Paging/Announcements

1

I’m preparing to replace the old proprietary system at my house. But one of the features we need is to be able to page and announce on one phone or all phones. I found a posting somewhere that said that SIP phones generally do not allow this functionality. Is this true? Are there phones that can perform this function with Asterisk?

Kirk

2

Most SIP phones can be forced to auto-answer by sending a proprietary SP header. You also need to enable this in the phone, as it is a security risk.

3

So I need to be sure auto-answer is a feature of whatever phone I am looking at. Obviously speaker-phone functionality is also needed. Is it possible to auto-answer to the speaker? That would provide the paging function I am looking for.

Then related to this, can Asterisk be programmed to “Page All” That is, page to every phone on the network?

4

I found this:

Asterisk And Paging

But it talks about “Overhead Paging” which I do not want.

5

This thread:

Looking For Auto-Answer

Touts the Grandstream GPX2130. I’m seeing it on Amazon for about $80, $70 in quantity.

Anyone using it here?

6

Our IT department does it on Polycoms. It’s not something I get involved with directly.

7

With Cisco phones, you can add this to your dialplan for paging:
…
same => n,SIPAddHeader(Call-Info:;answer-after=0)
same => n,Page(${int_data},id,30)
same => n,Hangup()
…

${int_data} is an ampersand separated list of numbers (SIP/1000&SIP/1002&SIP/2098). The “id” is for bi-directional paging so they can talk back. leave off the “d” if you only want uni-directional.

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8

David, mkozusknik,
Can you provide some specific model numbers for the Polycoms and Cisco phones?

9

Sorry. Haven’t been around for a while. I’ve not used it on Polycom, but with Cisco SPA502, 508G, and 525.

10

Thought I’d put a final note on this thread. I went with the GXP2130 and so far have been happy. Haven’t fully figured out all configurations yet and needed to update the firmware to the current beta 1.0.7.13 to fix some problems but it’s working.

Regarding paging, I tried to get the built-in Grandstream multicasting working but couldn’t. Then I stumbled on this old post:

GXP2130 And Intercom Mode

Worked right away and really easy to setup. Of course the two phone settings would have driven me insane trying to figure out. So many thanks anomaly0617.

Duplicating instructions in case that link goes away. This is Grandstream specific but might help others:

Install the Paging and Intercom module in Asterisk and configure a paging extension.
    In your Grandstream phone:
    Under Accounts - Account X - Call Settings
         Allow Auto Answer by Call-Info to Yes
         Custom Call-Info for Auto Answer to answer-after=0 (no quotes).
    Under Settings - Programmable Keys
         Set one of your MPKs like this:
               Mode = Busy Lamp Field (BLF)
               Account = Account X
               Description = All Page
               Value = [Defined Paging Extension]
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