Kieron James asked:


What is Asterisk?

Asterisk is an open source PBX, or "Private Branch eXchange", but such a simple description barely does it justice. Asterisk is, in fact, the leading telephony engine and tool kit in the world - released under GPL or "General Public License", and therefore available for download free of charge - allowing flexible communications solutions be created by developers and integrators alike. Not only is the Asterisk software itself, free, but it runs on Linux BSD ("Berkeley Software Distribution", a.k.a. "Berkeley Unix") emulated Microsoft Windows and Macintosh OS X such that it can offer interoperability with almost all standards-based telephony equipment at relatively low cost.

How and Where is Asterisk Deployed?

Asterisk can be deployed as a gateway, as a feature or media server, or in a call centre where it can provide the backbone of a complete ACD or "Automated Call Distribution" system for example. Asterisk can provide a bridge between the existing PSTN ("Public Switched Telephone Network") and IP or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol") telephony which is rapidly becoming a mainstream service. Asterisk supports a wide range of telecommunications standards and protocols - H.323, SIP ("Session Initiation Protocol"), MGCP ("Media Gateway Control Protocol"), etc. - and its modular design means that it can convert from one to another with relative ease. In fact, a total of four APIs ("Applications Programming Interfaces") are defined as loadable modules so the Asterisk core itself, does not deal with call connection, codec translation and other functions that can be performed elsewhere.

In terms of features and functionality, Asterisk is streets ahead of many proprietary systems including those at the high end of the market. Conference bridging, IVR ("Interactive Voice Response"), auto attendant and voicemail capabilities are all included, as is Unified Messaging which allows voice, fax, SMS and email messages to be accessed via a single mailbox.

How is Asterisk Used by Telecoms Service Providers?

Telephone service providers can take advantage of Asterisk for the provision of feature servers, voicemail systems, prepaid calling solutions, etc., all of which are more flexible and less expensive than those provided by alternative means. Asterisk is deployed on millions of servers worldwide to manage VoIP telephony for consumers and businesses, for example and requires no additional hardware. In fact many VoIP service providers nowadays, not only support Asterisk, but are explicitly designing their own services to work with Asterisk. Incoming and outgoing calls can be handled by different VoIP or telecoms service providers if need be, which can be useful if one telephone service provider allows only incoming VoIP calls to avoid the provision of directory services, etc.. It may be of course that a telephone service provider boycotts VoIP altogether, but this need not necessarily preclude the use of VoIP; Asterisk can convert calls between TDM ("Time Division Multiplexing") and VoIP, and back again, as they leave or enter the carrier network. Asterisk also supports a range of hardware for the connection of existing digital and analogue telephony equipment.



VOIP Security made Easy

Armstrong C asked:


Virtual PBX systems are the advanced new-age telecommunication systems for business firms and offices. PBX systems are well known for their efficient management in routing calls in an automatic manner and are now an essential part of modern day business needs. By employing virtual PBX systems, business firms can save the money otherwise spent in buying and installing costly PBX equipments at their premises.

Feature-rich PBX System with Minimum Hassles

These virtual PBX systems work in the same manner as costlier PBX systems, but the entire system will be hosted by your remote PBX provider. Upon receiving calls, callers will be greeted with welcome messages. They are also provided with interactive menus for reaching the right employee in your office. The virtual PBX systems are also capable of diverting incoming calls to mobile phones and alternate telephone numbers of your office executives.

With options for supporting multiple extension numbers, the virtual PBX systems are ideal for both small and medium size business firms. These virtual PBX systems can be configured to automatically re-route unattended calls to other extensions within your office, thereby providing clients better customer care. The voicemail facilities in these PBX systems are helpful for users, particularly for those who are calling during off-business hours.

Virtual PBX System Enhances Your Business Image

Apart from managing regular telephonic conversations, virtual PBX systems provide facilities such as caller ID, fax, fax to email, voice to email, call screening, dial by name, dial by extension, and call transfer. Callers are also greeted with appropriate wishes depending on the time of their call; the system can also be used to play advertisements of your products and services to the callers.

