BEFN2PE Cable/DSL Voice Enabler link
Reviewer: Chris Kaminski
Date: Aug 10, 2001
VoIP: Voice over IP – for the consumer this can mean PC to PC voice
communications or PC to Telephone long distance communications.
 The Linksys Voice Enabler adds telephone to telephone
communications over your existing broadband Internet connection (Cable or DSL modem)
instead of standard phone lines. The Linksys connects to your Ethernet network and
allows you to plug in a standard POTS telephone (plain old telephone system) headset
- wired or cordless. After a quick setup procedure with Net2Phone, an Internet long
distance carrier, you can use the Internet connected telephone just like a normal
telephone line. Net2Phone currently charges 3.9 cents (US) per minute anywhere in
the US, any time. They also offer deep discounts on International calls.
The Setup
The Voice Enabler requires an IP address on your Ethernet network. That IP address
can be directly on the Internet or behind a NAT based sharing solution like a broadband
router or connection sharing software. I tried the Voice Enabler behind a few different
routers and it worked great without any extra configuration or settings.
Once plugged it into a network, the Voice Enabler will automatically request an
IP address from your DHCP server. If you do not have a DHCP server, an IP address
can be manually assigned using a touch tone phone. After plugging it in, you must
use a web browser to navigate to Voice Enablers IP address to continue the setup.
To verify the IP address of the unit, simply pick up the telephone attached to the
voice enabler and press 1**. The Voice Enabler will read it’s current IP address
to you.
The administration screens for the Voice Enabler offer few configuration options.
All you need to do is type in your Net2Phone ID as password and your Voice Enabler
is fully functional. If you do not already have a Net2Phone account, a link is provided
that will help you sign up. Additional administration screens in the Voice Enabler
allow you to set up speed dialing. What more could you ask for?
Communication Quality
Net2Phone is the best sounding Internet long distance company I have used. Over
the course of a week, I made about 200 minutes worth of calls. For about 15 seconds
during that time I experienced a bit of an echo but I never had strange delays,
dropped calls, or unexpected outages. This is very different from some of the other
Internet long distance providers I have tried. I am thoroughly satisfied with Net2Phone
and the BEFN2PE Voice Enabler.
Down Sides
Since the Internet Long Distance market is so fragmented, no communication standard
has emerged. Net2Phone is proprietary just like most of the others. Since the Voice
Enabler is tied directly to Net2Phone’s service, it cannot be used with any other
long distance providers. As long as Net2Phone keeps offering good quality service
and good rates this is OK.
|
Linksys BEFN2PE
Menu:
