Hardware:  Avaya IP Office 500v1

I'm looking to provide a backup to our existing DS1 PRI from Qwest (which has gone down several times in the last week).  As it is only going to be a backup solution at this point, I'm looking for something that has a minimal monthly cost or a product that allows us to put the SIP trunks on "standby" and get a reduced or no cost.

I was originally directed to look at a company called "BroadVox" but their rates are fairly steep ($30 per line) and they have no provision for putting the lines in a "standby" mode for reduced cost.

On this forum, I noticed a company called "CallCentric".  They offer some plans that would work for what I want.  ($.015 per minute + $2.00 per line)

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Are there any other choices that I should look at?

How difficult is it to setup the "CallCentric" SIP trunk?

Are there any licenses that I would need before I can effectively use SIP trunking?

You can try VoIP.ms or Unlimitel.ca

$2/mo. 1 Cent per minute. If you don't use it...it's only $2/mo

Is it possible for you to split your service between two DS1 lines and go fractional on them?  For customers that do not use SIP trunks but rather 1FB or copper PRI lines I would always have either two separate PRI circuits or a combination of a PRI with around 4 to 12 1FBs (basically loop start POTS lines) for service.

I would never recommend a medium size business with 50 or more employees using the phone operate on just 1 PRI line.  I have seen many times where one circuit goes down and the other carries the traffic until the damaged one is repaired.  Yes you will get some busy signals with just one but one is better than none.

That's just the way I have done key systems and PBXs since the early 90s.