SmartFone ONE (1CC) FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

 How is SmartFone ONE (1CC) Different to ENGIN® (Australian VSP) and other VSPs?

SmartFone ONE (1CC) has a number of similarities to ENGIN® (and other VSPs), but is VERY DIFFERENT in many ways.

Firstly... SmartFone is not just about cheap phone call rates!

SmartFone reduces your TOTAL communications costs.

The easiest way to compare us is to review our VSP (VoIP Service Provider) Comparison page. Here you will see that 1CC has MORE FEATURES and benefits than any other SIP/VoIP/VSP service (such as fax, messaging, presence, conferencing and web integration) all for a low monthly fee.

Other providers may occasionally have lower rates OR only sell their services based on low rates. SmartFone DOES have cheap phone rates... but cheap rates are just ONE of our features.

When you do the numbers you will see that having a SmartFone ONE account (even in addition to having other VSP accounts) will quite often REDUCE your TOTAL communication costs... and then control all your communications from ONE CENTRAL LOCATION!

SmartFone have cheaper off-network phone rates, we can connect more people together, PLUS we have the world's simplest and most powerful Member & Affiliate program to help you save even more (or eliminate your call costs altogether).

When you add up the benefits of inbound and call routing, information hotline, inbound and outbound faxing, voicemail to email, ONE Global Number, global phonecard and webpage access, webpage telephone (WebPhone) and tons of additional automated processes, SmartFone ONE is way out in front.

Engin®/Other VSP Example 1: Engin® may have an offer with a free voice box and some included local or national calls for a flat monthly fee. In many cases SmartFone subscribers pay LESS than Engin® flat rate subscribers. Many also overlook the fact that most SmartFone subscribers talk to their friends all over the world and get them onto SmartFone as well. VSP's like Engin charge for international calls, so if your friends are overseas you are FORCED to make a chargeable call. Whereas you can subscribe to SmartFone ANYWHERE in the world and talk to all your friends for FREE. Nobody else does that!

Engin®/Other VSP Example 2: If another VSP CAN offer a special call plan or call rates then simply subscribe to the other VSP plan then enter the VSP plan details into your Web Dialler module (in your user back office) All calls thereafter will be made through this new VSP... WITHOUT HAVING TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU DIAL OR RECEIVE CALLS!

Visit our VSP Comparison Page

 How is 1CC Different to Skype®?

1CC is superior to Skype® in many ways. 1CC has MORE FEATURES than any other SIP/VoIP service (such as fax, messaging, presence, conferencing and web integration).

We have cheaper off-network phone rates, we can connect more people together, PLUS we have the world's simplest and most powerful Member & Affiliate program to help you save even more.

Skype made up it's own method of communication (using names instead of numbers) and does NOT adhere to the industry standards for SIP communication. Skype users will have great difficulty (read not possible) connecting to other SIP devices (see Telephony's Next Act)

1CC tightly adheres to ALL international SIP standards. That means we can connect to ANY standard SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) phone on the planet and any future devices using the ENUM (e.164) standard.

Net2MAX implemented and runs Australia's first (and one of the world's first) ENUM reference databases. All carriers are encouraged to add the Net2MAX ENUM database to their SIP lookup tables to encourage free interconnection and peering.

Thanks to Skype more than 40 million people (Jan '06) around the world have learned that you can make free calls through the internet. PC to PC calls may be great for those who like sitting in front of a computer, but most want to use a phone handset like they have done for years. If you want to use a standard telephone on Skype then you have to purchase very expensive Skype specific hardware which is not compatible with the industry standard.

 How do SIP Softphones differ from other PC to PC phones like Skype?

Skype uses non-standard protocols and codecs (the way it encodes and decodes your voice) and they do not tell the rest of the world how they do it. This is why SIP standard softphones have difficulty connecting to Skype.

By the way... 1CC can connect to Skype for free... but Skype cannot connect to 1CC for free!

