CIA doesnt have a managed network, they use existings networks (ie Rogers..Shaw). I dont see any reason why it wouldnt work to hook up the ATA to any broadband connection. I will test this out this week though and let yall know.

According to the diagram the UPS can be used to power up 4 devices plugged into it. They suggested only plugging in your Cable modem and Voice Terminal into it as any other devices will shorten the battery power faster during a power outage.

Do they expect you to perform you own self install or do they actually come over and do it for you? They claim that you can continue to use all the phones in your home just like before. Well, I live in a condo, so that would mean hooking this thing up in the wring closet which I don't have access to.

Also can anyone confirm if there is a possibility to have an unlisted number? (That's unlisted, not call ID blocking)

thanks

They expect you to perform your own install, but you can have a technician come out to hook it up for a fee (I think around $50).

An alternative wiring your home is to buy a dual handset telephone and keep one in each room.

As for unlisted phone number, yes you are able. When I signed up with a CSR, he asked me if I wanted it to be listed or unlisted.

djino

Thanks. The unlisted number is $2 saving right there.

I see cia.com no longer advertises that they are providing shaw extreme - anyone know if this is the case or are they just not advertising it as 7Mbit is a pipe dream?? (Shaw still advertises the extreme) Interest is more for the upload speed...

I also see they don't mention the moving your ATA in the FAQ anymore (used to say it voided your agreement).

Their site also now states that you can add additional numbers via the myaccountn page - can't find it anywhere... Anyone else have any luck???

Finally - they say they are getting into traditional land phone service. I'd be interested in having both (1 PSTN and 1 VOIP) anyone away of when and/or pricing???

Edit : the note about moving your ata is still there:

Note : Although many of our competitors support Nomadic Service, which allows you to use your Voice Terminal from anywhere in the world to make calls, CIA does NOT support this feature and considers you in breach of our terms and conditions if you do.

3Web has been into LD in Canada for quite some time, so it was only a matter of time before they became a re-seller for local service like Primus has become.

To recap:

March 11 - request to port second Vonage number (second request)
March 29 - request becomes part of the pool and is supposed to be 10 business days from there - April 12)
April 11 - follow-up; Called 3Web: Will I get my number ported on April 12? Someone was supposed to call me back. Never happened.
April 12 - Called CIA.com: Is my number porting today? No idea; should be this week.
April 13 - Called 3Web; Got same agent as April 11. It's now 15 business days (April 20). I told her that no-one got back to me yet and that this is always the case when dealing with them. She'll call me back April 19 as a follow-up to ensure I have talked with someone.

I'm not sure whether or not I've received a credit that I requested. I can't understand their bills. No idea what they're billing (how they arrived at the amount). No response from any of the emails I have sent whether it was to the COO or to info@cia.com.

Cybersurf has been in the business of reselling Internet services for many years. I believe the company started around 1996. While they have been offering phone service for a limited time (around October of last year) I can only assume that they tested it internally prior to roll-out. As such, they would have worked out the technical issues with the service. The next step was a Calgary rollout. This should have highlighted any issues with porting, service, help desk etc. They have since been rolling out to other parts of Canada. Given this, I have limited patience with the poor service I'm receiving. I understand that smaller companies lack resources and there is a labour shortage in Calgary. Don't rollout to the rest of the country so aggressively if you can't support the customers you have! It doesn't make business sense to piss-off your customers.

While I appreciate the low cost of this service I would definitely not recommend it to anyone unless they are fully aware of what they're getting into. The needs I have for this type of service are different than yours. If I am the average customer then expect a delay or an issue if you're porting your number and make sure you run a few speed tests to make sure you're getting the service you are paying for as my modem was incorrect provisioned at the start. (speedtest.shaw.ca - I am a Shaw service area.)

The biggest complaint I have is that they don't check their work. That simple step could save them huge dollars and time wasted on the phone which would automatically improve their service level. Time will tell if they can make that change.

It seemed to take forever to port my number also - they told me about 5 days and ended up closer to a month.

CIA told me the issue is that they have to deal with a third party and much of the delay is out of their hands. I'm 50/50 on this being the real reason...

Shaw isn't a CLEC, so it has to deal with a third company (some existing telco) to get numbers, etc. That means Shaw deals with a third party just like CIA does and getting my number ported from Telus took 10 business days. A month seems a bit excessive, then.

I signed up for the service beginning of March (March 6th to be exact) aswell and asked that they port my number.. So far it still has yet to be ported (Its now April 14th). I've called in at least once a week about it.. and I think each time I call, the CSR is unaware of the request to have my number ported. And then they issue a ticket about it. (Except for the last call.. the tech saw the previous ticket on my porting request).

If my number isn't ported by May 1st. I will have to cancel CIA, as its not really worth it to continue to pay for my other phone line until CIA continues trying to port it over.

