Looking at various trade magazines and Web sites, it is easy to get the feeling that pundits always rant and
rave about VoIP, but companies and end users either have no interest in it or do have an interest but no idea
what to do with it. Asterisk and VoIP provide many possibilities for both the end user sitting at home and
the company looking to cut costs.
Virtual Call Centers and Offices
Before VoIP, when running a call center, the company either needed to pay for a large building to house all
the employees, or pay the cost of forwarding the incoming phone calls to the employee’s houses.With the
advent of VoIP, a third option has emerged: using the employee’s broadband connections to handle
telephone calls over VoIP. Thanks to Asterisk, it is possible to run a call center out of a back pocket.The
only physical presences the call center needs are servers to handle the routing of the calls, and some way to
terminate the incoming phone calls, such as a VoIP provider or PRI(s).The people answering the calls can
either use their computer with a softphone and a headset, or some kind of Analog Telephone Adapter to
hook up a VoIP connection to a physical phone (more on these later). Agents can then sign into the call
queue without tying up their phone line or costing them money.They can also work anywhere a broadband
connection is available. This benefit isn’t limited to call centers either.Would you like to save some money on
your road warrior’s cell phone bills? Or, would you like to have an option for your employees to work from
home for a few days a week, but still have the ability to be contacted by phone like they were in their office?
The same concept applies. Once a phone signs into Asterisk, it doesn’t matter if it’s in the office, down the
street, or half a continent away, it becomes an extension on your PBX, with all the features and benefits.
Bypassing the Telephone Companies
Another way people have been using Asterisk is to set up their own “VoIP only” telephone network over
the Internet. Suppose you have a group of friends you never talk to.With Asterisk, you can essentially set up
your own virtual telephone company. After setting up Asterisk and then arranging the connections between
your servers, you can establish a telephone network without even touching the PSTN. Plus, thanks to
MeetMe, you can conduct conference calls with ease. Also, while the media and most of the public
associate “VoIP” with “phone calls over the Internet” this is only partly the truth.The “IP” in VoIP means
“Internet Protocol,” and Internet Protocol is Internet Protocol no matter where it is. If your company has
data links between buildings, campuses, or regions, but not voice links, Asterisk can be used to send voice
conversations over your data links as opposed to the phone lines, saving money and allowing your phone
lines to remain free for other purposes. One of the best hobbyist roll-your-own examples we’ve seen to
highlight Asterisk’s ability to act as an inexpensive gateway for telephones over large geographic areas is the
Collector’s Net at http://www.ckts.info. Founded in 2004, the Collector’s Net is a group of telephony buffs
who have, over time, collected old telephone switching equipment. For years, this equipment sat in
basements and garages collecting dust until one owner had the bright idea of using Asterisk and VoIP to
interconnect the gear over the Internet. And so Collector’s Net was born. It is growing monthly and now
boasts an Asterisk backbone connecting more than a dozen switches over two continents.
While it may seem trivial or downright odd to some, this highlights the ability of Asterisk to provide a
connection between a group of people who would have hardly spoken to each other had they not set up this
network.
Being Your Own Telephone Company
Asterisk can save money, but it can make money as well. It’s also simpler than you think. NuFone, one of
the first PSTN termination providers that supported Asterisk’s Inter-Asterisk eXchange (IAX) VoIP
protocol, started as a computer and a Primary Rate Interface (PRI), sitting in the owner’s apartment. It’s
now one of the more popular PSTN termination providers on the Internet. However, don’t start wearing
your monocle and lighting cigars with $20 bills just yet. In years past, termination providers were largely
flying under the radar of the various regulatory agencies. However, this golden age is rapidly coming to a
close, and VoIP providers are slowly becoming more and more regulated.Today,VoIP providers must
provide 911 services, are required to contribute to the Federal government’s “Universal Service Fund,”
must handle taps by law enforcement agencies, and are subject to all kinds of regulations.
rave about VoIP, but companies and end users either have no interest in it or do have an interest but no idea
what to do with it. Asterisk and VoIP provide many possibilities for both the end user sitting at home and
the company looking to cut costs.
Virtual Call Centers and Offices
Before VoIP, when running a call center, the company either needed to pay for a large building to house all
the employees, or pay the cost of forwarding the incoming phone calls to the employee’s houses.With the
advent of VoIP, a third option has emerged: using the employee’s broadband connections to handle
telephone calls over VoIP. Thanks to Asterisk, it is possible to run a call center out of a back pocket.The
only physical presences the call center needs are servers to handle the routing of the calls, and some way to
terminate the incoming phone calls, such as a VoIP provider or PRI(s).The people answering the calls can
either use their computer with a softphone and a headset, or some kind of Analog Telephone Adapter to
hook up a VoIP connection to a physical phone (more on these later). Agents can then sign into the call
queue without tying up their phone line or costing them money.They can also work anywhere a broadband
connection is available. This benefit isn’t limited to call centers either.Would you like to save some money on
your road warrior’s cell phone bills? Or, would you like to have an option for your employees to work from
home for a few days a week, but still have the ability to be contacted by phone like they were in their office?
The same concept applies. Once a phone signs into Asterisk, it doesn’t matter if it’s in the office, down the
street, or half a continent away, it becomes an extension on your PBX, with all the features and benefits.
Bypassing the Telephone Companies
Another way people have been using Asterisk is to set up their own “VoIP only” telephone network over
the Internet. Suppose you have a group of friends you never talk to.With Asterisk, you can essentially set up
your own virtual telephone company. After setting up Asterisk and then arranging the connections between
your servers, you can establish a telephone network without even touching the PSTN. Plus, thanks to
MeetMe, you can conduct conference calls with ease. Also, while the media and most of the public
associate “VoIP” with “phone calls over the Internet” this is only partly the truth.The “IP” in VoIP means
“Internet Protocol,” and Internet Protocol is Internet Protocol no matter where it is. If your company has
data links between buildings, campuses, or regions, but not voice links, Asterisk can be used to send voice
conversations over your data links as opposed to the phone lines, saving money and allowing your phone
lines to remain free for other purposes. One of the best hobbyist roll-your-own examples we’ve seen to
highlight Asterisk’s ability to act as an inexpensive gateway for telephones over large geographic areas is the
Collector’s Net at http://www.ckts.info. Founded in 2004, the Collector’s Net is a group of telephony buffs
who have, over time, collected old telephone switching equipment. For years, this equipment sat in
basements and garages collecting dust until one owner had the bright idea of using Asterisk and VoIP to
interconnect the gear over the Internet. And so Collector’s Net was born. It is growing monthly and now
boasts an Asterisk backbone connecting more than a dozen switches over two continents.
While it may seem trivial or downright odd to some, this highlights the ability of Asterisk to provide a
connection between a group of people who would have hardly spoken to each other had they not set up this
network.
Being Your Own Telephone Company
Asterisk can save money, but it can make money as well. It’s also simpler than you think. NuFone, one of
the first PSTN termination providers that supported Asterisk’s Inter-Asterisk eXchange (IAX) VoIP
protocol, started as a computer and a Primary Rate Interface (PRI), sitting in the owner’s apartment. It’s
now one of the more popular PSTN termination providers on the Internet. However, don’t start wearing
your monocle and lighting cigars with $20 bills just yet. In years past, termination providers were largely
flying under the radar of the various regulatory agencies. However, this golden age is rapidly coming to a
close, and VoIP providers are slowly becoming more and more regulated.Today,VoIP providers must
provide 911 services, are required to contribute to the Federal government’s “Universal Service Fund,”
must handle taps by law enforcement agencies, and are subject to all kinds of regulations.
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