Connecting IP Phone to Internet

[daviddooley5]

K, my job is making it to where we are going to be able to work from home in the next month or so. Our company phones are IP based and only require an internet connection. I have ATT U-Verse package with internet and cable. The phones they will be bringing over only have an ethernet connection. Will I be able to plug the phone to the internet using the ethernet connection on the back of the cable box? Or do I have to get a ethernet connection straight from the modem in the closet?

[americangame ACE - Warrior]

You should be able to connect your phone to the back of the STB and be able to use it.  When a STBis connected to the gateway via coax, the ethernet port can be used for internet access.

[daviddooley5]

Sorry, newbie here, but what does STB stand for?

[skeeterintexas]

STB=Set Top Box....any box that IS NOT the DVR.

[americangame ACE - Warrior]

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skeeterintexas wrote:
STB=Set Top Box....any box that IS NOT the DVR.

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But in this case the DVR can also be considered a STB.

[daviddooley5]

Thanks. Will be trying this out once our IT brings the phones to the house.

[Rettabean]

Were you ever able to get this to work? I need to use the same type of IP phone but am currently unable to do so....

[DonNewcomb]

There may be issues depending on how  "smart" or "dumb" the phone is. SIP devices seem to need STUN & ICE to get out through the RG. You may also need to use alternate SIP ports. The device may actually create a VPN to your company's server. The tech who brings it out and sets it up should be aware of the issues. Just be sure to tell him that the phone connection is "transitioning a NAT."  

[integraoligist]

So do you have to pay a montly fee to a service like Vonage in order to use a VOIP phone?   Or do you just plug these phones into the network and boom it's done?

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

If you have VOIP service with a provider such as Uverse or Magic Jack you should be able to just plug the phone in and go.   AFAIK.

[DonNewcomb]

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integraoligist wrote:

So do you have to pay a montly fee to a service like Vonage in order to use a VOIP phone?   Or do you just plug these phones into the network and boom it's done?

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Simple question. The answer is complex. You can attach a VOIP phone to your network and get it to work pretty easily. As I mentioned earlier, behind a RG it probably needs to implement both STUN & ICE to traverse the NAT boundary. You can call and be called via your SIP address. You can get a free account with Pbxes.com to handle your incoming SIP calls. You can get a free incoming VOIP number that will route to your VOIP phone. To make outgoing calls to mobile and wired phones you will need to pay someone. You can get Vonage and pay them like $25/month or you can pay one of many companies around 2c/min.  You can get a local incoming phone number for a service fee of around $1/mo.