FXO line accommodating more than one external party for conferencing

[Pius Waweru]

Hi,

Is it possible for an FXO line to accommodate more than one call. My client has 2 FXO lines and would like more than one external party to dial into an FXO line to create a conference call.

Thanks in advance.

Pius

[Brandon Buffin]

No, FXO is one call per port.

Brandon

[Mohammed al Baqari]

FXO is single channel. So you can have one call per FXO Port.

[Pius Waweru]

Thanks guys for your responses,

Here is the scenario I have, the client used to have a device in which they plugged in their analog line and they could get 10 external parties to join in a conference using that analog line.

We have subsequently moved them to CUCM and would like to achieve the same functionality. Any idea how I can go about it?

[Brandon Buffin]

Sounds like this was a feature provided by the telco? Giving the ability to initiate a hookflash and add another caller. I don't believe CUCM has hookflash support for IP phones. Another option is to use a third-party conferencing service. This would allow the use of an FXO port while adding multiple parties.

[Mohammed al Baqari]

I believe this is a distribution box which the telco provided. You can't get this with CUCM out of the box.

I think the way to go is to replace your FXO line with PRI line. Else speak to the telco if they can continue providing the same unit which can integrate with voice gateway using ethernet for example.

[Pius Waweru]

Hi guys,

My apologies for the delayed response. I have been away. Thanks for the responses. I would like to pursue the 3rd party conference bridge angle. 

Which 3rd party conference bridge would I use and how exactly would it integrate with the fxo line?

Thanks.

[Brandon Buffin]

There are many services that offer audio conferencing - Webex, GoToMeeting, join.me, freeconferencecall.com to name a few. You can also check with your telco. Many carriers offer conferencing as a service that can be added to your existing plan.

Brandon