Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of Cloud One Telephony Solutions?

• Reduced local and long-distance call charges
• One network to manage for both voice and data, instead of two
• Reduced travel costs, wherever you are, just dial out as if you are at your office
• Easily make adds, moves, and changes to the phone system as needed
• Employees have more ways to stay connected and customers can reach them more easily
• Take all of your phone system’s features with you for use at home, at the office, or on the road

What equipment do I need to use Cloud One Telephony Solutions?

All you need is a broadband Internet connection.

• You will manage your phone system via the Cloud One Phone system web interface.
• Client App is free of charge, it can be downloaded and installed on your mobile and PC.
• You can also provision an IP phone for each of your users.
• However, a premium quality router is preferred, a low-end router tends to have glitches from time to time. 

How is the call quality of Cloud One Telephony Service & Solutions? 

The call quality of cloud communications systems depends on the speed and reliability of your internet.

You will hear a vast improvement in call quality compared to traditional landlines. VoIP calls achieve this through HD Voice technology.

However, you need to make sure you have sufficient bandwidth to make high-quality VoIP calls. If you feel as if the quality of your calls is lacking, you can adjust your quality of service settings on your router. Most routers allow you to prioritize voice calls on your data network, which prevents other applications from affecting the call quality. If you’re not sure whether your router has this capability, contact your Internet Service Provider for more information

Are calls on Cloud One Telephony Service & Solutions secure?

Cloud One Telephony Solution is an application-level tunneling service; it only handles SIP data and the custom protocol data of the Client APP and does not touch the PBX data, which means no party can access the PBX through the tunneling server.

All transmission between the PBX and the tunneling server is encrypted. And each PBX will have its own encryption key. Even if the tunneling server is brought down by a hacker, there is no way to replace the tunneling service and get original transmission data since the hacker does not know the encryption method.

The tunneling server is secure and has multiple protection measures. Our support team stands by to handle any emergency in no time.

Cloud One Telephony Service will whitelist your on-premise ISP static public IP address on our central firewall to allow traffic from only your location. It is Mandatory to inform Cloud One every time on your new or change of ISP static public IP or DDNS hostname for whitelisting on Cloud One's Central firewall. Failure to inform Cloud One may result in your connection getting blacklisted on our network & service becoming unavailable.

Will Cloud One Telephony Service & Solution continue to work even if I move offices?

Yes, as long as you have fast and reliable internet at your new location and you have informed Cloud One support on your new IP address, Cloud One Telephony Service & Solution will work.

Since your Cloud One Telephony Service & Solution operates in the cloud, it’s not tethered to a physical location.

If I lose power, will I still be able to make phone calls with Cloud One Telephony Service ?

In most cases, you will not be able to connect calls if there’s a power outage in your premise. Our Cloud Telephony Solutions works over the internet. During a power outage, your router will not be able to function, which means there will be no internet access.

The first exception to this is if you have a backup power source that could power the router (and therefore maintain your internet connection). If you use Power over Ethernet (PoE), that may need backup power as well.

The second exception to this is if you have 4G/5G connection on your laptop or Mobile phone, simply switch to 4G/5G and Client APP will automatically connect again.

What is the difference between Pay as You Go SIP, Business SIP & SIP Trunk for International Customer?

Cloud One SIP Trunk Subscription Comparison Table

What is included or excluded in a phone system installation? 

The following is included in a phone system installation

1. Remote installation by a vendor certified phone system expert 
2. Extension setup as per system survey
3. Email user instructions with how to install iOS, Android, MacOS & Windows apps & use quick reference guide
4. Cloud One SIP Trunk set up 
5. Inbound & outbound call routing for Cloud One SIP trunk
6. IVR configuration for custom prompts & music on hold that is provided by customer
7. Scheduled Call report* generation
8. Call Recording*

The following are excluded in a phone system installation and will be quoted separately. Installation and configuration of a complete VoIP Phone System takes time. Keep in mind that Cloud One Phone Systems can not be compared to a simple office package, which is easily installed and supported. Phone Systems are more complex, as it operates with phone hardware, SIP providers and Gateways. These configurations, support & training adds cost, time & resources and therefore can not be given free of charge.

