Can I do this with Asterisk?

Asterisk Asterisk General
1

Hello All,

I’m pretty new to the world of telephony. A month or so ago I had a T1 line installed at my residence as I need high speed internet, but couldn’t get DSL or cable where I live. The T1 line came with four phone lines (more than I really need, but they were included). Unfortunately, now my home number is listed as a business number and I am getting loads of calls from people wanting to sell me pens with my name on them (Seattle Specialties anyone?), alarms, and a whole host of other business type calls. Apparently the DNC list doesn’t work for business numbers and my T1 provider (Nuvox) seems a little clueless. I still have my old POTS line for emergency backup, but I have canceled all the call waiting, long distance, etc, services to save money.

The four lines that came with the T1 line are analogue as they leave the router. They are spliced into a 66-block and then into my home’s internal wiring. My big question is… Can I use Asterisk to screen calls, sending any numbers that do not have caller ID to a menu so they have to push a number to be connected (should weed out all but the most persistent telemarketers)? If this is possible, what kind of hardware do I need to interface with the incoming phone lines and my home wiring?

Thanks in advance,

Andy

2

Yes, you can. You need a telephony card like those of Sangoma or Digium if they are analogue lines. You may also be able to take over the router and use your own PRI card from Sangoma. But again, I don’t know if the rest of the lines are used for data or not.

For analogue lines you need an FXO card with 4 ports on it. You can play all those b* tt-monkeys if they call you again to sell you stuff.

But dude, how come you are talking about savings when you ordered a T1. Isn’t that costly in itself when you use only 4 lines on it?