Modern virtual PBX phone systems are also compatible with VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) protocols. For business firms, this means they can easily switch over to the medium of internet for receiving and sending calls. Thus with these state-of-the-art virtual PBX systems, your business firm can offer clients the  same facilities that are provided by Fortune 500 companies, with only minimal cost involved in the process.



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John Kinskey asked:


A high-quality communication system is one of the contributing factors behind the success of any small business organization.  Maintaining a fully dedicated business telephone system has thus got a lot of significance today. A small office PBX system can bring tremendous improvement to your business as well as to the overall functionality of your office. Characterized by advanced features and technology, the PBX system or hosted PBX system is also known as a virtual phone PBX system.

An Affordable PBX Solution for Small Offices

With the implementation of a small office PBX system you can project your firm as a large organization among your clients. In the past, setting up PBX phone systems was very expensive and therefore beyond the reach of small business owners. But now due to the tremendous development in technology, it is possible for you to acquire all the sophisticated PBX functions without buying or installing any expensive PBX equipment in your office. The PBX equipments are maintained at the site of the service provider and the PBX phone services are offered through a hosted server. As the services are shared by a number of clients, the subscription charges are also affordable.

Communicate with Your Clients Irrespective of Your Location

For those small business organizations that aim to reduce operational costs, a small office PBX system is the right choice. It can bring a considerable reduction in the expenses involved in appointing additional personnel for managing the official calls. The salient features integrated in hosted PBX systems include find me follow me call forwarding, auto attendant, fax to email, voicemail, web administration, call transfer facility, music on hold and many more functions which will help manage your business calls with more proficiency.

Through the implementation of a small office PBX system for your small business establishment, chances of missing important business calls can be considerably reduced. It becomes possible for you to operate your business from any location. In addition, PBX systems can be customized accordingly to meet your special business requirements.



You can Get Cheap VOIP DID's too!

Armstrong C asked:


With no expensive equipment to buy, a hosted PBX system is an affordable option for small businesses and home professionals. An advanced hosted PBX enables small businesses to function and appear as large, established enterprises. Hosted PBX system provides standard phone features through advanced VoIP technology. Hosted system can unify geographically distanced employees and offices under one main phone service and that will enhance business efficiency by enabling easy communication between your employees as well as clients, regardless of their location.

Hosted PBX systems are ideal for small business organizations and solo businesses. As it is a hosted service, only few resources are required to implement it, and all the system maintenance and upgrades are taken care of by the service provider. Hosted PBX is an economical option because users need not install or purchase any additional equipment. Businesses can benefit from reduced call charges and less start-up cost.

Hosted PBX systems help small businesses to create a positive impact on their associates and customers. Major calling features include: call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding, call transfer, call conference, call logs and more. With call forwarding, your business will never miss any call. Calls can be forwarded to your cell phone or any other phone. Auto attendant eliminates the need of a receptionist to attend and transfer calls. It can be scheduled to play customized greeting messages for incoming calls. You can set custom professional greetings as per the time of the day. Other advanced features include voice mail, fax to mail, call queue and more.

With a hosted PBX system, small businesses can acquire all the communication features enjoyed by traditional phone systems via flexible VoIP. Service providers offer virtual local numbers and toll free numbers with sophisticated PBX features. Various service plans are available as per your business requirements.



Protect your VOIP network

Armstrong C asked:


Hosted PBX with cutting edge technology helps start-up companies to project themselves as big businesses. Advanced hosted technology helps you to communicate effectively with your customers and associates, regardless of your location. The improved technology of hosted systems is far above the traditional PBX system, and it provides full control to the user. The business can benefit from a cutting-edge technology service without capital expenditure.

A virtual PBX system can route calls to any number in any location. It can easily connect your remote offices and mobile employees. With cutting-edge technology, the hosted PBX allows to set customized professional greeting messages and multiple extensions for departments and employees. Sophisticated features include automated call answering options, call transferring, call waiting, call forwarding, voice mail and online fax functionality. Automatic call forwarding will route callers to all phone extensions including home, office or mobile. With efficient voice mail notification service, you will never miss an important voice mail. Voice mail alerts can be sent to one’s email or cell phone.