1. Training for users, agents, supervisors and administrators
2. Supported SIP Phone configuration
3. Unsupported SIP Phone configuration
4. Addon module configuration for on-premise PBXs**
5. VoIP Gateway configuration
6. VoIP Gateway support fee
7. 3rd Party SIP Trunk Setup fee
8. 3rd Party SIP Trunk Maintenance fee
9. 3rd Party System integration* ie CRM, Microsoft Teams, Zoho etc
10. 3CX Call Flow Designer*
11. Customer on-premise firewall configuration
12. Creation of custom prompts and music on hold i.e "Thank you for calling , press 1 for sales , press 2 for accounts or hold on to the operator"
13. Travel & accommodation costs to site

 * feature not supported in 3CX Standard Edition
** Option only for hardware based IP PBX appliances

Do I require an Internet connection to use Cloud One SIP Trunk & cloud hosted phone systems?

Yes ,  Internet connection is required to use Cloud One which is a cloud based SIP Trunk & cloud hosted phone system service.

Client Apps are used to connect to our cloud hosted phone system with 3G or 4G android or IOS mobile phone, Windows or Mac desktop or laptop

The number of HD Voice calls you can handle will depend on how fast your internet download and upload speed is. Usually, you can estimate based on 100 kbps per call.

A general guideline for the VoIP latency requirement is <250ms to avoid voice quality issues.

We deploy our servers only in the Kenya data center, latency to any local commercial and residential address are typically measured at less than 10ms, so we are good.

If you want to know your latency to us, you may refer start the VoIP test.

Start our test below to see if your connection meets recommended VoIP network requirements.

Start VoIP Test

Are there any mandatory government requirements before my subscription can be activated?

You are required to complete the Cloud One Service Application Form in duplicate in order to comply with The  Kenya Communications Act 2010  Number Registration Regulation which states that a person or entity who intends to register a number shall provide the following particulars to the telecommunications operator or its agent.

Cloud One KYC Requirements

• Business Email Address ( No gmail or free email domains)
• Copy of Business Permit
• Copy of the Company PIN Number
• Copy of the Certificate of Registration of Incorporation or Business Registration Certificate
• Copy of CR12 Form with 3 months validity for Kenyan Entities
• Copy of a valid national identity card, passport or alien card of the company's authorised contact (CEO or MD)

Download & complete Cloud One Service Application Forms

This is a mandatory requirement before activation of Cloud One services

Can I call out using my Cloud One SIP Trunk?

Yes ,  You can call out using all Cloud One SIP Trunks by purchasing  Talk Time Top Up  to enable outbound calling

Business SIP Trunks have preloaded Talk Time for calling out

Outbound call rates are available from our local calling rate page for local customers & International calling rate  page for International Customers  

Inbound calls to your Cloud One Phone Number +25420790XXXX are free of charge

Can I use my Cloud One SIP Trunk to terminate international calls to Kenyan operators?

No, you can not use Cloud One Business SIP & Pay as You Go SIP Trunk subscription for terminating international calls to other Kenyan operators.

This is illegal & is known as SIM boxing in Kenya

Cloud One Limited is a licensed & regulated Telecommunications Service Provider by the Communications Authority of Kenya

Section 24 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998, as amended, provides that anyone operating an illegal communications system commits an offense and is liable to a fine of one million shillings or to imprisonment of five years or both.

Any suspicious telecommunications operations being undertaken without due consideration of the provisions of the law & after our investigations, we will suspend the service and all calls made will be charged at US$ 0.32 per minute to the authorised subscriber of the Cloud One Service for terminating international calls. We will report the activity & entities carrying out illegal activities with regards to international telephone traffic termination to CA & Kenya Police and relevant players in the telecommunications sector 

Customers with no legal entity in Kenya can use our SIP Trunk for international customer subscription to terminate calls into Kenya. The rates are not the same as our local rates, but we use a legal route for this call termination. Outbound call rates are available from our Calling Rates for International Customers page.

Can I connect Cloud One SIP Trunk to my Internet connected IP PBX?

Yes, Cloud One offers register & peer based SIP Trunks to all customers

Cloud One SIP Trunk configuration service is a chargeable support ticket if you are unable to configure your PBX. We will require admin access to the IP PBX

Cloud One will only whitelist 1 Public IP or DDNS host name for the SIP trunk host. It is the responsibility of the customer to notify Cloud One Support in an event of change of IP Address. Any unauthorized IP address will be blacklisted automatically from our network when attempting to connect to our SIP Service if not previously whitelisted.

