Frequently Asked Questions and their answers:
• How new is SIP/VoIP?
• I am seeking a SIP/VoIP Provider close to home because I want the best quality voice.
• How do I get connected with DDI2.net, eg: how does SIP/VoIP work?
• How do I make a call using DDI2.net, eg: use SIP/VoIP?
• Can I have multiple simultaneous connections on a single account?
• Can I have multiple user-accounts/numbers with centralised charging?
• I have a Grouped Account, how do I register my master- and sub-accounts?
• How do I establish a Business/Select account with unrestricted calling?
• What is Dial-In (DI), DDI, DID, Origination, Dial-Out (DO) and Termination.
• How does the Dial-In (DI) service work?
• How do I order my own DDI?
• Cheaper ways to call: smarter use of your DDIs
• Can I purchase a DDI number and use it with a different SIP provider?
• I get no connection and/or hear lots of "clicking" when trying to dial.
• I get a connection but have no or bad (echoing) audio.
• I get an (SIP) error code, what does that mean?
• I was told that SIP/VoIP does not work on dial-up connections.
• I want to have voicemail with the service.
• I made a payment and am charged NZ GST but did not state being from NZ.
• I made a payment but do not see the amount added to my balance.
• CreditCard fraud: a concern for all of us that we want to avoid.
• I want to make a payment but don't see the secure sign on the bottom of my browser.
• Why are online secure payments made in NZ Dollars and not Euros?


How new is SIP/VoIP? [To Top]
SIP and VoIP have been the base for the original installations of Telco's since the mid 1980's and are the longest proven methods for digital telephony currently in use. Today SIP/VoIP forms the base for the largest amount of Digital Telephony connections (more than a Billion end-users);
Frequently IAX is associated with SIP and can indeed be used either way, though IAX is primarily used for backbone connections supporting VoIP between exchanges (eg: trunks).


I am seeking a SIP/VoIP Provider close to home because I want the best quality voice. [To Top]
There is no benefit to the quality of voice trying to find a Provider close to home.
The SIP protocol takes care that when setting up the actual voice (VoIP) connection between you and whomever you call, that the transfer of voice information happens directly between your PC (or ATA) and whom you are calling, thus always assuring best quality of voice.
Only session information about Start, End and Duration is transferred to the Provider.
To assure optimum quality for DDI / DID connections we facilitate multiple POP's in Brussels, Los Angeles, New York and Hong Kong.

We frequently see people making statements on ping turn-around times, which by itself is interesting, but doesn't give any indication on the expected quality of voice.
What is measured is the time to reach our servers; while the RTP/VoIP packets are transmitted between two end-users and does/should not involve our servers during a conversation.
With that given: if you experience in-adequate quality (using a broadband connection) on a SIP based PC-to-PC call, then that is indicative that probably your configuration parameter settings are not optimum.


How do I get connected with DDI2.net, eg: how does SIP/VoIP work? [To Top]
VoIP is the information (voice in data packets), which is transmitted between two end-points, ie: the caller and the one being called, we leave that further for now.
SIP is the flow-control over a call, eg: initiation, setup and close (the traffic warden).

To start you need your own unique SIP number, this is just like your personal email address; You need to register and obtain one (simply go to our login page and register ;-).
The format of a SIP number = "sip:123456@DDI2.net", note that this looks very much like an email address, it merely starts with the identifier "sip:" (btw: email addresses normally start with "mail:", it is just not shown normally as it is the default ;-)

Once you have registered and obtained your personal number (eg: 123456) you can start ;-)
To activate your SIP/VoIP connection and device you need to have something that actually enables you to make and receive calls, this can be either a softphone (software on your PC that handles calls) and/or a device (either connected to your PC or directly to the Internet (onto your modem/router). We tend to advice the use of an ATA (see: DevicesHow2 tab).

Within the softphone or ATA you need to define your DDI2.net registration details, eg: SIP-number (user-name), SIP-password, display-name (your name) and the DDI2.net server name (see details given under the DevicesHow2 tab).
When the Softphone or ATA is configured correctly it will give you a status message defining that you are "registered as sip:123456@DDI2.net" (ATA's usually give a single long ring).
Don't confuse the registration process on our website with the registration process of the Softphone or ATA! You only need to register at DDI2.net once to obtain your SIP-id for life!
The registration process of the Softphone or ATA is done every time you turn your PC or ATA on! With an ATA this just needs to be done one time initially, after which it should always keep a connection to DDI2.net.
Note: Without a confirmation something is not entered correctly and you cannot make calls!

