IP (SIP) telephony Rostelecom: what do you need to know about the service?

Features of Rostelecom IP telephony

IP telephony from Rostelecom eliminates the need for business clients to install a telephone line and purchase a PBX unit. It works exclusively through the Internet channels of any providers. If necessary, it can even be connected via mobile Internet. Let's look at the key features of IP telephony from the largest telecommunications company in Russia:

• Suitable for both large companies and small offices with one telephone number. To do this, you need to select a suitable tariff plan. The minimum subscription fee is only 400 rubles/month, and this price already includes one telephone number. This number is multi-channel, it allows you to receive and make several calls at once;
• Provides inexpensive calls throughout Russia and around the world - IP telephony is more profitable compared to traditional telephony. Moreover, Rostelecom offers comprehensive tariffs that include packages of minutes within Russia along with a multi-channel telephone number. All incoming messages, no matter where they come from, are free. After the included packages of minutes are exhausted, per-minute billing is activated, which is often more profitable compared to traditional telephony;
• Does not require the purchase of equipment - if the office already has a computer, you can get by with a simple headset or headphones with a microphone. A more convenient option is to purchase an IP phone. For example, a Grandstream GXP1610 phone with SIP protocol support, speakerphone and a phone book for 500 contacts will cost only 2,800 rubles. Another option is to install an IP telephony application on your smartphone. A typical example of this is the free application “Sipnetic” from the developer IPTON Communications;
• Possibility of using virtual PBX functions - launch a voice menu, enable call recording, use integration with CRM to monitor customer requests. During non-business hours, all calls will be routed to voicemail;
• The ability to use IP telephony anywhere in Russia - connect from a computer or smartphone, receive calls as if you were in the office. This is not possible with traditional telephony.

IP telephony from Rostelecom saves money, allows you to use communications wherever there is Internet, and provides additional functionality for business.

Using IP telephony inside a large office with many workstations allows you to use short internal numbering with free calls.

Settings

Internet telephony from Rostelecom is simple and fast, the settings mainly come down to a banal connection to the global network. Next, we configure the software like any other application. You will need to enter the IP address of the software or hardware phone (it is always indicated in the accompanying documentation). Next, we set up an individual SIP, that is, all the data that you received from the provider (including login and password). We enter all this and save it, then we reboot the phone, and you can use it. If you don’t buy an IP phone, but are going to do everything on a laptop, then the procedure is also not complicated:

• download the application (program) from the corresponding Rostelecom page and install it in the standard way;
• We come up with a login and password that will be needed for authorization in the system;
• enter the SIP data from the provider in the program settings;
• if necessary, we make other settings, including sound settings.

In most cases, installing and configuring a softphone does not require deep knowledge of computers, and a specialist, as a rule, is not needed for help. If you have installed any application on your computer at least once, and this is probably the case, then you can definitely handle the phone. So, you have installed and configured everything, now you need to choose a tariff plan.

Rostelecom services

As mentioned above, IP telephony from Rostelecom is presented within the framework of a virtual PBX - there are no classic tariffs without a subscription fee and no additional functionality. The PBX itself includes many business services already included in each tariff plan. That is, by choosing even the lowest tariff plan, you can take advantage of all the functions if they are needed. You can also use the selected tariff within the framework of regular IP telephony.

The main service is IP telephony itself, the ability to make voice calls within the company (free) or outside it (with package and per-minute billing). Voice transmission occurs digitally through Internet channels. Thanks to good compression and the use of the SIP protocol, the volumes of traffic used are small (this is important when connecting via mobile Internet, where there are often traffic limits).

At each tariff, IP telephony subscribers have access to multi-channel numbers with local federal codes. The connection is free, the monthly fee for the service with the number is 100 rubles/month. A multi-channel number allows you to receive dozens of calls without busy signals - while one conversation is in progress, the remaining callers will be on hold.

Since IP telephony is offered as part of a virtual PBX, it is possible to connect with the following functionality:

• Formation of a queue of subscribers with information;
• Distribution of calls according to certain algorithms;
• Support for VIP clients with transfer of calls to personal managers or movement to an extraordinary place in the general queue;
• Listening to ongoing conversations by a manager, general manager or supervisor;
• Generating statistics and reports on employee performance in real time.

The subscription fee for two employees is 500 rubles/month, each subsequent consultant costs 100 rubles/month.