With a hosted PBX, there are no hassles or costs of maintaining PBX hardware. All the services are provided through advanced VoIP technology. No additional phone line is required to get the hosted phone features. The virtual system can also connect faxes and voice mail to the main business number. Customers can contact you without paying long distance call charges.

A hosted PBX system can be set up and activated within a short time. Users can easily customize communication features through the Internet. There are many service providers offering advanced hosted PBX services in a cost-effective manner. Hosted PBX service providers can integrate advanced calling features to your local phone number or toll-free phone number. Some providers offer free trial service plans. Another advantage is that, you have to pay only for the services you need. You can opt for the right hosted PBX service that suits your business communication requirements.



VOIP Security made Easy

Scott White asked:


There is a lot of buzz about VoIP Internet phone service. On the consumer side everyone is getting a lot of exposure to Vonage commercials as well as triple play offers from Cable Companies. From a technology standpoint, VoIP is now much more mature than in its nascent days when Internet telephony meant a scratchy voice conversation over two computers. Whereas VoIP has been used by Telcos to carry voice traffic over long portions of their networks for years, it is now positioned to become the standard technology used to carry voice traffic over the last mile from every consumer's home. Increased broadband penetration and advances in VoIP technology make this possible, and now there is a long line of VoIP providers out there looking for a piece of the action. They range from giants like Verizon and Comcast to relatively small unknowns. For the first time in the history of telecommunications it is possible to be a telephony provider without the huge barriers of capital needed for switches and network operation centers (NOCS).) nor the regulatory barrier of being a Local Exchange Carrier. So will the industry be marked by many small nimble players? What is the likelihood of survival for small consumer VoIP service providers?

The Cable TV companies have a strong position in the telephony market. They already have a large embedded base of customers. They also have a local presence, with field installers regularly driving around neighborhoods and customer service locations in every town in which they have a franchise. Having the field installers is a major advantage since they can install VoIP service and also hook up inside wiring so the service experience is no different than before. Therefore a person doesn't have to be the least bit technically inclined to adopt the service, thereby opening the market to the masses. The pure-plays like Vonage just can't reach the mass market like this.

Cable companies also have huge brand awareness in their markets. What is also potentially important is that they are perceived as a utility company and people are used to getting phone service from this type of entity. There is a familiarity and comfort level of going to a utility company for phone service.

They also have tremendous strength in both billing and customer service. While some may hate the cable company because they have lengthy time windows for showing up for an installation, may show up late, and may keep you on hold at the call center, the Cable companies are in actuality very good at managing the complexities of their operations. For example, RCN entered some markets years ago as an alternate cable provider thinking they could leverage people's dislike of the cable companies' service record and do it better; instead they ended up realizing how very complex it is and ended up doing it worse. If a company wants to scale as a major VoIP provider, they will have to manage the complexities of billing and customer service. The cable companies have been down this road already.

Here is what could be the biggest factor to why the Cable companies will be most successful at VoIP and ruin the chances of other smaller entrants – They provide a broadband connection. Since this is required for VoIP, the incumbent provider has the first dibs on providing voice service. Also, since broadband connections have high margins and VoIP has low margins, broadband providers could treat voice service as a loss leader to get and keep customers on their high-speed connections. NetZero, for instance, is giving away free telephone numbers and low priced VoIP service presumably with the hopes of signing on users for their ISP. Voice service could in fact become so commoditized that it will be given away with broadband service the same way email is today. If this becomes a reality, there would be very little market opportunity and a bleak survival outlook for smaller pure-play VoIP service providers unless they could offer a differentiated value proposition.

The Local Phone Company also shares many of the same advantages as Cable in that they have strong brands, ability to bill effectively, established customer service, and field technicians. They also should provide the greatest comfort level to people for providing a phone service. However, the Phone Companies have dismal showing compared to the Cable companies who have the greatest number of VoIP subscribers. Verizon VoiceWing and AT&T CallVantage each have only 5.5% of the 2.9 million pure-play VoIP subscribers (Telephia Q2 2006). Those 320k subs are dwarfed by the Cable Companies like Time Warner Cable who alone had 1.6 million VoIP customers as of October 2006. Why have the Phone Companies had such a dismal result? Internal confliction between POTS and VoIP is one reason. They can not put emphasis on a low margin VoIP product in their core offer and have struggled to create an effective bundled product strategy with advanced services. They are also expending more resources and internal focus on better broadband offerings than DSL and trying to break into video services. Nonetheless, they still hold second and third positions for share of pure-play VoIP subscribers and have deep pockets, which will allow them to far outspend a small VoIP provider to get mindshare.

