk server.

[cf996]

You might be able to get landline working without Asterisk using a Grandstream HT801/HT812, at least the local RTP port doesn't seem to mention the limitation the WP820 has and from my experience the rest of the config can be replicated on Grandstream devices.

[bruce_miranda]

Bought a Grandstream HT812. Let's see how far I get with getting this to work. I really need to get rid of the Vodafone router. 

[cf996]

Forgot to mention, @bruce_miranda do you have a static IP? This will make life easier as you can use this in the "Use NAT IP" setting on the HG812. This will be used in the "Via" header which tells the server to contact your IP when a call is received.

[bruce_miranda]

I really doubt any ISP would give out a fixed WAN IP to normal punters. But with an always on FTTP, who knows. 

[cf996]

They do. You can request this as an add on for free.