I'm not mad, or bitter, they are a new company and I understand, but 2 months is a bit rediculous. My reason for switching to CIA was to save money, and to have to continue for months to pay for both services until they get their act together isn't something I'm willing to do. So we'll see what happens.

djino
"Needs number to be ported"

Guess what? My number should have ported as of April 12, 2006. I called CIA.com today and was told that it's 10 business days from the date that the flat file was sent (March 29, 2006). It's interesting to me that I didn't receive a call that the porting had not happened. Nor had I received this information when I called last week complaining about my porting. I called today and grilled the CSR over the porting process. My porting issue has been escalated to a Supervisor. Again, a callback was mentioned once they have an update in the ticket. I'm not holding my breath. I suspect I'll be calling again tomorrow. If there isn't a meaningful update then I'll probably cancel the porting and the Vonage billing. They say they didn't get a response to the porting request from Vonage. It goes back to my earlier statement - they don't check their work.

I just heard about this service about 2 weeks ago and called to inquire. Unfortunately, the service is not available in Mississauga, ON yet because they haven't come to agreement with the other providers ie: Ma Bell (ugh!!!)

They did put me on a list and will contact me as soon as my area is available. What a great deal. I can't wait.

Paul

LOL - With CIA, WAIT is one thing you can do...

Has anyone had any luck configuring a softphone to CIA and/or connecting Asterisk to CIA???

Has anyone set up a second number with CIA?

I called CIA and the agents don't know too much on the 2nd line on Port2, they just know I can add 2nd number for $4.95 on port1.

LOL - With CIA, WAIT is one thing you can do...

Has anyone had any luck configuring a softphone to CIA and/or connecting Asterisk to CIA???

Has anyone set up a second number with CIA?

I had port2 working for a number of weeks until CIA discontinued it and made the phone number distinctive ring (without telling me) on port1. When I called them before signing up I stated that I required this configuration based on my wiring.

As for asterisk - I have *98 working (voice mail). I'm not sure if that was the question.

Porting nightmare - I'm sure you're long since bored with my rantings .... I called today (as the other agent who would call me on the 19th never did call me - surprise!) and found out that there are a backlog of numbers to port and it will be a few more days. This lady seemed nice and helpful as well. She would update the ticket and would definitely give me a call back. Apparently the porting backlog is first come/first served. I didn't get into to see what exactly that meant.

The agents have no clue when things are being ported. I called earlier this week and was told April 20. I called a day or so later - yes, it was to be April 12. I called after that - April 20. I call today - backlog.

I think I'll cancel my Vonage account and see what happens.

I guess what I'm asking is if anyone has been able to set up CIA as a trunk (either on Asterisk or another PBX) - effectively bypassing the Motorola ATA.

Basically connecting to CIA via SIP or IAX2.

I cancelled the billing of my Shaw email account that I was keeping for $2/mth. Even after explicitly telling them to ONLY cancel the billing (and it being recorded in the Shaw ticket that I am a current CIA/Cybersurf customer) they cancelled my Internet service as well. I escalated to CIA this morning. The agent didn't escalate properly. I spoke with a Team Lead in Ottawa this evening and he sent in the emergency ticket. (I spoke with Shaw before calling CIA this evening. The agent couldn't do anything without the ticket even though they cut me off.)

I must say how refreshing it was to talk to Shaw within a minute of me calling in and having someone who knew what they were talking about rather than someone who warms a chair. If Digital Phone wasn't so expensive (given my calling patterns) I would have switched.

CIA, in my opinion, is not worth the hassle.

Hi wshanks. Can you use the your port2 now? If yes, is the cost $4.95/month?
I had port2 working for a number of weeks until CIA discontinued it and made the phone number distinctive ring (without telling me) on port1. When I called them before signing up I stated that I required this configuration based on my wiring.
.

It's difficult to get the real username/password from Motorola VT1005. Refer this link. CIA use software MAPS(http://broadband.motorola.com/catalog/productdetail.asp?ProductID=391) to do the configuration.

Anway, I have Asterisk setup in home. If anybody figure it how to get the sip username/password/proxy server. Please let me know.

http://www.0xdecafbad.com/Unlocking-Motorola-VT1000.html

I guess what I'm asking is if anyone has been able to set up CIA as a trunk (either on Asterisk or another PBX) - effectively bypassing the Motorola ATA.

Basically connecting to CIA via SIP or IAX2.

Hi wshanks. Can you use the your port2 now? If yes, is the cost $4.95/month?


They never did allow me to use Port2 after that. So, I cancelled my second line (a temporary number) and because they couldn't seem to port my second Vonage line in a timely and professional manner I decided that I'd wasted enough time and money and promptly cancelled my Vonage account. I suspect they won't be able to transfer the number now.