Together with the “Virtual Contact Center” (as well as without it), you can use integration with CRM. This is a business application that allows you to record customer requests and leads (sales). Each call is automatically recorded in the CRM. If the client calls again, the consultant will be able to find out what the previous purpose of the call was and what was offered (or not offered) to this client. Integration with AmoCRM will cost 500 rubles/month; the integration API with other types of CRM costs the same.

Call recording is another service that impartially records all calls in the PBX’s memory. If you come across a problematic client, the records will help resolve the conflict situation. The recordings are also used to improve customer service and train recruited staff.

Considering the large number of conflicting clients, we recommend keeping this function enabled at all times.

The following useful IP telephony services within a virtual PBX from the phone:

• Autoinformer is a voice notification system about new promotions and special offers. Included in all tariff plans, billing is per minute;
• Callback widget – the client leaves his phone number and waits for a call from the consultant. Cost – 500 rubles/month along with detailed statistics and analytics. The widget can be configured to match the appearance of the corporate website;
• Mobile workplaces – inclusion of mobile phones in an office PBX with the ability to record conversations and calls to internal short numbers. Payment – ​​100 rubles/month for each connected number.

It is also possible to connect a number in the 8-800 format - all calls to it cost 3 rubles/min from any Russian number. Calls to 8-800 are free for callers.

Using VoIP Codecs

Codecs encode voice sounds into digital signals when packaged into IP packets and, accordingly, decode the signals when they are converted back into the words of the interlocutor.

There are various digitization algorithms for IP telephony, including both paid and freely available. They also differ in technical properties - some compress the voice 8 times or even stronger, others do not compress at all. Sound quality can also vary - some codecs significantly distort the sound when encoding into signals, while others provide HD quality.

Let's list some solutions.

Open codecs:

• CELT
• GSM
• G.711 μ-, a-law
• G722
• G.726
• OPUS
• Speex
• ILBC

Paid:

• G.729
• G.729A
• G.723
• G.723.1

Rostelecom tariffs

Detailed information on IP telephony has been given, now let’s move on to tariff plans. They are represented by tariffs for virtual PBX; there are no separate tariffs exclusively for IP telephony. These are the tariff plans:

Feedback from our reader

My company required IP telephony that would meet a number of requirements: the presence of a PBX, the ability to use numbers from different regions, reasonable prices and the ability to quickly resolve issues. I chose from several providers on the market, and finally settled on Zadarma, it meets all our requirements. Read more >>>

If you need another phone number, connecting it will cost 365 rubles with a subscription fee of 150 rubles/month for each.

Making calls

In this regard, the rule for dialing international numbers, compared to all others, does not work. When using IP telephony, you do not need to dial the number 8 first. To dial a landline number, dial the country code consisting of 1-3 characters, the city number code and the number itself. The situation with a mobile number is similar, with the exception of the dialing code that the mobile operator has. In order to improve the quality and transmission of sound, first enter 00. In this case, even landline calls will be charged at international rates, but the quality will increase significantly.

Pros and cons of Rostelecom

Let's consider the advantages and disadvantages of IP telephony from Rostelecom, identified during actual use of communication services - they are presented in table form:

Voice quality

Modern IP telephony provides high quality communications. The technology itself involves some lag in the transmission of voice encrypted into signals and transmitted in IP packets, but if used correctly, the delays will be minimal.

To avoid surprises when talking via the Internet and cloud PBX, you need to take into account some nuances in advance:

• The quality of speech broadcast in IP packets is directly affected by the speed of the Internet. It is best if it is 128 kb/s for each telephony user.
• The total delay should be no more than 400 ms, otherwise the delay will be noticeable during a conversation.
• It is better to use high quality codecs.

If all these requirements are met, your customers will not feel the difference between communicating via IP telephony and talking via an analogue telephone network. Words transmitted in IP packets will sound without noticeable delays.

How to connect

To connect, fill out the application on this page. Indicate contact information in the form - this is the email address and mobile phone number of the person in charge. The full name of the contact person and the name of the company are also indicated here. Wait for a call from Rostelecom specialists who will tell you about further actions.

The same form is used to connect test access. The duration of the test period is 14 days; for experiments and testing the quality of communication, the subscriber is allocated 50 minutes of calls throughout Russia. To continue working further, it is necessary to conclude an agreement.