Can I connect my own telephone lines to Cloud One hosted phone systems?

Cloud One provides a bundled Pay as You Go SIP trunk with all our phone system subscriptions, however If you prefer to connect your own telephone lines using your own SIP Provider or VoIP gateway. This requires a 3rd party SIP Trunk configuration on your hosted phone system.

Installation of 3rd Party SIP Trunk is a chargeable service.

Interconnection for 3rd Party SIP trunks for phone system subscriptions is a chargeable service.

Our Interconnection site for customers who prefer their own operators that require a network interface port to connect a SIP trunk for Managed 3CX Phone System Standard subscription is at Africa Data Centre on Mombasa Road , Nairobi

It is mandatory for customer site to have a ISP connection with a static public IP or dynamic DNS.

Do I need to configure my on-premise firewall for Cloud One SIP Trunks?

Yes , The customer is responsible for a firewall & quality of service configuration at customer site as per the router or firewall vendor recommendations

The following recommendations are guidelines for your router or firewall for Cloud One SIP Trunks

1. Cloud One Voice Switch signal & media server host is cs01.cloudone.co.ke with UDP port 5060 as signaling 
2. Whitelist the cs01.cloudone.co.ke host on your firewall
   
3. Prioritise VoIP packets (SIP UDP Port 5060 & RTP UDP Ports as per you IP PBX Vendor requirements) & reserve 128 kbps (High Definition Voice) for each voice channel to Cloud One Voice Switch for QOS
4. Disable SIP ALG on your firewall
5. Multiple ISP Connections should be configured correctly to handle VoIP connectivity
   1. Use failover for VoIP packets instead of load balancing to connect to your CloudPBX host  
   2. Use manual outbound NAT for each ISP connection
6. Firewall should be in conservative mode to preserve VoIP session states
7. Static IP or a Dynamic DNS Service is mandatory for your ISP Connection for whitelisting on our Cloud One central firewall
8. SIP & RTP port forwarding & inbound NAT for each ISP connection from our Voice Switch host to your IP PBX Local IP for Peer based SIP Trunk
9. It is Mandatory to inform Cloud One every time on your new or change of ISP static public IP or DDNS hostname for whitelisting on Cloud One's Central firewall. Failure to inform Cloud One will result in your connection getting blacklisted on our network & service becoming unavailable.
10. Whitelist Cloud One Remote Management Host on your firewall for Cloud One SIP Trunk remote support or paid support tickets
    1. saachi.cloudone.co
    2. remote.cloudone.co
    3. mgmt.cloudone.co
       
       
11. Configure remote management port forwarding for each ISP connection from Cloud One Remote Management Host to IP PBX Local IP.
12. There are instances where you do not have access to your firewall,  Contact your ISP , managed firewall service provider or firewall vendor for assistance 

• ISP is managing your firewall
• You have a managed firewall service from a 3rd party
• Lost admin access to your firewall

If you are unable to configure your firewall with the above guidelines then your voice connection will not be optimised & voice quality affected

Firewall configuration service is a chargeable  support  service & will be quoted separately depending on the firewall.  We will require admin access to the firewall

Do I need to configure my on-premise firewall for Cloud One hosted phone system?

Yes , Customer is responsible for your voice optimised firewall & QOS configuration at customer site as per the router or firewall vendor recommendations

The following recommendations are guidelines for your router or firewall for the hosted phone system.

