Here's a new one which someone might be able to shed some light on.
Our landline phone stopped working and so we phoned Telekom from the mobile to ask for help. They came around and noticed we'd dumped their crud router for a more professional box.
Considering this device has been in operation about 5 years without issues, it turns out our phone has stopped working because they've changed from "analogue" to "digital".
So what does that mean? We weren't asked of course. They just did it. I thought we had digital already in the form of ISDN (Annex B). Sounds like they've just gone all IP. I think it means they now use VoIP on their phone connections.
Anyone know what they've been up to?
Having thought about it a bit, I should be able to set my box up for that easily enough (just about everything is programmable). My fancy box is a far more elaborate affair than their rubbish base level technical solution. I want to keep going with it as it supports things like incoming VPN.
Anyone know the technical settings?
Telekom Muddle....
fluffy2560 wrote:I thought we had digital already in the form of ISDN (Annex B).
ISDN is considered obsolete. The telecom probably updated to VDSL2. But ADSL2 is also a possibility.
So, you should first ask your telemcom provider what is the new network protocol.
Then simply contact the manufacturer of your router to see if it supports the current protocol being used by your telecom provider. And if that fails then a networking forum help site may be the place to ask about appropriate settings for your hardware. And if that fails, you may need to buy new hardware. These days, compatibility wise, a lot of IT hardware 5 years might as well be a century old.
fluffy2560 wrote:We weren't asked of course. They just did it.
Unfortunately, this is standard behavior here in Hungary. There is a significant lack of communication, transparency, and information transfer. The PTB just "do things". Endless experience myself with the same. To survive here, without heartburn, one must adapt to local insani-- er, um...... reality**. 
** Working in IT for nearly 2 decades, that goes double for any IT related issues. Some work I did some years ago is today useless (i.e. products written for the now dead Nokia OS). But a lot is still compatible, because I did good work and was forward thinking when I could do so and made the product agile to survive. 
We're in a more advanced situation and this needs someone who knows the Telekom settings or what they did. Apparently, they started this change process in October 2016.
The problem is not the Internet, it's the phone. We have VDSL2 and this works the same as before on my fancy box - not unexpectedly.
Previously we were Annex B (which is ISDN) but yes, this is ancient now but this is not even an issue as my fancy box works with Annex A, K and M in auto mode.
According to Telekom they went "digital" which is a nonsense thing to say. What they meant was they have now gone VoIP and the phone is connected to an internal ATA (Analogue Telephone Adaptors) inside their rubbish ZTE provided device (95% of this box cannot be configured by an end user) - Telekom programme it using a handheld terminal on installation. Many people have tried to get into this box to defeat the BS Telekom config. ZTE provide this as an OEM.
So this rubbish device means "you have to use their modem". In other words, our way or the highway. In fact, their "engineers" know almost nothing - it's even wrong.
Obviously this is just "digital" statement is nonsense because if it's VoIP, then it is just a matter of configuration. I managed to get my IPTV and my Internet working no problem after some effort.
So I need the VCI/VPI settings for VoIP, maybe VLAN/priority, how the login is organised (might be the phone number as login, possibly with the same credentials is the ISP login) and if this VoIP uses SIP (which ports? etc).
From research, I think the VCI is 33, VLAN is 33 and priority is 5. I saw some hints that the login was just the phone number. But I suspect it needs the ISP login.
BT did a similar thing here in the UK, but they gave us 12 months while the old ADSL sockets would still be available and they offered to supply a compliant replacement router (at a cost), but you could supply your own (they gave you the spec it needed to be fully functional).
It had benefits - super hi-speed broadband (equivalent to cable) being one of them.
Cynic wrote:BT did a similar thing here in the UK, but they gave us 12 months while the old ADSL sockets would still be available and they offered to supply a compliant replacement router (at a cost), but you could supply your own (they gave you the spec it needed to be fully functional).
It had benefits - super hi-speed broadband (equivalent to cable) being one of them.
Partially it seems to have ocurred when we upped the speed DSL speeds to about 50 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up. Presumably we were "reinstalled" at that point rather than being simply modded on bandwidth by a software configuration change. We're a bit far away from the exchange, so we only get about 40 Mbps/4 Mbps.
My router is a top class box with many features, all of which are configurable. It should be possible.
I checked Slovak Telekom (also part of Deutsche Telekom) and their VoIP settings are as follows (I need the equivalent table for HU Telekom) (seems like two versions are involved in SK - Benefit and Smart). Different parameters shown for each:
Configuration Parameters Benefit Smart
SIP Proxy Server sip.vvn.telekom.sk sip.voi.t-com.sk
SIP Port 5060
Outbound Proxy 195.146.137.250 195.146.137.186
Realm BroadWorks sip.voi.t-com.sk
softphone RTP (UDP) ports (enable in / out) 49152-65535
softphone SIP (UDP) port (enable in / out) 5060
supported codecs
Band necessary for the G711 codec (download / upload) 100/100 (Kb / s)
Band necessary for the G729 codec (download / upload) 40/40 (Kb / s)
STUN Server not used
The maximum latency (ping) 150 ms
Maximum Packet Loss 10%
I can configure all of this on my box. I know VoIP works on it (I've configured it successfully before).
fluffy2560 wrote:According to Telekom they went "digital" which is a nonsense thing to say.