Skype uses some of your computer's internet bandwidth while it is fired up, waiting for a call, even when you are not talking on it yourself.

For the Skype system to work they need to have a large number of users online at any time. It actually stores the global user database in a distributed fashion over all their online users computers. Technically this makes Skype a security risk because it is always connected to the open internet even when it is waiting for a call. Your firewall (internet security software) could be breached because it has this permanent "hole" in it.

SIP phones that use industry standard protocols ONLY connect when you make or receive a call and disconnect immediately the call finishes. That's why SIP telephony (whether it is software or hardware based) is MUCH more secure than Skype.

 Do You have a Free Trial Account to test how 1CC works?

YES! Register for the FREE account and you can call ANY 1CC for FREE forever.

Use our unique free WebPhone to start making calls to other 1CC users so you'll get a great idea of how it all works.

In order to receive calls you will need to upgrade to a prepaid account and pay a low monthly service fee. This will also allow you to make calls to any landline or mobile in the world!

 How and when am I charged for services?

SmartFone has 3 different charge types. You can pay by credit card, PayPal and other options as they become available. They are all prepaid as we do not offer 30 day accounts. The monthly fees can also be paid by your own Affiliate income balance (what you have earned from referred sales)

1) SmartFone Plan Fee: The SmartFone Plan (Silver or Gold only, the Bronze Plan is FREE) charged on the monthly anniversary of joining. This MAY be prorated to the end of the period if you up/downgrade in the middle of your billing period.

2) Prepaid Calls: Costs for calls and traffic NOT on the Net2MAX network (like calls to landlines, mobiles and SMS etc) Works just like a phonecard. Recharge it when you wish (online) or automate the recharge with a selectable amount triggered when it drops below a selectable threshold (still pending) Call balance is available from your phone handset (0,#, 2) or in your User Control panel when you log in

3) One-off Purchases: like hardware (ATA box, phone) or software (Softphone)

 Why am I charged for calls to PSTN (regular) and GSM/CDMA/3G (mobile) phones?

Calls to other 1CC Members are free because they remain on the 1CC "Network". It does not matter where the other member is situated physically either.

If you call someone who is NOT on a 1CC number then you will be charged a small "termination" fee to take your signal from our network (Net2MAX) and deposit your it onto the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or mobile phone network. These other services are run by large telephone companies who charge us to accept a per minute fee to accept the call so we must pass this cost on to you. We keep theses costs to an absolute minimum as a service to you.

The PSTN is managed by "Telcos", large telephone companies (Telstra, AT&T etc) which will connect the call for you. Because they manage that part of the call they charge a small fee for this service. Some companies use gimmicks like not charging you for calls to PSTN, but beware... the charge will appear somewhere else or the company may be using free calls to some locations as a "lost leader" (losing money to attract a customer).

 What is ENUM ?

ENUM is short for the Electronic Numbering System - Every VoIP company currently uses a different numbering system in order to connect their customers for free. This, however makes it difficult for one VoIP company's customers to talk for free to another VoIP company's customers. ENUM solves all that by building a translation database that your VoIP company should look at first. Net2MAX is one of the first SIP carriers in the world to fully adopt the ENUM system (part of the e164 standard)

ENUM is similar to the DNS (Domain Name System) where all devices look to a central system of databases to "lookup" the connection path and protocol required. ENUM is MUCH more extensive than the DNS. [see Telephone's Next Act for full detail]

 How can ENUM give 1CC (and Net2MAX) subscribers FREE phone calls?

When you place a call to your friend in another country you would call from YOUR 1CC account to THEIR PSTN number. You would normally expect to pay a few cents per minute to talk to them... right? Correct. And you would save money from calling using your regular phone account.

