FAQ

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows you to make calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of regular/analog phone lines.

To check if your Internet connection supports Crosswind VOIP and determine the number of  concurrent calls it will support, go to http://speedtest.crosswindvoip.net.

Here is some additional information:

• Your Internet connection must have less than 150 milliseconds (ms) of one-way latency, have less than 1% packet loss and have less than 30 ms of jitter.
• You must order a static IP address from your carrier for CLEARity SD-WAN.
• You need to determine if you have enough switch capacity for your phones. A minimum of one port per phone is required, and the CLEARity also requires a switch port. Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches are recommended. If you don’t have PoE, we will send power cords for your phones.
• Network cables may be shared by the PC and the phones. The phones have a built-in switch. The network cable plugs into the back of the phone and then a patch cable is connected from the phone to the computer. These cable runs must be connected directly to a patch panel or the switch.

If necessary, Crosswind will send a network probe to monitor your network over a period of time. Afterward, we provide you with a detailed network assessment along with any recommendations for network improvement.

Yes, if you have a Wi-Fi network. Performance depends on a few factors:

• The capabilities, settings and physical location of the wireless access points (WAPs)
• The number of users connected to each access point

Crosswind’s network engineering team will assess your situation to determine if your Wi-Fi network is ready.

The concept of phone lines goes away with VoIP. You can take as many calls as your Internet connection allows.

Yes. However, you will have to fill out an LOA (Letter of Authorization) that allows us to port your numbers to our system.

Your phone number and address are registered with 911 services so that when you call, your local 911 service has your address. To test from a phone on the Crosswind service, dial 933. Your phone number and address will be read back to you, confirming 911 service. Please note that if you are using software-based phone (or softphone) not in your office, 911 service will not send the correct address.

Crosswind provides an analog telephone adapter (ATA) device, which connects a phone line to the fax machine. When a fax is sent or received, it goes to a “fax buffer” at Crosswind that completes the fax transmission. Please be advised that these transmissions may take longer to complete vs. traditional fax service.

Yes. We support paging systems that connect to an external paging amplifier. Typically, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) paging adapter is added to interface with your existing system.

Yes. Multiple locations can act as a single phone system.

Yes. You are able to transfer calls to mobile users. 

If your broadband or primary Internet connection goes down, Crosswind offers a few options to continue working:

• First, we can “failover” to another Internet connection or LTE wireless Internet connection. This happens automatically but can take a few minutes to failover and failback.
• If failover is not being used, calls can ring to a cell phone or group of cell phones. Calls can also ring into an auto-attendant that plays a message for the caller and can provide options.
• Another option is to failover to analog lines. However, this requires that another piece of equipment and analog lines be installed ahead of time.

Yes. Most equipment that is needed for VoIP is included.

No. CLEARity SD-WAN is an enterprise-grade firewall that can be configured for voice and/or data. If you have a firewall, we design the network so that CLEARity is running in parallel with your current firewall.

Yes. All equipment is pre-configured, and your Account Manager works with you to make sure that the setup is based on your business needs.

Yes. “Ring plans” may be configured so the system rings differently depending on the time of day and/or day of the week. This may be automatic, or you can program a button to put the system in different ring modes such as “night mode.”

If power is lost, the system will go down. However, since the programming is off-premises at one of our data centers, calls will still be answered by an auto-attendant so voicemails can be left. Another option is to have calls forwarded to cell phones until power is restored.