asterisk users - Jan 2004 - What technology could my phone company be using?

I live in New Brunswick Canada.  The phone company is Aliant.  When
you set up business service here, you can go with either analog or
digital lines.  This isn't a T1 or ISDN.  They are talking individual
lines direct to handsets that they provide.  They offer the digital
option with even very small ( 2 - 4) number of lines.

What technology could this be?  Is there any way to connect such a
line to Asterisk?  PBX vendors that I have talked to in the past say
that we can bring the Aliant digital lines straight into their PBX.
We would like to do this with Asterisk, but can't figure out what the
technology is.  (ever try to get technical info from the phone
company?)

I have searched the web and the archives, but can't figure out what
the technology could be.  It can't be T1, because these lines come
direct to handsets.  I don't believe it can be BRI because each phone
has only a single line, and the price seems to low.

If anyone can shed any light on this, it would be very much
appreciated.

Doug
-- 
Doug Meredith (doug.meredith@systemguard.com)
SystemGuard - Oracle remote support
877-974-8273 (87-SYSGUARD)
506-854-7997
www.systemguard.com

> I live in New Brunswick Canada.  The phone company is Aliant.  When
> you set up business service here, you can go with either analog or
> digital lines.  This isn't a T1 or ISDN.  They are talking individual
> lines direct to handsets that they provide.  They offer the digital
> option with even very small ( 2 - 4) number of lines.
I am guessing DSL to a hybrid box like one of the ones from ZHONE that
split off several pots lines or isdn lines, and a high speed serial line
(normally configured as frame relay for whatever bandwidth is left over)

This "box" could be at your demarc much like you would have your T1
"modem" (T1 is actually delivered over HDSL on a single pair, and then
the
modem box splits it out onto the the familiar tx and rx pairs)

In this case the handsets could be either analog or isdn depending what
"flavour" box they provide.

They could also be just giving you an adsl circuit, and a dumb modem/hub,
and providing unique ips to IP phones that you happen to plug in, but
there would not be any network connection to the internet, just to their
voip headend at the CO.

All these alternatives save them money since they can be delivered to you
on one pair, and support what seems like 4 or more physical lines.



>
> What technology could this be?  Is there any way to connect such a
> line to Asterisk?  PBX vendors that I have talked to in the past say
> that we can bring the Aliant digital lines straight into their PBX.
> We would like to do this with Asterisk, but can't figure out what the
> technology is.  (ever try to get technical info from the phone
> company?)
>
> I have searched the web and the archives, but can't figure out what
> the technology could be.  It can't be T1, because these lines come
> direct to handsets.  I don't believe it can be BRI because each phone
> has only a single line, and the price seems to low.
>
> If anyone can shed any light on this, it would be very much
> appreciated.
>
> Doug
> --
> Doug Meredith (doug.meredith@systemguard.com)
> SystemGuard - Oracle remote support
> 877-974-8273 (87-SYSGUARD)
> 506-854-7997
> www.systemguard.com
>
> _______________________________________________
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> http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
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>    http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
>

Sounds like Centrex services, we had it from Telus in Alberta a few years ago.

phones look like this:
http://www.telephonemagic.com/meridian_centrex_phones.htm


At 12:58 PM 1/21/2004 -0400, Doug Meredith wrote:
>I live in New Brunswick Canada.  The phone company is Aliant.  When
>you set up business service here, you can go with either analog or
>digital lines.  This isn't a T1 or ISDN.  They are talking individual
>lines direct to handsets that they provide.  They offer the digital
>option with even very small ( 2 - 4) number of lines.

To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com
From: Doug Meredith <doug.meredith@skyridge.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 12:58:35 -0400
Organization: Skyridge Systems Inc.
Subject: [Asterisk-Users] What technology could my phone company be
using?
Reply-To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com
>I live in New Brunswick Canada.  The phone company is Aliant.  When
>you set up business service here, you can go with either analog or
>digital lines.  This isn't a T1 or ISDN.  They are talking individual
>lines direct to handsets that they provide.  They offer the digital
>option with even very small ( 2 - 4) number of lines.
>What technology could this be?  Is there any way to connect such a
>line to Asterisk?  PBX vendors that I have talked to in the past say
>that we can bring the Aliant digital lines straight into their PBX.
>We would like to do this with Asterisk, but can't figure out what the
>technology is.  (ever try to get technical info from the phone
>company?)
The end user deskset is most likely a conventional POTS set or an ISDN
device. Very, very few LEC's or CLEC's are delivering small business
dialtone on alternative technologies. Aliant could be using ISDN for
this service. ISDN desksets can be programmed to answer multiple
directory numbers and multiple desksets can be bridged across a single
ISDN line. The Aliant switch can be programmed to pass calls between
desksets and supply set to set intercom services.

The best way to determine what technology Aliant is using is to find
somebody with the service, get the manufacturer & model number off the
termination device(s) and do an Internet search. If your search doesn't
yield a datasheet that lists the technology employed then post the
information to this list. Someone is bound to know something about the
hardware and thus the technology employed. 

As long as Aliant is employing POTS, ISDN, T1/PRI, or E1 technology
Asterisk can be connected to the Alliant switch. If by some chance
Aliant is using a VOIP technology you may be able to connect Asterisk
directly to their system if you can ascertain the necessary parameters.

Regards,
George Bean
Puwaba Technologies

Mark Hazlewood <lists@idontknow.com> wrote:
>Sounds like Centrex services, we had it from Telus in Alberta a few years
ago.
I believe this is used for Centrex.  I thought Centrex was basically a
CO-hosted PBX.  Is it also a local-loop technology?  Are there PCI
cards or SIP gateway boxes available?

Doug
-- 
Doug Meredith (doug.meredith@systemguard.com)
SystemGuard - Oracle remote support
877-974-8273 (87-SYSGUARD)
506-854-7997
www.systemguard.com