If in the meantime, THEY have subscribed to 1CC (or another Net2MAX provider) AND they have registered THEIR PSTN number into the ENUM system (go to Registered Destination Number in the Web Dialler in 1CC)

When Net2MAX tries to drop the call onto the PSTN in their country (or region) it looks to the Net2MAX ENUM database and sees that the person at that PSTN number has a 1CC online (Registered Destination Number) and passes the call to their 1CC Web PABX (or 1CC extension) instead of the PSTN. Voila! FREE call... you don't pay a cent and THEY receive your call on their device of choice. See the bonus here...? You did not even have to be told their new 1CC (internet) number to receive the call for free.

Now, extend this beyond the Net2MAX network. The ENUM system can deliver ANY SIP phone call to ANY SIP phone in the world for FREE... IF they are registered onto the ENUM database. In the meantime YOU can register ANY SIP number into YOUR Web Dialler to translate the numbers NOW! That's called Network Translation.

 What's the difference between the Member Plan and Affiliate Plans?

1CC is one of the services offered by SmartFone. SmartWeb plans are selected combinations of integrated Web Marketing Tools to assist you in marketing on the Internet. When you purchase any of SmartFone's programs you are registered as a SmartFone Member.

Affiliates are those who wish to build an income telling others about 1CC and SmartFone. If you decide to assist us in marketing SmartFone or any of our products or services then simply get your customers to join SmartFone through YOUR website. From then on they are flagged as your customer and you will be paid the relevant commission on their purchases and possibly their team sales if they also become a an affiliate.

 Do I have to Sell or Recommend 1CC to Others?

NO. There is no requirement for any SmartFone Member (customer) or Affiliate to recommend 1CC to others.

The Affiliate plan is designed for SmartFone customers who DO wish to tell others and earn an income. The Affiliate Plans includes additional business tools to assist in the promotion of SmartFone and any other product or program you may represent.

 Can I UPGRADE, DOWNGRADE or CANCEL my SmartFone Account at any time?

YES. Login to your Control Panel and select Financial Manager from the menu. Choose either Upgrade Plan or Downgrade Plan from the list of options. Choose the plan that you desire to move to. Depending upon your choice you may be required to pay an additional monthly fee. The CANCELLED plan is a plan choice where you no longer pay a SmartFone plan fee and we remove your website and rescind login access. Your personal details will,however, remain in our database for historical reasons.

 How do I Cancel my SmartFone Account or Internet Phone Account?

Login to your SmartFone Control Panel and select Financial Manager from the menu then choose Downgrade Plan from the list of options. Select the CANCELLED account.

You will be placed on our Cancelled Accounts list but your details will be left in our database for a minimum of 30 days (may be up to 180 days), just in case you did this on a whim and might just wish to reinstate your account.

You can also send an email with "Cancel My SmartFone Account" in the subject line. Please ensure you send the email from the registered email address with enough detail to identify that it is YOU, the owner of the account, that is canceling it. If you do NOT provide enough detail then we may not cancel the account.

If all this seems too hard then you can contact us and we will do it for you. You will be required to identify yourself at all times so that your account will not be terminated by someone without authority to do so.

Affiliate Warning: If you cancel your SmartFone account your position in the Affiliate Rewards Program will also be terminated and you will forfeit all pending and future commissions.

 Do I need any Hardware or Software to make 1CC Work?

If you intend to use your 1CC account with your PC then you will need at least a Softphone (software telephone application) and maybe an analog or USB headset or handset to provide the audio signal.

If you want to use your current telephone handset then you will need to purchase an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter).

If you wish to "go digital" then purchase a SIP/VoIP handset which connects directly to your LAN (Local Area Network). A digital SIP telephone encodes/decodes your voice so it can pass over the internet. They also add a number of special features because of the analog and digital integration.

 When should I purchase a hardware "Upgrade" option?

There are some scenarios where the immediate solution may not necessarily be the best option.

If you currently just have a modem attached to your PSTN phone line (which also carries your ADSL internet service) and you intend to connect another PC to the internet, then you will need to purchase a Router which may also provide you with wireless access.

It may be viable to purchase ONE device which includes all the options AND SIP telephone connections (visit our shop). It could work out cheaper in the long run and also have less clutter.