Vonage, with 53.9% of the 2.9 million pure-play VoIP subscribers, is spending a ton of money to get mindshare and customers. This is good in that it raises awareness of the product category, which helps a smaller pure-play. However, it also presents a huge challenge for smaller providers to compete head to head for customers when a single provider has such a dominant voice.

There are a number of challenges facing a smaller VoIP provider. Small providers have to compete for share of voice against companies that are spending a lot of money. As far as the business case goes, VoIP has relatively small margins and the ROI for marketing campaigns and generating brand awareness is a challenge. Yet without spending money on marketing, it is difficult to capture customers.

Then there is the challenge of the market size. Pure-play providers don't have local installers and technicians, which limit the market to those who have the technical savvy to set up the service or the willingness to do so. If the target market is defined as people who have the technical savvy to set up VoIP on a home network, then this market is comprised largely of younger people. This group is increasing mobile based and has little use for a landline phone. Also, consider how the overall telephony market will change over the years. People in college now that will be graduating over the next couple of years and getting apartments are 100% mobile based and have never had a landline phone. Thus the market for pure-play VoIP will be shrinking as fast as it grows.

However, there is still an opportunity for small VoIP providers in this challenging market. The opportunity is to focus on niche markets and leverage specific advantages of VoIP that are particularly important to specific customers segments. In such segments, word of mouth advertising is a viable strategy if the service can meet a strong need. This solves the dilemma of investing in media to build a strong brand and maintains better profitability.

ReVoS Internet phone service is an example of a small VoIP provider taking just this strategy. They are focusing on a niche segment of people who make a lot of international calls. ReVoS offers VoIP service, which includes unlimited international calling to over 40 countries including the standard VoIP product offering for $24.95 per month. They have also developed a VoIP product that works over a mobile phone that doesn't require a broadband connection. This is geared to people of international origin who, by the way, have the greatest propensity to use cell phones of any demographic in the U.S. This niche makes sense since carrying long distance call traffic is an inherent strength of the VoIP networks. Also these customer groups are better reached through a niche strategy and would be missed by mass-market strategies. This market is comprised largely of people living in the U.S. who have moved here from other countries. These are tight communities where word of mouth can flourish and the value proposition is strong when saving people money on high cost international calls. This is an example of how a small VoIP provider can successfully compete against much more formidable competitors such as the Cable Companies and Vonage.

However, the future of the telephony industry and the role that VoIP takes still needs to be fully defined and there are many uncertainties. There is a long list of unknowns, which include such things as Google getting into Voice and whether Microsoft includes a softphone and VoIP service as a standard part of their operating systems. Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) is another technology wildcard that could change the shape of the competitive landscape. The overwhelming penetration of mobile phone service and mobile carriers' ability to steal the show with a FMC offer is very real. This may be the competing technology that upsets the MSOs stronghold on VoIP. The question then becomes which bundled product offer is greater 1) Broadband and VoIP or 2) Mobile phone and VoIP. Another thing to consider is how Wireless VoIP (wVoIP) could change the competitive landscape and underlying telephony ecosystem if municipal hotspots and/or WiMax take off.

Whatever the future the holds, the economies of the telephony industry are likely to place a few large carriers in control of the majority of the market. People want simplicity in their lives and the winners will be those who provide the most seamless solutions to people's basic communications needs. For smaller VoIP providers to survive and make profit, they will need to meet strong niche needs that get overlooked by the mass adoption strategy, have a well defined and differentiated value proposition (Recall ESPN Mobile's problem), efficient operations to control cost and low margins, low churn in order to compensate for limited total average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) absent a larger bundled product strategy, and the ability to benefit from viral marketing within the target markets. With all of this in place, there is a chance of survival for small VoIP providers.