1. To ensure quality of service - Prioritise voice packets (SIP, Tunnel & RTP Ports) & reserve 128 kbps for each user to your phone system host FQDN i.e customer.cloudone.co.ke or customer.3cx.uk
2. Whitelist the phone system host on your firewall
   
3. Disable SIP ALG on your firewall
4. Multiple ISP Connections should be configured correctly to handle VoIP connectivity
   1. Use Failover instead of load balancing to connect to your phone system host  
   2. Use Manual outbound NAT
5. Firewall should be in conservative mode to preserve VoIP session states
6. If you are connecting your telephone lines using a VoIP Gateway at your premise. you will also need to do the following:
   1. This setup requires a static IP from your ISP or subscribe to a Dynamic DNS Service for all your ISP connections 
   2. Configure SIP & RTP port forwarding & inbound NAT for each ISP connection from your phone system host to VoIP Gateway Local IP
   3. It is Mandatory to inform Cloud One every time on your new or change of ISP static public IP or DDNS hostname for whitelisting on Cloud One's Central firewall & phone system host. Failure to inform Cloud One may result in your connection getting blacklisted on our network & service becoming unavailable.
   4. To ensure quality of service for your telephone lines - Prioritise voice packets (Both SIP & RTP) & reserve 128 kbps for each line to your phone system host ---VoIP Gateway Local IP & VoIP Gateway Local IP -- phone system host
      
   5. If you are using a VoIP GSM Gateway, ensure it is installed where there is maximum signal reception from the mobile operator. Bad signal reception will result in bad quality telephone line connections. You can improve signal reception by installing an external GSM antenna for for GSM line
7. 3rd Party SIP Trunk Support or paid support tickets requires the below configuration on your firewall
   1. Whitelist Cloud One Remote Management Host on your firewall.
      • saachi.cloudone.co
      • mgmt.cloudone.co
        
      • remote.cloudone.co
   2. Configure remote management port forwarding for each ISP connection from Cloud One Remote Management Host to VoIP Gateway Local IP

There are instances where you do not have access to your firewall

Contact your ISP , managed firewall service provider or firewall vendor for assistance 

• ISP is managing your firewall
• You have a managed firewall service from a 3rd party
• Lost admin access to your firewall

If you are unable to configure your firewall with the above guidelines then your voice connection will not be optimised & voice quality affected

Firewall configuration service is a chargeable  support  service & will be quoted separately depending on the firewall.  We will require admin access to the firewall

Do I need to use IP Phones for Cloud One phone system?

Cloud One phone system is a 100% virtual phone system. No hardware to maintain. No upfront hardware cost. You don’t even need deskphones to get started. You can use the free mobile & desktop apps instead 

If you require deskphones , We recommend Yealink SIP Phones 

In order to use SIP phones for Managed 3CX Phone System , it is mandatory to install a Managed 3CX SBC Appliance at the customer site

In order to use SIP phones for Self Managed 3CX Phone System , it is mandatory to install a 3CX SBC Appliance at the customer site

There is no requirement for SBCs with Yeastar CloudPBX

Our phone system works with most SIP-based phones. With the Auto Provisioning feature, you can even bulk-configure IP phones from Yealink, Fanvil, Snom, Grandstream, and more.

Installation of SIP Phones is a  chargeable service

Do I need user or administrator training for Cloud One phone system?

User training is available free of charge online using user guides & training videos
Yeastar Linkus Web Client Guide

Yeastar Linkus Desktop Client Guide

Yeastar Linkus Mobile Client Guide

Yeastar Linkus Client Videos

Yeastar Linkus F.A.Q

3CX User Manual

3CX Supported Phone Guides

Instructor led user training is a chargeable service quoted on request

Can I integrate of 3rd Party systems to Cloud One hosted phone system?

Yes , Integration of Microsoft Teams , Zoho CRM & other 3rd party systems is possible depending on the vendor version the phone system.

This is a chargeable service as each integration is unique and will be quoted accordingly

What addons are available for Cloud One phone system?

The following addons are available for Cloud One phone system subscription?

1. Talk Time Top Up to enable outbound calling
2. Cloud One Additional Phone Numbers to enable direct inward dialing to your extensions ( direct line)
3. Cloud One Toll Free Number to enable your customers call you for free. Calls are billed to the Called
4. Yealink SIP Phones for connecting extensions to on-premise based desk phones
5. Yeastar VoIP Gateways to connect your existing on-premise based telephone lines to Yeastar CloudPBX
6. Premium Support for out of scope work

How many simultaneous calls can I make?

Cloud One SIP Trunks are configured with 1 Simultaneous call for every channel

• Example: 8 channel Business SIP Trunk subscription can make & receive 8 external calls on the same phone number.
• Example: 8 channel Business SIP Trunk subscription can make 6 outgoing & receive 2 incoming external calls on the same phone number.
  