Once registration of the Softphone or ATA is successful you are up and running!
The SIP registration process logs-on to our servers and tells us which IP-address you have, this connection will then be tested every few minutes to assure that you are still up and running. When calls are initiated, the DDI2.net servers will check your SIP-device status and confirms or rejects connections pending the availability of whom you call or is calling.


How do I make a call using DDI2.net, eg: use SIP/VoIP? [To Top]
VoIP is the information (voice in data packets), which are transmitted between two end-points, ie: the caller and the one being called, the information is packaged in socalled RTP records. SIP is the flow-control over a call, eg: initiation, setup and close; This is done based on identifiers, being the SIP numbers, for example: your number is 440242005@DDI2.net and when:

a) you want to call a number (like: 310554010) of someone connected to @DDI2.net then you simply dial the number from your phone, being: 310554010;

b) you want to call a number (like: 01100850) of someone connected to another SIP-Provider (like: @gotalk.com) then you need to call the full identifier, being: 01100850@gotalk.com.
This works perfectly well on softphones, but can be a challenge on ATA connected phones as they don't always have letters to key in ;-)
Don't worry, as we use the SipBroker Gateway to resolve that (Click for SIP Domain Codes) here a table exists which translates the identifier "gotalk.com" from "*297" and allows you to use that as a prefix instead of the domain name, making the call number: *297 01100850;
Equally if you have someone wanting to call you from a different SIP provider, they simply can use *9900 as a prefix to your sip-number (instead of the @DDI2.net suffix);

c) you want to make a landline call to someone, then you need to enter the normal (telco) country code (even if you are calling within your own country), with two leading zeros (00);
So calling phone number 1234567 in Rio de Janeiro in Brasil would be: 00 55 21 1234567.
Note that PSTN calling of numbers with a call rate >=30ct/min is only allowed to Business account customers;
Calls to mobiles while on international roaming will not always be connected by the telco provider.

For a picture/overview of all the above: click here


Can I have multiple simultaneous connections on a single account? [To Top]
No, we do not allow multiple connections from a single user account (eg: UA).

We offer two solutions if you wish to consolidate your charges:
- You can apply for a Business/Select Account (see conditions further below);
or:

Can I have multiple user-accounts/numbers with centralised charging? [To Top]
- You can request the assignment of a Grouped Account, with the following characteristics:
.. A master-account is assigned with a unique sip-group-id replacing your current sip-number;
.. Up to 9 sub-accounts can be created and managed within the group by yourself;
.. DO charging and balance Top-up will occur on the master-account;
.. DO usage from the sub-accounts will be charged to the master-account;
.. DDIs can be purchased and maintained on each individual sub-account;
.. DDI charges will occur on the sub-accounts and balance need to be kept for monthly DDI charges;
.. Minimum balance for the master-account is €3 after which new calls on all accounts within the group
. . will be suspended, though current calls remain active until your balance reaches €0;
.. Minimum Top-up for the master-account is €30 (for DO charges on all master- and sub-accounts);
.. Minimum Top-up for the sub-accounts is €10 (for monthly DDI payments);

The Grouped Account gives you ease of use, a central point to administer your SIP and DDI numbers while maintaining your overview on your DO balances and upcoming DDI charges; The Grouped Account can avoid that you accidentally cancel DDIs due to low balances.
The Grouped Account does not have any special requirements, simply email us your setup request.

To create a Grouped Account you first need to have registered a normal account successfully;
thereafter you can email us your request and we will establish the Grouped Account (Group request).
You can request to auto-create your Master-account by us, or setup all further accounts yourself when you have received your new Group Sip-number from us (see details below).
After activation of the Grouped Account you can request transfer of the balance from your user-account without any further charges and we de-activate DO on the old user-account.


I have a Grouped Account, how do I register my master- and sub-accounts? [To Top]
At the moment of your request for a Grouped Account you indicated if you wanted auto creation of the master-account; if so then you received confirmation of the username and password for that master-account.
The auto created master-account is a full copy of your old user-account with a new sipnumber assigned to it.
If you omitted auto creation than the first account you need to register is the master-account (with suffix 000).

After receipt of your Grouped Account confirmation, you can add accounts to the group by simply following the standard registration process for a new user, similar to what you did when registered your first user-account.
The whole process or registration needs to be followed for every sub-account with the following notes:
- fill in the first and last name of the user of the sip-device you want to register;
- fill in a proper dob, despite that it is not used further;
- the dob fields will be replaced with the group-sipnumber on the confirmation screen;
- always assure that you enter the same (group) email-address (this is key!);
- suffixes can only be 010, 020 to 090 (or 000 for the master-account).
After you clicked "Register" the confirmation screen will show you that a Grouped Account is generated and you can finalise registration as normal.


