The 3Com® Asterisk solution, able to support up to 25 concurrent SIP calls, provides small-to-midsize businesses with an economical compact device for delivering full-featured Voice over IP (VoIP ) services. Using uClinux as the operating system and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) software, it offers a standards-based cost-saving and productivity enhancing, non-proprietary alternative to a PBX or key system, as well as a rich, broad set of VoIP capabilities that can be customized to match user needs.

Easy to deploy and use, the 3Com Asterisk solution integrates with the PSTN network and accommodates a mix of IP and analog phones. It can be used to implement an advanced IP telephony system for what it would cost to install a traditional PBX or key phone system, leveraging its capabilities to reduce procurement, deployment and administration costs.

A broad range of built-in business quality features include voice mail, auto attendant, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) and conferencing. In addition, the compact device also provides a range of connectivity options enabled by four Central Office (CO) line ports, four analog device ports, a 10/100 uplink port to connect to the network, 8 MB onboard flash memory and 64 MB of RAM.

The 3Com Asterisk solution demonstrates the power of open source technologies to reduce costs and optimize functionality. It also delivers one more critical ingredient that maximizes the value of this groundbreaking product: expert support. 3Com Global Services and 3Com partners, certified to install and service the appliance, offer a range of services that include on-site and remote maintenance and installation support with flexible coverage and response time options from 24x7 with four hour response time to 8x5 with next day response.