Hi,
I want to pose this question before i continue with any further research or installation of asterisk which takes much time and i don’t wont to hire consultants - cost most be minimized. I want to know if i do install and buy PRI card, will i be able to communicate with my family throughout the US for free using my PC and regualr phones not those little softphones on the PC? I mean will i be able to call their regular phone numbers for free and if i set them up as well will they also be able to talk to me for free? Or do we all have to only communicate on extensions or will we be able to talk to people on our regular phones? Will the asterisk server find us the closest end point where it’s just free to talk or how does it work will it is not going to cost me much or nothing? I do not want to go out there and find a voip provider for inbound and one for outbound either. I plan to set it up where i am the voip provider for my friends and family members. I mean, i already have to have a static IP ($$$), now there this equipment of phones and cards… So, i don’t want another monthly…
I hear so much hype about it being free to call? And, please if you reply, please be specific, not vague repetitive generalizations.
What you are looking for is a VOIP provider like Vonage or any of the other 100’s of providers. Asterisk is a PBX that can use a VOIP trunk but you would still need the VOIP provider.
Edit: On a re-read of your post I will post one other option:
You could have all of the people you want to call setup asterisk as well and create IAX trunks between asterisk servers but that would be the only way to get free service end to end.
specifically, ATAs for your friends/family aren’t going to be free, neither are ISP costs. and termination to the PSTN is never going to be totally free … you may get some free minutes … i’m wondering if you’ve seen an ad somewhere that you’re getting Asterisk mixed up with.
General concept is, you have to have some bandwidth on both ends, use anykind of voip phone with any voip protocol. You only have to pay for the bandwidth.
love it, class post [quote=“jwshel56”][quote=“baconbuttie”]Same Street, New Name.[/qoute]
specifically, ATAs for your friends/family aren’t going to be free, neither are ISP costs. and termination to the PSTN is never going to be totally free … you may get some free minutes … i’m wondering if you’ve seen an ad somewhere that you’re getting Asterisk mixed up with.[/quote][/quote][/quote]
well at least i know, i would be gong from the frying pan (phone companies) to the fire (voip providers, isp’s, digium type suppliers, more phone products that will costantly need upgrading - year after year and on and on). One system just merges into another - draining, appearing different, AT&T is probably in this racket as well. Same Street, Different Name.
You’ll probably never be able to make a “free” phone call. There’s got to be a way to connect the noise that’s coming out of your mouth to someone else’s ear. Those connections are going to be from an ISP or the telco. Pick your favorite.
VOIP, however, nicely flattens out the costs. You pay for your bandwidth, (like a cable modem) and it doesn’t matter how much you use it, where the web pages are on planet earth that you visit, or anything else like that. When you add an application like VOIP, it remains the same cost. It’s not like your current phone bill that is time and distance sensitive.
Asterisk doesn’t magically elminate costs. It does allow you to build a system, or even a network of systems, that can make use of high end features more cost effectively than traditional telephone solutions. That’s it.
[quote=“dufus”]You’ll probably never be able to make a “free” phone call. There’s got to be a way to connect the noise that’s coming out of your mouth to someone else’s ear. Those connections are going to be from an ISP or the telco. Pick your favorite.
VOIP, however, nicely flattens out the costs. You pay for your bandwidth, (like a cable modem) and it doesn’t matter how much you use it, where the web pages are on planet earth that you visit, or anything else like that. When you add an application like VOIP, it remains the same cost. It’s not like your current phone bill that is time and distance sensitive.
Asterisk doesn’t magically elminate costs. It does allow you to build a system, or even a network of systems, that can make use of high end features more cost effectively than traditional telephone solutions. That’s it.[/quote]
this is probably the best overview of what VOIP and asterisk in general offers for communications that i have ever read.
1.) P3 600 or above, 512 meg of ram, 7200 rpm Harddrive price? (or VMWAre player version FREE)
2.) Copy of AAH 2.8 or TrixBOx 1.1 Free to Download burn to cd less than a buck
3.) some IAXy devices at 100.00 each (one for each person you wish to speak with for free
4.) Pay someone to set it for you (250.00)
5.) Setup a IAX device for each person and sent it to them (they must have broadband and a router) they plug it in BAM.
6.) Get DID’s (Direct Inbound Dial’s in the different area codes ($6.00 ~ $12.00 a month umlimited inbound calls
Like this your mom lives in the 123 area code you live the 987 area code, you get a DID in 123 have it ring you phome at 987-XXX-XXXX she only pays for local call.
7.) Sign up for Outbound service (cheap rates Connect.voicepluse.com)
8.) Get a TDM400 and Packet8.net or some service (hook the umlimited ATA to the TDM card in asterisk and give all the famliy N friends long distance.
