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| Improve
your enterprise image and enjoy sophisticated telephony
service while saving money
on your telecoms. An asterisk hybrid PBX (VoIP / PSTN) + a 4 port router + a WI-FI access point in one package. Simply connect to your broadband modem and share the telephony resources and Internet with up to 8 extensions. Automated attendant, Voice Mail with email delivery, call queues, WebCall, WebAudio, Cell to VoIP gateway, etc ... Make / receive calls on up to 8 internal extensions with one conventional external line (PSTN) and / or VoIP line(s). Easily integrate your existing conventional line to the PBX and add one or more VoIP line(s). Create a "virtual" office or link up to four system with a direct Internet link and place free calls in between them. An ideal platform to create a WI-FI phone to VoIP gateway using WI-FI phones like this. Very easy to setup and configure with our exclusive WWW interface. No complicated dial plan to write. Absolutely the most cost effective and easiest solution for a small enterprise or family. | |||||||||||||
| | Presentation | Configurations | Management | Exclusive features | Cost | FAQ | User's Manual | | |||||||||||||
| Presentation "MARS"
is a hybrid VoIP / PSTN
PBX (using Asterisk) embedded in a 4 port + WI-FI router.
It has been specifically designed for the needs of small offices or
home
offices (SOHO)
or for family usage. It allows to interconnect
up
to four internal
"extensions" with the conventional
telephone network
(PSTN) and / or one or more VoIP (Voice over IP)
lines. The
extensions can be used with either VoIP
phones, WI-FI
phones, regular phones (using
an adapter) or even with a simple "software" phone running on a PC
(Windows / Mac / Linux) with a sound card. The built in WI-FI access point makes
it an ideal platform to implement a wireless
VoIP gateway, using WI-FI
SIP telephones like the WAP300 from Lynksys. The MARS VoIP PBX / router provides a full set of advanced telephony features that one would expect from a high end system. A user customizable automated attendant, voice mail with email delivery of voice messages, call routing (least cost), call forwarding, call transfers, call parking, call queue (ACD), time schedule etc. and some exciting features exclusive to our system such as WebCall, Web Audio or the Cell to VoIP gateway. An exclusive and very easy to use Web interface allows to easily configure the system from a simple browser. The system can be very economically setup on a single telephone line with ADSL Internet access. The same line being used as the conventional line of the system, the VoIP lines and for the Internet access of all the PCs connected. And since the MARS system is built in a 4 ports router with WI-FI access point, it provides all that you need to share the Internet and the telephony features for up to 8 PC and 8 telephones. Just connect it to your ADSL / Cable modem. A very economical solution ... Another very interesting feature is that you can interconnect up to four MARS systems together using a direct Internet link between each others. This allows to place or transfer calls to the others remotely located systems, as if it was a local extension. Best of all, the calls in between system being routed through the Internet, will always be entirely free of charges since no VoIP provider is used. Imagine the saving and flexibility ! Here is a graphical representation of the MARS system providing access to the Internet, the PSTN (conventional line) and VoIP lines for 4 extensions and 4 PCs. It uses a FXO / FXS gateway to connect the system to the PSTN and use a regular telephone as an extension (Ext.: 200). The 3 others extensions use VoIP telephones (Ext.: 201 - 203). Such a setup will allow all users to access the Internet, place or receive calls to / from the PSTN network AND the VoIP line(s). | |||||||||||||
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Configurations The
above diagram, represent a configuration using a single conventional
line with ADSL Internet access. The line is used as the system's
conventional line as well as for the VoIP line and the Internet access
for all users of the system. The usage of a conventional line
and VoIP line allows to get the advantages of both system with an increased security in case of Internet access problems. This configuration is also the most interesting if you want to integrate your existing PSTN line in the system. Simply connect to an ADSL modem and you have a full working system for 4 PCs (up to 8) / telephones / Internet users. The system can also be used with cable Internet access with or without a conventional line. It can be used as the main router of the system providing Internet / telephony access to all users , or as a switch to connect and extend an existing router. See also the configuration diagrams here. Functions VoIP / PSTN PBX 8 X 2+ : Supporting up to four extensions with one external PSTN + 1 (or more) VoIP lines.
