I would like to receive phone calls on a computer running Linux. I
only want to use open source software. I would like to know how can I
connect multiple phone lines onto a computer? several computers??? and
is it possible to write a script so that I can see which phone line is
in use.
EXAMPLE:
Imagine there are 3 companies (Alpha, Beta, and Delta) each of them
has an assigned phone number. Say 1-800-xxx-1001 for the company
Alpha, 1-800-xxx-1002 for the company Beta, and 1-800-xxx-1003 for the
company Delta. Imagine someone makes a phone call to the phone number
1-800-xxx-1002 I can pick the phone and say "good morning, Beta
company how may I help you?"

I hope this is not too complicated to do. I know similar systems are
already in use but they are *very* expensive. I need something I could
set up for a few thousand dollars AT MOST!

A few important things! :
The open source software must be reliable and it shouldn't be
softwares whose development has been stopped. For example, I don't
want to use a software created 10 years ago and that nobody takes care
of fixing the bugs in it etc...

If you know the subject well and if you later guide me on how to set
this up, I could pay you for your help.

---

Request for Question Clarification by arimathea-ga on 09 Sep 2003 21:33 PDT

vincent_europe-ga,

I'd be happy to help.  blivius-ga is on the right path with Asterisk
as a recommended solution.  I have some familiarity in setting these
types of systems up, but what specifically are you looking for as the
answer to your question here on Google Answers?  Do you just want some
ideas on potential software solutions, or are you looking for complete
information on how the solution looks end to end?  Could you quantify
your requirements a little further so us researchers can be focused in
our answer to you?

Thanks!
arimathea-ga
Researcher

Asterisk is the Open Source Linux PBX.
It is widely used, supported, and in active development.
See them at asterisk.org see also their sponsor digium.com

Asterisk in combination with a softphone should
give you what you need at your price point.

The Asterisk Open-Source PBX can do this for you and more. Asterisk is
free -- visit http://asterisk.org/ for more info. For multiple
incoming lines, I suggest you use a Wildcard T100P or E100P and a
channel bank. I strongly suggest that if you choose Asterisk, you use
Digium telephony hardware. It's sold by the same folks that actually
developed Asterisk, and is designed specifically to work well with
Asterisk. It's also priced so low that it's a steal as far as
telelphony interfaces are concerned.
  http://digium.com/index.php?menu=hardware_products

As a full-featured PBX, Asterisk can answer each line with an
appropriate greeting and company-specific call logic. This means that
if Alpha doesn't want to take calls outside business hours, then a
late-night call could be sent to voice mail while a call to Beta might
right an extension.

The following extensions.conf config snippet may help:

; If calling a specific company, send the call to the appropriate
context
exten => 800xxx1001,1,Goto,alpha|s|1
exten => 800xxx1002,1,Goto,beta|s|1
exten => 800xxx1003,1,Goto,delta|s|1

[alpha]
exten => s,1,Answer
exten => s,2,Playback(greeting-alpha)
exten => 0,Dial,${TRUNK}/1001
exten => 1001,Dial,${TRUNK}/1001
exten => 1002,Dial,${TRUNK}/1002
exten => 1003,Dial,${TRUNK}/1003

[beta]
exten => s,1,Answer
exten => s,2,Playback(greeting-beta)
exten => 0,Dial,${TRUNK}/2001
exten => 2001,Dial,${TRUNK}/2001
exten => 2002,Dial,${TRUNK}/2002
exten => 2003,Dial,${TRUNK}/2003

[delta]
exten => s,1,Answer
exten => s,2,Playback(greeting-delta)
exten => 0,Dial,${TRUNK}/3001
exten => 3001,Dial,${TRUNK}/3001
exten => 3002,Dial,${TRUNK}/3002
exten => 3003,Dial,${TRUNK}/3003


There are all sorts of other thing you can do, such as distictive
ringing on your extension so you know what type of call is coming in.

If this is a project with a budget, feel free to contact me for
implementation assistance. If it's just a hobby thing, then read the
asterisk-users list archives, join the list, and have fun with open
source telephony! I don't work for Digium, but I use Asterisk often.

Hope this helps,
roderickm-ga