How do I establish a Business/Select account with unrestricted calling? [To Top]
To enable unrestricted/unlimited PSTN number calling you can establish a Business/Select account with us.
Selected approved accounts are allowed their calls to be paid based on weekly invoicing.
We only accept authenticated accounts with full credit card consent to allow automated payments/debits.
Accepted accounts will obtain a Business Reference to establish multiple user-id's and separate SIP numbers.
Further administration of the business user-id's will be maintained by the identified Business representative.

To become eligible for a Business/Select account, the following applies:
- A proper (verifiable) email address (invoiced through a proper ISP) is pre-requisite;
.. free email addresses like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc are not accepted;
- An established verifiable entity is required, Business and/or Person with credible records;
.. proof of existence is required in the form of: copy of passport, drivers license or similar
.. and a current bank-statement regarding the presented Credit Card details;
- A DDI2.net consent form is filled in, signed and returned to allow us to perform automated invoicing;
- Credit Card details are given to allow DDI2.net perform weekly invoicing and automated payment/debit;
- Acceptance of the application for a Business account is fully at the discretion of DDI2.net.
For further information please contact our Sales department (Contact Us).


What is Dial-In (DI), DDI, DID, Origination, Dial-Out (DO) and Termination. [To Top]
These are terms to describe the phone call and connection methods between VoIP and traditional telephone networks.
DI (= Dial-In or Origination) is a landline number on the traditional (PSTN/POTS) telephone network, which is linked thru a gateway to a SIP/VoIP based identifier.
DI is also defined as: DDI = Direct Dial In (Europe) or DID = Direct Inwards Dial (mostly US).
DO (= Dial-Out or Termination) is the ability to directly dial a/any landline telephone number from your SIP/VoIP based connection.

We have acquired worldwide PoP's (gateway equipment) for our DDI / DID landline numbers; Currently we provide routing of calls over 3 locations where landlines are channelled thru either New York for the America's, Hong Kong for Asia and Brussels for Europe.
Our core servers are located on the Internet Backbone right between the America's and Asia.


How does the Dial-In (DI) service work. [To Top]
With a DI subscription you obtain a personal land-line number (eg: UK = +44.208.8123456) which is directly linked to your SIP-id (eg: sip:123456@DDI2.net).
Anyone calling that land-line number will be directly transferred to your SIP-id and the call is established; There are no costs other than the monthly charge and one time setup fee.
Each DI connection is provided with 2 channels, allowing you to have simultaneously one call and a second call going to an (own) installed voicemail destination, or simply 2 call lines.
The codec's used for DI number support are limited to: G711a, G711u and G729.
DI numbers are assigned to a single SIP identification number and cannot be shared.
Multiple DI numbers in different cities/countries can be purchased, all linked to the same (DDI2.net) SIP identification number.


How do I order my own DDI? [To Top]
To order your own DDI, you need to find the "OrderID" of the location where you want to have your DDI.
This can be found under "DDIs check", or when you are in process of ordering there is a link to search for DDIs that gives you a pop-up screen to do the same. To order: login under "Ur DDI/DO" and select "Buy DDIs".

CAUTION: Specific countries have restricted regulations for DDIs:
BELGIUM: Local address required in the zone corresponding to the geographical number
CZECH REPUBLIC: Local Czech address required for geographical numbers
FRANCE: Local address required for geographical numbers
GERMANY*: Local German address (in the city ordered) required for geographical numbers
IRELAND: Local Irish address required for geographical numbers
ITALY: Local address required for geographical numbers
MEXICO: DIDs from Mexico can not be assigned to companies based in Mexico or that have operations in Mexico
NETHERLANDS: Local address (in the city ordered) is required for geographical numbers
NORWAY: Local address required for geographical numbers
SINGAPORE*: End-users information required for 03 numbers
 *We request proof of your residence when applying for these restricted areas;
the DDI will only be activated after your address information is approved by local authorities.

Sufficient balance is required to order the DDI, but that is calculated during the ordering process and you will be queried to make the (minimum Top-Up) payment when you have selected which DDI you want to order.
The system will automatically guide you to the Top-up when all information is collected and presented to you.
See "Charges" for minimum requirements (two months pre-pay and setup costs to initiate).

After you made your payment the system confirms whether or not the payment was successful and shows you your updated balance overview, when that has happened you need to return to "Ur DDI/DO" select "Buy DDIs" and re-enter the OrderID to confirm your DDI purchase.
After successful purchase of the DDI a confirmation screen shows you all details regarding your new DDI and you should be able to instantly test and use it; an email is also send out with the information.
Under extreme circumstance it can take up to 1 working day to fully activate.
From here on you are up and running with your own DDI.

