[asterisk-users] Log and forward calls to cellphone?

[Sebastian]

Hi,

On 01/01/2011 05:32 PM, Gilles wrote:
> On Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:55:46 +0100, Administrator TOOTAI
> <admin at tootai.net>  wrote:
>> I wouldn't be one of your friend: when I'm calling you I call a landline
>> but finally will be charged for a mobile call (imagine I have free calls
>> to landlines from my ISP). I give you an information: in France you
>> don't have the right to do this unless you have it precise *before*
>> redirection.
>
> I checked with the VOSP: Apparently, it doesn't support getting an SIP
> message to forward calls on the fly, and I pay for the forwarded leg
> of the call (the caller will pay his part).

I am, in a way, in a similar situation. I have a POTS/PSTN landline 
connected to my Asterisk server - and Asterisk calls my mobile when a 
call comes in down the POTS line and then bridges the calls for me. This 
is effectively home-brew/DIY call diversion. Instead of asking the phone 
company to divert the calls when I'm not home, I setup Asterisk to do 
that for me. The slight advantage in doing it myself is that I use 
another SIP provider for the outgoing leg of the call - who charges me 
far less per minute then my landline provider would charge me for their 
divert feature. They even charge an extra monthly fee for having the 
divert feature!

I take it the above is your option number one - which you are trying to 
avoid. I'm afraid your option number two doesn't really exist - as far 
as I know. First of all - as the others have pointed out, the incoming 
call has dialled a landline number - and expects to pay for a call to a 
landline number. So any diversion happening would be your responsability 
to pay for. That is of course if you don't live in USA or Canada - where 
I believe calls *to* mobiles are similarly charged as calls *to* 
landlines - and it is the receiving end who gets charged for calls to 
mobiles. So in general - sending any sort of message to phone provider 
and asking them, on the fly, to send the call to another number - 
without you being charged - is most likely impossible - and will stay 
that way.

The closest you will come to this is if you have a call divert with the 
phone company, and a package which allows free calls to a specific 
mobile phone (or free mobile minutes). I used to be with a landline 
provider - who gave me free unlimited calls from my landline to my 
mobile phone. They didn't realised that this would mean I could have 
call diverts from my landline to my mobile free as well - as effectively 
I was being charged as if my house phone would call my mobile! This 
worked for about two years - until I had to move house, and provider.

Anyway - there is a third option - which I have been using with some 
success. I connected my softphone on my laptop to my Asterisk server at 
home (through OpenVPN for extra security - but this is not compulsory). 
Sometime I keep my laptop on when out in the field at clients, with 
Internet connection running - and pick-up incoming calls on the laptop. 
This way the divert part of the call is free - as it is coming through 
the Internet to my laptop. I configured my phone divert (in Asterisk) to 
ring simultaneously my mobile and my softphone when a call comes down 
the landline. I answer on whichever one I want. I don't use Followme - I 
don't like the way it has been implemented (the line gets answered early 
- not when I answer the mobile or softphone).

As a last alternative - a slight improvement on the above. If you can 
get a smartphone with Android - which would let you run SIP over 3G - 
you should have true free voice divert. Everything would be as above - 
the main difference is that the phone (instead of the laptop) would be 
on and connected all the time - even when moving out and about - which 
with a laptop is not feasible. This would allow you to answer your calls 
through the 3G data link - and not be charged per minute. If your mobile 
phone company will let you do that (run SIP over 3G). This is where an 
OpenVPN (or any other VPN) connection again would come in handy - they 
shouldn't be able to tell you are running SIP - if it is inside VPN ;-) 
I haven't trialled this version yet - but this would be my ultimate call 
diversion setup.

Hope the above helps,

Sebastian


>
> Thanks guys.
>
>
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