There has been a lot of interest recently in the VFX VoIP service launched by WorldXchange (WXC), no doubt partly driven by the fact that there is no monthly charge until April 2007. I had a spare Linksys PAP2T so I thought I would try the service out to see how it performed.

The signup process didn’t go anywhere near as smoothly as it did when I signed up for my WXC DSL connection. The online signup form tried to force me to select a new WXC DSL Plan (I don’t want to do that, I want to keep my old plan with free National traffic). Despite trying several times and making sure that the only checkbox ticked was VFX each time, it refused to let me go any further.

Giving up on the web form, I rang the WXC helpdesk who answered promptly. It is easy to see why WXC won the 2006 award for best call centre. Every time I deal with them over the phone it is a pleasant experience. This time was no exception. The CSR I was talking to explained that the webform was dying because I tried to use a VFX username that differed from my WXC DSL username. There was no mention of this restriction on the website! Anyway, 15 minutes later, with my MAC address taken down and my voice recording completed, I was told we were all done and that I would receive my welcome email and account details with 2 working days!

24 hours later I received the email with the details, followed promptly by a phone call from WXC CSR who was ready to talk me through the process of setting up my PAP2. Configuring the PAP2 was a simple procedure, I had to copy and paste a URL into the Provisioning Rule field of the web interface and reboot the device. It then downloads configuration information directly from WXC (based off the device MAC adddress) and configures itself. I was up and running with dial-tone about 2 minutes after receiving the email. Very smooth. I understand that the process is even easier if you purchase a pre-configured PAP2.

The downside to the whole scheme is that in trying to make the process as simple as possible WXC has locked the entire system down very tightly and remove a lot of the flexibility that I would desire. In particular my PAP is now completely locked, I can’t access any of the web interfaces, and even the dial-in prompt on the PAP2 replies with a curt “cancelled” before hanging up. There is no way for me to configure the second line of the device to talk to a second SIP provider. Apparently WXC will create a custom configuration for me so that I can still use the second line, but I imagine this requires giving them all my account details for my second SIP provider, which I’m not sure I’m comfortable doing.

It also appears that WXC has an arrangement with Linksys such that every PAP2 now sold in New Zealand comes pre-configured to be used with WXC. I haven’t had a chance to look at one of these PAP2s yet, but if it were to turn out that I had to contact WXC to remove the locking on my PAP2 before I was able to use it with another VoIP provider I would be fairly annoyed.

The MyVFX portal is very underwhelming. It insists on opening itself in a new browser window, and isn’t integrated with the rest of the WXC/VFX website. From what I can make out it’s just a branded frontend on to the management system that WXC has purchased. The user interface is reminiscent of the design of the 1990s. I think there is a lot of potential for WXC to improve the experience in this area and I doubt that the average user would be comfortable updating settings via MyVFX in its present state.

On the technical side of things the VFX service seems to be fairly well designed and secured. The devices are provisioned and configured using the Linksys/Sipura provisioning tools, which appear to encrypt all conversations with the device. The setup process downloaded two configuration files and a firmware file (v 3.1.10) to my PAP2. Both of the configuration files were binary and appear to be encrypted. Interestingly it appears that WXC downgraded the firmware from 5.1.1 to 3.1.1 during the provisioning process. The MyVFX portal and SIP server appear to be using some sort of BroadWorks device.

The device fetches it’s configuration file from the WXC server every time it is powered on, so it will be easy for WXC to push out updates and configuration changes as they desire. The VoIP side of things is performed using SIP, which appears to be using standard HTTP Digest authentication. The username and passsword for this being hidden inside the encrypted configuration files which are downloaded to the device. The voice data uses the G.729 codec inside an RTP stream, and from a few short calls seems to be relatively good quality.

Conclusion
Overall, VFX seems like a very easy to use and simple service. Simple being the keyword. By locking down the devices so securely and preventing people from using softphones and devices other than Linksys equipment I imagine many people like myself are excluded from the potential market. I can’t see myself keeping the service after I have to start paying money for it. But I would definitely recommend it to friends and family who are looking for a simple, easy to use VoIP system.