Note that payments are always re-calculated into NZ Dollars at the moment of online secure payment and that NZ residents are charged GST/VAT.


Cheaper ways to call: smarter use of your DDIs [To Top]
Frequently we see people only looking at their Dial-Out rates, while most of the time they call to/with the same area in the world.
For example: ex-pats tend to call frequently to their hometown; In this case it might be cheaper to buy a DDI in their hometown and let people call them; Usually local calling for those who call is free and there are no further charges than the monthly base fee for the DDI ;-)

Similar: as a business you would like to be easily (and cheap) accessible for your customers; Setting up a DDI in the area where a majority of your (or your main) customers reside stimulates communication and thus improves your business opportunities. Create your local presence where your customers are.


Can I purchase a DDI number and use it with a different SIP provider? [To Top]
Yes, you can indeed.
As mentioned: we at DDI2.net are keen to avoid limitations and thus allow you to re-assign DDI numbers to other providers, eg: other SIP-mappings.
You simply register and establish your account with us by going through the cycle of ordering your DDI, after that is done you can use the "Ur DDI/DO" menu function and update the mapping of your DDI to any address you wish.
Note that DDI2.net servers only support SIP calling, but when you map your DDI/DID to a different provider you can select between IAX or SIP mapping.


I get no connection and/or hear lots of "clicking" when trying to dial. [To Top]
Common problems occur specifically with the firewall in Windows XP SP2.
You need to either turn off the Windows firewall in the Security Center, or allow your softphone package to connect to the Internet.
To do this: add your softphone package to the security settings under your control panel; accepting connections from the Internet or a network; this should resolve the issues.
If you want to specify ports, then open port TCP/UDP 5060 for SIP and ports UDP 10000-32767 for VoIP (RTP).
The latter can be somewhat overdone as you need to create a record for each port under Windows! The better solution is the aforementioned as that dynamically opens the RTP ports when needed.

Also, when using broadband and routers, ensure that you have routed the SIP and VoIP/RTP ports to your PC or ATA; Note that many packages and devices use all kind of ranges, we follow the official RFC's, eg: SIP requires port 5060 (TCP/UDP) and VoIP (RTP) requires ports 16384 - 32767 (UDP) to be forwarded. Note that several SIP Providers use RTP as of port 10000, so opening UDP ports 10000 - 32767 for RTP (eg: VoIP) is advised.
In general: if you can get a connection then SIP works, if you still have audio problems, or no audio (either way), than VoIP/RTP is blocked and needs further work.


I get a connection but have no or bad (echoing) audio. [To Top]
First read the section above regarding "clicking".
The next common problem with bad audio (when you have a proper broadband connection) is the device you use, being your headset and/or mic.
It is not so much the headset/mic but the controller in your PC to which you connect it that usually does not have "full duplex" (means: two way simultaneous) capabilities.
The simplest way to resolve that is to use a USB connected device with it's own internal audio codec. These USB phones can be purchased for as less as €15 in the average PC shop around the corner. These devices usually come with integrated noise cancelling and full duplex technology.

Another technical problem which could lead to not having audio is socalled symmetric-NAT, this could block the automatic routing of IP packages within your private network and is a problem related to your switch/router.
STUN is a method to bypass this issue; to check and see if that helps: configure a STUN-server in your ATA parameters and see if it resolves the problem; We suggest the use of: stunserver.org (192.245.12.229:3478).


I get an (SIP) error code, what does that mean?
SIP has standard defined error codes, for a overview see: (Click for) SIP Error Codes


I was told that SIP/VoIP does not work on dial-up connections. [To Top]
It is advised to use broadband connections, but with speeds over 48kps you can have acceptable voice quality for SIP/VoIP based calls by using the iLBC codec.
Be aware that DI's use higher bandwidths and generally do not work with dial-up lines !

Do take into account some technicalities: mind the "Codecs": these are the "translators" from data to voice and have different qualities and bandwidth usage:
- G.711(a or u) need approx 64 or 56kb/sec (Telco standards)
. . . . . . these codecs derive from ISDN (eg: EUR:64kb or US:56kb)
- G.726 uses varies 16-40kb/sec (also known as ADPCM)
- G.728 needs approx 16kb/sec (also known as LD-CELP)
- iLBC needs approx 15.2kb/sec (commonly used free codec)
- GSM needs approx 13.2kb.sec (note: this is a patented codec)
- G.729 needs approx 8kb/sec (note: this a licensed codec)
- G.723 needs approx 6.3kb/sec

In general terms: the higher the speed, the better the quality.
Thus: if you have a dial-up connection it is best to set the low requirements Codecs first in your dial-out priority list, eg: iLBC before G.711 (also advice to use iLBC over GSM).
Note: Our DI and DO services only use the following codecs: G711a, G711u and G729!


