FreeSWITCH Implementation ideas

Disclaimer: Flying through Linux and OpenSource. You might experience Freedom along with plenty of awesomeness.

So you have a SIP Server/PBX setup with FreeSWITCH. What all can you do with it?

Use it in your Small Office/Home Office:

1. Use it for interoffice voice communication.
2. Use it for internal voice communications between satellite office locations.
3. Setup call routing for all incoming calls based on the time of day and availability of personnel.
4. Create an IVR menu for your customers/clients to assist with call routing and to provide valuable information over the phone, such as hours of operation, directions, etc.
5. Create an IVR menu for your customers/clients to assist them with account inquiry - some coding needed to interface with your backend datastores.
6. Auto-announce important messages or season's greetings to the caller before routing calls.
7. Setup automated calls to your customers/clients reminding them about useful information or deadlines.

Use it in your Home:

1. Use it as a Skype replacement for your immediate and extended families.
2. Route incoming calls intelligently directly to the intended recipient's SIP phone device.
3. Make outbound calls from any computer or SIP/soft phone on your network.
4. Block unsolicited incoming calls from telemarketers.
5. Block unsolicited incoming calls from annoying callers.
6. Play "This number is no longer in service" when annoying callers call.
7. Screen incoming calls having callers announce their names before sending the call through, giving you the opportunity to reject calls.
8. Setup reminders having the "home" call you reminding you about the milk.
9. Prank your friends by using pretend voice greetings when they call.
10. Replace your fixed home phone units with unused smartphones over WiFi.
11. Make calls using your home phone even when away (*see how I set this feature on my home network below)
12. Use you favorite VoIP home phone service's features from anywhere (*see how I set this feature on my home network below)

Fun project ideas that could use FreeSWITCH - some coding required:

1. Interface with your Home Automation System and turn lights on and off by calling your home.
2. Have your home phone read out your emails or rss feeds when you call.
3. Have your home phone take dictation and voice notes and store them on your home network.
4. Setup a dial-in radio/jukebox.
5. Have your home phone give you information about local weather, news headlines, your server's overall health, software application's progress, etc.

Here is how I use it in my home network:


We have a Vonage home phone serivce with a flat monthly rate international calling plan. However, it is a fixed home phone line. Now with the FreeSWITCH + SPA 3102 setup, I can make international phone calls from my Android cell phone over 3G and WiFi where ever available.
For all the non-smart phones in our household, I found a free service called IPKall  that gives you a regular phone number (Washington state numbers only) that can be forwarded to any sip phone. I've configured a new extension on the public profile and forwarded the IPKall phone number to go to this extension. The following happens when someone calls this IPKall number:

1. If the incoming caller id is identified as one of our cell phones, then the caller is prompted to enter the number. FreeSWITCH then initiates a outbound call using the home phone line and bridges the two calls.
2. If the incoming caller id is not identified as one of our cell phones, then the caller is sent to voice mail box.

This way my parents, who don't yet have an Android phone, can still make international calls through our Vonage home phone from their cell phones. At the same time I don't have to worry too much about someone finding out about this IPKall number and using it to make unauthorized international calls using our phone line.


This article is part of a series which can be tracked by the following articles:
PogoDebian + FreeSWITCH + Linksys 3102 VoIP Gateway = Pure Bliss - Part 1
Hello!!! We have a dial tone.
"Operator. How may I direct your call?"
FreeSWITCH Implementation ideas