The FXO / FXS interface allows to connect the system to a regular phone line to place and receive calls from your (existing) line. It also allows to connect a regular telephone to the system to be used as an extension making possible to place and receive calls to / from the PSTN or VoIP line(s) using a conventional phone. Used with the FXO / FXS interface, the MARS systems becomes a full featured hybrid PBX with one conventional external line, and an extension. Add one (or more) VoIP line from your VoIP provider and up to 3 extensions using VoIP phones or a combination of regular phones with ATA adapter to complete or expand your system according to your needs. | |||||||||||||
| Create a "virtual" office | |||||||||||||
As more and more people work from their home, the MARS system can create a great communication tools to "unite" a group of workers at different location under what we could call a "virtual" office. Since VoIP is carried over the Internet, an extension does not need to be connected directly to the system but can in fact be located anywhere where an Internet link with sufficient bandwidth (80 Kbps each way) is available. The diagram below show a setup with one extension located in the same location as the MARS system while the 3 others extensions are located in some other locations, connecting to the MARS system over their own Internet connection.  Each of the 4 extensions can communicate with another extension by dialing it's 3 digits number and can dial out using the system external lines (PSTN or VoIP) at location "A", as if they were connected directly to the system. Note that the 3 "remote" extensions do not require a telephone line or VoIP line but only an Internet connection. over which they connect to the remote MARS system. People who call the system auto attendant will hear the company greeting and will get transfered to an extension without ever knowing that it is in a different location. | |||||||||||||
| System Trunks (Interconnecting multiple systems) | |||||||||||||
| Flexibility
and economy. One of the greatest potential of the MARS system comes with the fact that you can interconnect up to four systems, using a direct Internet link in between the systems, so that calls can be placed or transferred in between them for free. Creating a direct link between systems allow to call from one system to an extension on the other as if it was a local extension. For example, the user of extension 200 on system at location "A" can reach the extension 303 at location "B" just by dialing "303" as it would be a local extension. This call will be routed in between the 2 systems over the Internet without going through VoIP a service provider and hence will be always free, no matter where the location are (*). You can also as easily transfer an incoming call or create a 3 way conference with a colleague at another location, just as you would do for a local extension. Finally you can even use an external line of a remote system to place a call ! From an extension on system 1, just use "*2" in front of the number to dial it using system 2 lines. This is a great feature for small businesses with branches at different locations. This feature can not only provide great saving on long distance costs but also provide you with new ways to handle your inter offices communications. This function can be used even with dynamic IP addresses as the built-in dynamic DNS client is used to give the systems a fixed "domain name". To interconnect 2 systems, just fill in the remote system name and password as well as IP / Domain name in the WWW interface and you are ready to make and receive free calls in between the linked systems. (*) As long as your Internet link provide the required sustained bandwidth. |  - Call any system extension by it's 3 digits no. - - Transfer incoming call to another system ext. - Use the lines of another system to place a call. | ||||||||||||
| WI-FI VoIP gateway | |||||||||||||
 | Because
of it's built-in full featured WI-FI
access point, and PBX,
the MARS
system is ideal to implement a wireless
VoIP gateway. Using WI-FI
SIP telephones like the WIP300 from Lynksys. The WI-FI phones will appear as normal extensions and will be able to place and receive calls within the WI-FI range over the VoIP or PSTN lines of the system. Also, some mobile phone now have built in WI-FI and SIP clients, and this is a trend that will most probably become more common over time. Such a system can be used to provide PBX services AND VoIP services for a small hotel or B&B, or an Internet cafe, for instance. |
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| Internet Telephony (VoIP) | |||||||||||||
| Internet
Telephony (VoIP) Internet
telephony (VoIP) offers many advantages compared to the
conventional system (PSTN) not only for the cost of the service but
also for it's flexibility. VoIP lines are available for as low as
$18.95(*) / month (business $24.95) including
unlimited local calls and long distance at 0.04 / min (or even less). This
is a great
way to reach some new customers and help conquer new markets.