VOIP Security made Easy

Danny Wirken asked:


At one point or another, every one of us has been faced with difficulties while trying to search for information. Whether you are using the Internet, a file system on your computer's hard drive, database, or a global information system of your company, searching for information can be quite a tedious task.

The problems that you will encounter are numerous and even though you are searching with the aid of keywords, it's all to no avail. It is times like this where modern technology can be considered as a double edge sword. How so? Well, since the memory of a single PC is virtually equivalent to the amount of text data that is stored in a real land base library, searching for a certain piece of information is like searching for a needle amidst a bunch of hay. As for the Internet, the problem is much worse. That is why it is quite necessary to create search systems and technologies that would simplify as well as accelerate access to the necessary information.

There are various search technologies already available and selecting one that is suitable would depend directly on the specific tasks that you would need to solve in the future. So just imagine if you are caught in a deadline, desperate for that one data and at the same time your hands are tied to the phone or on your computer? Do you have to keep on halting your searches simply because you cannot type those keywords? Not necessarily so.

Have you heard of voice-activated Internet surfing and searching? Believe it or not that technology is now well within our grasp. As a matter of fact, Google had recently made announcements regarding their plans to offer free software online that would allow users to search the Internet with the use of voice-activated tools. Pretty cool is it not?

Indeed, but not quite. Those who are familiar with voice-activated software that is currently available either for business correspondence or in writing schoolwork is probably aware of at least one drawback in this type of technology. The drawback is actually minor and can easily be solved. You see voice activated software requires special microphones, or else the background noises and vibrations will make it difficult for your voice-activated software to comprehend your requests. Simply put, you will not be able to search around the Internet this way without it.

Another thing, the environment is also significant. If you want your voice interface to work properly, then your environment must be peaceful enough. If you are near a railroad or an airport, forget it. The noise and vibrations would simply mess up the words that you spoke into the microphone and would only confuse the voice-activated software. But then again, those are just minor setbacks and can easily be conquered with the right tools and location. Do not let it keep you from experiencing the next big thing in the Internet - voice interface for search engines.

Just what is a voice interface for search engines? Well, this is one of the most promising search technologies. According to its patent, voice interface for search engines is a system that would provide search results from a voice search query. How does it work? The theory is simple enough. Naturally, the system would receive a voice search query from a user, then it will derive one or more recognition hypotheses. Each one is associated with a weight, from the voice search query, and constructs a weighted boolean query using the recognition hypotheses. Then the system will provide the weighted boolean query to a search system and then provides the results of the search system to a user.

The voice interface is would be beneficial to the information retrieval systems and, more specifically, to a system and method for supporting voice queries in information retrieval systems. The main objective of this technology is to help those people in their searches. The voice interface to a search engine will allow them to perform searches without the need to type words, since it recognizes spoken queries and are guaranteed to return highly relevant search results.

There are several problems that exist in designing satisfactory voice interfaces. One of which is that current speech recognition technology has high word error rates, particularly for large vocabulary sizes. Meaning a change in intonation may confuse the command.

Other speech recognition applications a recognizer can use context, like a dialogue history in order to create certain expectations and guide the recognition. This is another problem. Voice search queries do not have such context. Voice queries tend to be very short and are on the order of only a few words or single word. Thus, there is little information from the voice itself in which to make a voice recognition determination.

Fortunately, the current patent application associated in voice interfaces for search engines addresses these problems. According to the said patent, by limiting the scope of the voice queries to a very narrow range will solve those problems. How would that work? Well, the user will be prompted to choose a small number of choices each time. For instance, at the initial menu, the user may choose from "news," "stocks," "weather," or "sports." After choosing one category, the system will again offer another small set of choices until the user reach the piece of information that he or she is searching for.

By limiting the number of possible speeches, the problem in speech recognition task would decrease to a level that is satisfactory enough. However, it is still likely that this approach might result in severe deficiencies. For instance, since the user still needs to go through several voice menus, it might be slow to use. Furthermore, if the user's information need do not match any of the category, then it would be quite difficult to find the information that he or she desires. In the end it might cause some frustration on the part of the user, especially since he or she must adjust his or her interactions to the rigid, mechanical structure of the system. Therefore, a more effective voice interface for search engines is still at large.



VOIP Security made Easy