asterisk users - Oct 2003 - OT - SIP Auto-Answer for Cisco 7940/7960!!

I've been digging around with some cisco engineers for about a week & I
finally got an encouraging response to the Auto-Answer issue with the SIP
Phones.

Here is their reply:

================ FROM CISCO ===============
Auto-Answer feature is introduced in SIP IP Phone 6.0 version. This software
version
is expected to be available for customers shortly.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

=============== END CISCO ==============

Hopefully we'll finally have an intercom/paging solution with Cisco SIP
Phones!!!
Thought I would share the news with any/all who are interested.

>I've been digging around with some cisco engineers for about a week 
>& I finally got an encouraging response to the Auto-Answer issue 
>with the SIP Phones.
>
>Here is their reply:
>
>==============>== FROM CISCO =>==============>
>Auto-Answer feature is introduced in SIP IP Phone 6.0 version. This 
>software version
>is expected to be available for customers shortly.
>
>Please let me know if you have any questions.
>
>=============>== END CISCO =>=============>
>
>Hopefully we'll finally have an intercom/paging solution with Cisco 
>SIP Phones!!!
>Thought I would share the news with any/all who are interested.
This is very good news.  I'll be very interested to see how Cisco has 
chosen to implement SIP-based paging and/or intercom (i.e.: 
auto-answer.)

On the analog front, since we're talking about paging or intercom: it 
has been mentioned that the Sayson ADSI phones (Aastra?) are 
integrated with an Altigen PBX system, that the phones can support 
paging.  See the link below.

http://www.sayson.com/product/Altigen.htm

If this could be combined with a Cisco ATA-186 or similar product, 
would it not be possible to have paging via SIP delivery?  I have not 
put anything other than the most basic thought into this, and I don't 
know exactly how they support ADSI-based paging, but has anyone 
worked on this?  I mentioned it via IRC and someone said they took a 
half-hearted stab at it, but it didn't sound like it had been 
explored in depth.  That is a major feature issue that most business 
customers are looking for, and it would be great to have some 
combination of devices that offered paging or intercom.

JT