[Asterisk-Users] Qs about FXO/FXS cards

[Greg - Cirelle Enterprises]

At 03:25 PM 1/3/05 -0500, you wrote:
>Unfortunately that makes Asterisk installs for small businesses more 
>expensive
>than necessary.  At US$500 for a T100P and US$300ish for a channel bank (FXS
>only, FXO is significantly more expensive!) plus your time and system for an
>Asterisk install it raises the bar for the small business to adopt Asterisk.
>The TDM400P would fit a very nice little niche if it worked reliably.
>
>Let's face it -- most businesses are looking at VOIP to reduce their 
>telephone
>bills and if the time it takes for the install to pay for itself is raised
>significantly (like an added $1000 price tag for reliable equipment)...
>well... the writing on the wall is pretty clear.
>
>-A.


With the above said, now you have just entered the realm of the talkswitch.

I was speaking with a cable installer friend of mine, who told me he installs
the talkswitch at all the jenny craig franchises (the franchise, I assume pays
for the devices as he does not resell them). His words "talkswitch is great,
just plug it in and it works, pbx and voip, you can't beat it" He also wires
them to their pa system.

List price is 1800 bucks for the top of the line unit. 8fxo, 16fxs, ethernet

When you try to sell the asterisk system, you have to compete with that and
frankly, all the people want is to make phone calls.

Mention voice over ip and eyebrows raise, "I've heard of that", but in reality
nobody cares how their phone calls are made, just that it goes through.

If you can't save them a bunch of money, there is little or no reason to 
diverge
to a more costly system, that will "save in the long run", regardless of the
additional feature set, which if they can't touch it, feel it taste it,
smell it, smoke it, makes no difference at all.

In reality, I want to off as many boxes as I can, maybe tie in some
service contracts, and be done with it.

 From our experience, most small office/businesses have a bunch of phone
lines, 3-8, and are leery of  spending a chunk of change on a new system
and possibly phones as well.

g