[asterisk-users] Allowing multiple callers to join a public speaking session...?

[John A. Sullivan III]

On Wed, 2009-09-02 at 14:03 -0400, lists at mgreg.com wrote:
> On Sep 2, 2009, at 1:33 PM, Jeff LaCoursiere wrote:
> > Hi Michael,
> >
> > Yes, I think you are on the right track.  A "Meetme" conference is  
> > what
> > you need, and perhaps a service to provide a DID number that would  
> > allow
> > multiple people to call in to your conference at the same time  
> > (without
> > purchasing POTS hardware, dealing with echo issues, etc.).  Checkout
> > "www.ipcomms.net".  I use them for a number of DID services.  Their  
> > rates
> > are decent and their support folks know asterisk.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > j
> 
> 
> Thanks for the posts thus far!  In all honesty I'm looking for a  
> complete "in house" solution.  I don't mind spending up to $500-600 on  
> equipment if necessary.  I just want to know that when I'm done there  
> are no residual costs, etc.  Is Asterisk capable of this kind of setup/ 
> management?  As for labor, I'm willing to donate as much as is  
> necessary.
<snip>
Absolutely.  It doesn't sound like you need much firepower.  You may
even be able to carve off a virtual server for it.  We don't do that in
order to minimize latency but I'm sure lots of folks swear by such a
setup.  You will have the typical maintenance - updates, security
patches, any client side changes.

I would imagine your biggest challenge will be getting people into the
system.  If they are all internal (I was originally assuming they were
not), they can all use soft phones and head sets.  Since it is a
monologue, you may even be able to dispense with the headsets.  If folks
are calling in from outside your network, it gets a little trickier.  If
they all have Internet connections, they can establish direct SIP
connections to your PBX.  If they are coming in from the PSTN, you will
need phone lines.  You could talk to a VoIP carrier and see if they can
replace your PSTN access and then you would have the best of all worlds.
Hope this helps - John
-- 
John A. Sullivan III
Open Source Development Corporation
+1 207-985-7880
jsullivan at opensourcedevel.com

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