asterisk users - Nov 2003 - PBX (Asterisk) <-> Cellular Phone Network

Maybe someone here has found a good solution to this problem.

I voulenteer with a local Search And Rescue unit and I was speaking with the 
senior members about how they interface the command trailer PBX with the PSTN 
or cellular networks when they are on scene at a remote location.  Turns out 
they don't.  Thus that got me to thinking about how one would get Asterisk
to
interface with a cell phone directly, or what hardware out there works well 
for the task.  I have managed to figure out how to make my Motorola StarTAC 
make outgoing voice calls for instance and making an interface for this phone 
should be quite possible, but it would be nice to have incoming phone calls 
too.  I know there are many companies out there which make such producs, and 
that a Google search can yield many results, I want thoughts and opinions, 
stuff which Google suks at.

Thanks!

-Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I have a similar challenge. I will have to connect a remote location with
PBX to a central location with PBX. While roaming the Internet I came
accross this:

http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,8764,43170,00.html

Two PSTN/GSM gateways called the Nokia 22 and the Nokia 32. I don't know how
it will operate with * yet but it seems rather transparant.

Regards,
Hans

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Nelson [mailto:nelsonab@pobox.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 9:35 AM
To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com
Subject: [Asterisk-Users] PBX (Asterisk) <-> Cellular Phone Network


Maybe someone here has found a good solution to this problem.

I voulenteer with a local Search And Rescue unit and I was speaking with the

senior members about how they interface the command trailer PBX with the
PSTN 
or cellular networks when they are on scene at a remote location.  Turns out

they don't.  Thus that got me to thinking about how one would get Asterisk
to 
interface with a cell phone directly, or what hardware out there works well 
for the task.  I have managed to figure out how to make my Motorola StarTAC 
make outgoing voice calls for instance and making an interface for this
phone 
should be quite possible, but it would be nice to have incoming phone calls 
too.  I know there are many companies out there which make such producs, and

that a Google search can yield many results, I want thoughts and opinions, 
stuff which Google suks at.

Thanks!

-Andrew
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> I voulenteer with a local Search And Rescue unit and I was speaking with
the
> senior members about how they interface the command trailer PBX with the
PSTN
> or cellular networks when they are on scene at a remote location.  Turns
out
> they don't.  Thus that got me to thinking about how one would get
Asterisk to
> interface with a cell phone directly, or what hardware out there works well
> for the task.  I have managed to figure out how to make my Motorola StarTAC
> make outgoing voice calls for instance and making an interface for this
phone
> should be quite possible, but it would be nice to have incoming phone calls
> too.  I know there are many companies out there which make such producs,
and
> that a Google search can yield many results, I want thoughts and opinions, 
> stuff which Google suks at.
Some of the older cell phones use to expose either a 2-wire or 4-wire
interface via a connector on the phone (don't know about transmission
levels), but not sure what the more current models are doing. Nokia and 
Motorola sponsor application development lists, free development tools, 
limited access to knowledgable engineers, compatibility test centers,
and other such technical references that are open for anyone to join.
I'd start by digging around Motorola's web site (they do have references
to the lists if dig deep enough).

>interface the command trailer PBX with the PSTN
> or cellular networks when they are on scene at a remote location.  Turns
out
> they don't.  Thus that got me to thinking about how one would get
Asterisk
to
> interface with a cell phone directly, or what hardware out there works
well
> for the task.
These guys have a wide range of cellular adapters
http://www.telular.com/products/index.asp

> I have a similar challenge. I will have to connect a remote location with
> PBX to a central location with PBX. While roaming the Internet I came
> accross this:
If this location is in the netherlands, a look at
http://www.falcom.de/e/e-produkte.html might also prove helpful. They
offer a broad array of embedded GSM/GPRS/GPS modules. I used a number of
A2D devices for a messaging application. They operate almost like a
hayes compatible voice modem over a serial link. Only they come with a
proprietary command set to do GSM related tasks such as entering a PIN
number for your SIM.

Thilo

P.S.: I still have a number of them lying around. Drop me an email, if
you need some.