That was just a comment from a low level tech. Just wave it away.
If you need specific settings, you may then simply need to chew your way upstream to a more informed tech at your service provider to get the details you need. All it should take is a bit of your time on the phone with your network provider. I have done this. Most high level techs here speak English. I doubt anyone at this forum will have this information if your box is that "advanced" (especially if you do not provide your "box" manufacturer or model).
However.... Do not expect your service provide to help you get around normal "legal" blocks over a network to access data. Just because another country allows it does not mean Hungary allows it. If you used just... um... questionable..... tweaks to get access to abroad data, it may not be legit or "technically" allowed, and then you are on your own.
And it would kind of be sad, but any network provider can limit access to their network to only the hardware they provide. I have not seen this yet in Hungary, but business is business and they can do what they want with their network.
klsallee wrote:And it would kind of be sad, but any network provider can limit access to their network to only the hardware they provide. I have not seen this yet in Hungary, but business is business and they can do what they want with their network.
They cannot do that. It's against regulations and a problem of monopoly if they are the dominant supplier. If you check Invitel and Northern Telekom here, they all have their own boxes but use different virtual channels on a Magyar Telekom infrastructure (as far as I can see).
The story is that any box built to EU standards can be connected - if it works or not is another matter and generally about configuration - but it can be connected. I could always use a different supplier for VoIP elsewhere (and I do indeed do that and it works perfectly fine). I should be able to see if there are errors in the log file.
The problem is that their box is so weak, so crippled, so unconfigurable, no-one can do anything with it. It's hopeless if you want to say, put up your own servers. It does not even properly support dynamic DNS providers. Basically, a piece of trash not worthy for use only as a doorstop. They want to be able to interfere with the configuration remotely which I do not want.
I have been in the telco forums here but the knowledge is really weak. I was just hoping on the off chance. Nothing is published and no-one knows anything in detail. Last time I got the necessary information to get my VDSL working from a Powerpoint presentation someone from Telekom had put on the Internet. I was also able to guess the IPTV solution by looking at their parameters in their router and using a "port mirror" to look at the data. Once I had that, I was able to fix it. I'm hoping to get that methodology to work again but it's not going very well at all.
As of now, I'm at the following scenario of what I think is a SIP based system (should be for VoIP) on VDSL2.
Address of SIP server either lms.telekom.hu or ims.telekom.hu
Port: 5060 (standard)
Username: +36<subscriber no>@lms.telekom.hu
Password: dunno (might the same as VDSL username)
VLAN 33, priority 5
I am not entirely sure if it's on VLAN 33 but I can operate multiple virtual WANs at the same time (i.e. I can to ADSL and VDSL2 at the same time on my fancy box).
fluffy2560 wrote:They cannot do that. It's against regulations and a problem of monopoly if they are the dominant supplier.
LOL!!! 
Seriously.... Reality check: you do realize this is Hungary, right?
A: Forget EU rights. I have been in the Hungarian courts battling for my "EU consumer rights", and I lost. Not that I was wrong, I just decided to stop throwing money at an issue in a system that refused to "get it" and moved on with life (half the battle was finding a competent lawyer here that also "gets it").
B: So, in short, nobody here cares if their hardware is sub standard (and, yes,..... I have stories to tell about that too (I should write a book)).
But, if you want to battle it: Good for you. I approve. I encourage it. I will be your biggest fan and booster in your endeavor. Good luck!! or Mazel tov.
klsallee wrote:fluffy2560 wrote:They cannot do that. It's against regulations and a problem of monopoly if they are the dominant supplier.
LOL!!!
Seriously.... Reality check: you do realize this is Hungary, right?
I don't need to ask their permission to connect my box. It meets all standards for interoperability here and on other EU countries. In fact, it's not even a product labelled for Hungary, I brought it from England. There is nothing they can do to say my box should not be used here. They agreed it already by joining the EU and other international bodies.
In any case, a LAN or phone plug or protocol works the same in one place as another as they are all built to international standards (to be technical for telecoms, they are International Telecommunications Union standards or industry standards). A very visible example, WiFi works the same the world over (generally - few exceptions but still interoperable), the domain service (DNS) works all over and all international dialling codes work the world over more or less. Some oddities between some countries here and there but nothing unusual and all agreed in the ITU.
klsallee wrote:B: So, in short, nobody here cares if their hardware is sub standard ...
It's not that it's sub-standard, it's just nowhere near good enough for what I need/want. The majority of consumers would not even care as you say. But I do care and so would many other tech types. Their router and what they did to it is what we techies call crap.
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