SIP Trunk for International Customers is configured with 30 Simultaneous calls capacity.

• Example : 30 channel SIP Trunk for International Customers subscription can make & receive 30 external calls on the same phone number.

Yeastar CloudPBX subscription is configured with 1 Simultaneous call for every 3 extensions

• Example: 12 user Yeastar CloudPBX subscription will have 4 simultaneous calls capacity , including internal and external calls.
  

Managed 3CX Phone System subscription is configured with 1 Simultaneous call for every 3 extensions

• Example: 12 user Managed 3CX Phone System subscription will have 4 simultaneous calls capacity , including internal and external calls.

What about any hidden or overage charges?

No need to worry… Cloud One does not believe in hidden fee’s or overage charges so you will never see any on your invoice.

How & when will I receive my invoice?

Cloud One generates invoices on the first of the month. Once an invoice is generated we will email it to the address on file as a PDF attachment. If you pay via mpesa, credit card. Once the invoice is paid another email will be sent with a receipt stating the invoice has been paid.

The first invoices will also include a pro rata invoices to align billing cycle to the 1st of the month.

Example
if you start the subscription on 20th of the month , your first invoice will having a pro rata billing of 10 days till the end of the month + the next billing cycle subscription

Once I place my order how long will it take to be provisioned?

Cloud One subscriptions are provisioned as below

1. Order is placed & paid
2. It passes our fraud screening
3. Invoice is issued.
4. You will submit the relevant service application form to Cloud One Helpdesk 
5. Cloudone service credentials emailed to you within 1 business day.
6. Managed phone system provisioning & paid Cloud One SIP trunk setup is our responsibility , while self-managed phone systems, virtual machines & self configured Cloud One SIP trunks will be your responsibility

How do I cancel my subscription?

You can terminate your service as per our general terms & conditions by creating a new billing related  helpdesk ticket  

Can I upgrade my subscription?

You can upgrade your subscription  by creating a new billing related   helpdesk ticket  

The new subscription rate will be effected immediately.

Can I downgrade my subscription?

You can downgrade your subscription anytime by creating a new  helpdesk ticket  with your requested capacity

Cloud One had incurred resource charges during your subscription , therefore downgrade charges will include the following:

• Waived installation fees
• Software license fees
• Virtual machine cost **disk space can not be downgraded

We will issue a Proforma Invoice for these charges & upon payment, the new subscription rate will be effected in the next billing cycle

What happens if my subscription is suspended for non payment?

Your Cloud One subscription will be suspended on the due date of the invoice

1. It can be reactivate by paying a re-connection fee of Ksh 1,000 and all outstanding charges within 90 days  by creating a new billing related   helpdesk ticket   
   
2. After the suspension of your account for 90 days, we will reserve the right to deactivate and recycle the Cloud One resources and make it available for sale to another customer, without further liability to you.
   
3. You will still be liable for all outstanding charges as per our general terms & conditions including waived installation fees, software license fees and any other cost incurred in debt recovery

Why choose us?

• We are certified Yeastar, 3CX, Yealink & D-Link distribution partner in the Kenya with advanced engineers trained to the highest standards, recognised for our successful installation and management of telephony solutions.
• We have over 15+ years of knowledge and experience in IP Telephony & will find a solution to suit your business needs.
• We operate in a Kenya based Tier-3 Data Centre to reduce latency & jitter issues
• We operate our own Autonomous System (AS328302) Public IP Network
• We manage our own hyper cloud services using Dell XC Cloud Servers.
• We are licensed & regulated by the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA).
• We are directly interconnected with all telecommunications operators in Kenya with our own CA assigned number range of +25420790XXXX & Toll Free range of 0800000XXX
• We are interconnected with major international operators to enable global reachability of our network

How do I check my calling records? 

You can check your inbound and outbound calls usually referred to as "Call Detail Records" from our voice switch portal URL at https://cs01.cloudone.co.ke/VUP

Step 1 : Login with the credentials that were sent to you at the creation of the Cloud One SIP Trunk

After successful log in you will reach main portal screen: 

Step 2. To check on the call records click (from your left-hand side menu) Account:

Step 3. After clicking Billing.  This will open the list of all records.

You can filter the call records as below