Another usage is to provide free technical supports to users located
in other cities."Pay as you go" lines. Some providers offer "pay as you go" VoIP lines with very low monthly line rates ($2.50 / line / month (*)) with local and long distance calls as low as 0.011 / min (*). Moreover, with many providers, you can get lines for the same low prices with local numbers in many major cities. Multiple VoIP calls. The "pay as you go" lines offer a major advantage of allowing to place or receive up to 5 simultaneous calls on a single VoIP line, each call being billed separately. This is a very economical way to get access to multiple lines. | |||||||||||||
| Web Management Interface | |||||||||||||
 | Simple
setup from your browser - Extensions - External lines (trunks) - Queues - Time Conditions - Local prefixes - Remote MARS systems - SMTP Server (send email) - Stats , System status, Logs etc. | ||||||||||||
| WebCall | |||||||||||||
The unique and
exclusive "Web Call"
function is designed to allow
the visitors of your WWW site to get in
contact with you by simply entering their telephone number
in a form
displayed on your WWW site. The system will then establish a telephone
contact with you (or your representative) and your
visitor
and potential client. The agent receiving the call can get the
information entered in the WebCall form by the user using a simple www
browser before the beginning of the call. You can use
multiple
forms on your site with different target extension to direct the calls
to different agents (extensions). "No
wait"
free technical support.This function can greatly help to increase the productivity of your WWW site by allowing you to generate new business contacts and by giving you the opportunity to better explain (and sell) your products and/or services to your interested visitors. This
service can
also be used
to provide free technical support with no
"waiting in line"
over the phone. The WebCall system will instead call back
your client when you are available. Your clients
will appreciate ..."Tool free" line. The
WebCall
service can
also
advantageously replace a
"tool free" (800, 877 etc.) line. Since you will be
calling, the call will be free for your client. And this, at a much
better cost than a "tool free" line. |  1- Visitor send WebCall request from your site 2- MARS get the request and call the given extension. 3- The user's data for the call are available 4- Calls the visitor and establish contact with agent. | ||||||||||||
| Web Call Demo | WebCall: The data entered in the Webcall form is available from your www browser even before the beginning of the call.  | ||||||||||||
| Mobile
phone (cell) to VoIP
gateway | |||||||||||||
The MARS
system also provides a gateway
to allow cell phone
users to place long
distance calls using VoIP
from a mobile phone. Just call your system (on the PSTN) line, enter
your password and dial the long distance number and voilà,
long
distance call from your cell at VoIP costs ! |  | ||||||||||||
| Web Audio | |||||||||||||
"Web
Audio" is
another MARS' exclusive service that allows you to listen to hundreds of hours of
high quality audio
programs from your phone. Just call the system and enter
the 3 digits program code. Enter "000" to receive the programs list by
email. This
function could be used for many interesting applications. If you have
some audio content that you would like to make available on your MARS
system, we can prepare and load your content in the USB memory for
instant access. Ex. company directives, memos, procedures courses,
audio books etc ... | Some of our
favorites
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| Cost and requirements | |||||||||||||
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| 1-
Q: How many
simultaneous
conversations can this system handle ? It will easily
handle a minimum
of 4 conversations. 2- Q: How
much bandwidth
is required ?Using G711.u,
each conversation need 80 Kbps in both directions. Four conversations
require a sustained bandwidth of about 320Kbps, which should not be a
problem on a good broadband connection. 3-
Q: Which CODECs are
supported ?G711u
and gsm. 4- Q: Is this easy to
setup ?Our
system is very simple to setup using it's built in WWW interface.
Creating extensions and trunks are done by entering a few
values.
No need to write any complicated dial plan or edit configuration files.
We provide a manager manual which give a detailed step by step
procedure. We also offer up to one hour of free support to help in case
you encounter difficulties. The router part is not hard to configure
and
is similar to any other good quality WI-FI router. 5-
Q: Can it be used with
VoIP lines only (without a PSTN line ) ?Yes you can ... In
such case you will not need an FXO/FXS adapter. 6-
Q: Is it possible to
have an extension connecting from a different location ?Yes,
as long as the extension has a broadband Internet connection with 80
Kbps of bandwidth. In this case, we highly recommend to use
an
ATA adapter that supports asterisk's native protocol (IAX2) like this
one. It is very easy to setup and is much easier to use
with firewalls than devices using the SIP protocol.
See "virtual" office
for more infos. 7-
Q: Which protocols are
supported to connect to my VoIP provider ?The
SIP protocol and also the IAX2 protocol. If your VoIP provider supports
IAX2 we suggest that you use it rather than SIP for the same reasons
cited above. 8- Q Is a static
IP address required ?No,
if needed, you can use a dynamic DNS service. If
you link
systems
together or use WebCall, a static address is recommended but not
indispensable, as a built in dynamic DNS service can be used to provide
your
system with a fixed domain name. 9-
Q: Can i use a
linked system without any PSTN and/or VoIP external lines ?Yes
! This can be used to provide a remote office with telephony
services. The remote system will be able to receive and place internal
calls on it's four
extensions and even place external calls using the lines of the main
system. 10- Q: Is
it complicated
to link systems
together ?Not
at all ! Simply assign a Server Name and password to each system and
enter these as well as the IP address (or domain name) in each system
and restart. The system will connect to each others using asterisk's
IAX2
protocol. 11- Q Can
i use my
existing conventional line with the system ?Yes
! ... You can keep your existing line and integrate it in the PBX as
your conventional external line. Add one or more VoIP line(s) from the
VoIP provider of your choice (*) . You can also use your
existing
telephone on the FXS port of the adapter. So as you see it's a very
easy and economical way to add a sophisticated PBX service on your
existing line and allow up to 4 co-workers to share the system. 12- Q I already
have a router, can i connect the MARS system on it ?(*) The VoIP provider must allow to connect with your own device, some larger VoIP providers (like Vonage) will not allow this, or may require a separate account. Yes, you can
configure the router to act as a simple "switch" and connect it to one
port of your existing router. | |||||||||||||