I want to have voicemail with the service. [To Top]
Some softphones have voicemail functions, but are still dependent on your PC to be powered on and connected to the internet to function;
The best way to have voicemail is using an ATA linked to your router and thus always have your phone connected to the internet, so that you can always be called, this also allows you to connect a plain old answering machine to the ATA.


I made a payment and am charged NZ GST but did not state being from NZ. [To Top]
We base charging GST on two elements:
- Honesty, eg: you have properly entered your personal and address information, thus allowing us to decide based on the given country,
or
- Factual IP check: we verify each connection and session to validate its origin, eg: if the IP address of your connection resolves from New Zealand then we charge GST on the payment.


I made a payment but do not see the amount added to my balance. [To Top]
Payments are accepted automatically thru the online payment gateway with the following exceptions:
- Every first payment made by a new customer is fully validated and authorised thru our Bank;
- When a different CreditCard is used from the previous payment we fully validate and authorise the new card;
- After a change of email address is entered and confirmed the next payment made will be fully validated;
- After a change of postal address is entered the next payment made will be fully validated;
- Occasionally when we encounter payments of concerns we will validate payments with our bank;

Validation of payments is done based on the entered information, eg: your name and address, thus please always assure that when you use our paid services that your details are up to date and accurate.
We may ask you to provide us additional information on your credit card by supplying the name of your issuing bank and the service centre contact number which is printed on the back of your card.

We also use our unique internal validating system which is described below under CreditCard fraud.
After an initial validation and authorisation is obtained, further payments are dealt with automatically and directly administered to your DDI2.net account balance.


CreditCard fraud: a concern for all of us that we want to avoid. [To Top]
CreditCard fraud is a community problem, it concerns all of us because ultimately we still pay as consumers for those who abuse our cards, or do you really think that the bank pays for it?
Additional to all the security measures in place during online payment validation, we also do the following:

We use a validating system where we refund a random amount of your initial payment back into your bank account; you are then required to enter the refunded amount (in NZD) into our system for validation / verification, only you and we can know what that exact amount is.
The refunded amount (in NZD) can be found on your bank overview/statement usually within 3 days online or on your next paper based overview when that arrives via mail.
We use this validation procedure for any initial payment and also when we notice that a different card is being used for payments other than initially validated.
An exception is the use of SecureCode and VerifiedByVISA cards, these are accepted without further validation.


I want to make a payment but don't see the secure sign on the bottom of my browser. [To Top]
Web technology allows the secure sign only to be displayed if the whole main window is a single session;
our main window uses frames methods to display information, this avoids the display of the secure symbol.
However, to assure you that secure connections are used: you can elect to open a new (stand-alone) window to do the online payment which will actually show the secure sign at the bottom of the NBNZ payment frame,
or you can verify the frame session with the following check:
once you are on the payment page of NBNZ you can click on Properties under the File menu, this will show that you are indeed using a 128-bit secure SSL encrypted connection with 1024-bit RSA exchange.
Note: the secure session only starts at the NBNZ page, thus the secure sign does not appear before that.

Payments are made thru secure online banking and encrypted with certificates from VeriSign.
Online payments are collected by NBNZ through the secure gateway of paystation.
We only accept CreditCard payments from MasterCard and VISA through the secure gateway.
Note that payments are always re-calculated into NZ Dollars at the moment of online secure payment and that NZ residents are charged GST/VAT.


Why are online secure payments made in NZ Dollars and not Euros? [To Top]
We have assessed numerous options to collect payments internationally and despite that there are many options, every (intermediate) organisation wants to have money for their services.
After extensive comparisons we found that any payment made in either Euros or US Dollars will incur an additional 4-8% of costs before we have it into our account.
We like to offer our services as in-expensive as possible and thus concluded that charging straight into our account and doing the FX conversion ourselves saved not only us, but thus also our customers money.
Note that the internal FX conversion and CC costs charge can cause a slight deviation to the exact amount.
We tried to make the calculations as transparent and clear as possible, hopefully we succeeded in that.

Accounting and GST/VAT information:
DDI2.net is a Trademark of: Resolutions M&C ltd
Postal address: PO.Box 91.359, AMSC, Auckland, New Zealand.
Company registration: AK/1109248, IRD/GST number: 77-872-051.