What is FreePBX?
FreePBX is open-source software that turns a Linux server into a business phone system. It gives an office extensions, ring groups, call queues, and voicemail without a per-seat license for the software.
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What it is
FreePBX is a web interface on top of Asterisk, the open-source telephony engine that handles the calls. With FreePBX an administrator sets up extensions, call routing and menus from a browser and rarely has to edit Asterisk's configuration files by hand. Sangoma owns and maintains both projects.
A FreePBX system runs on an ordinary Linux server or virtual machine. It reaches the phone network through SIP trunks from a carrier, and desk phones and softphones register to it over the office network.
Why it matters to a business
- No per-seat software license: adding an extension means adding a phone and a line of configuration. Some add-on modules are sold separately.
- You keep control: call recordings, voicemail, and call logs live on a server you own or one run for you.
- Standard phones: it works with common SIP desk phones, so you are not tied to one handset maker.
- It needs an administrator: updates, security, backups, and carrier settings are someone's job. A phone system exposed to the internet without care gets attacked.
How KawaConnect works with FreePBX
We build business phone systems on FreePBX: extensions, ring groups, call queues, auto attendants, voicemail to email, SIP trunks, desk phones and softphones, and call recording where the business needs it. We port numbers from the existing carrier. When an office is leaving an older system such as ShoreTel, we map what it does today and rebuild it on FreePBX.
Related services
VoIP phone systems
Design, installation, number porting, and support.
Networking and firewalls
The network a phone system depends on for clear calls.
Managed IT
Day-to-day changes such as new extensions and greetings.
Learn more
- FreePBX on WikipediaA neutral overview of the project and how it relates to Asterisk.
- FreePBX project websiteDownloads, release news, and the list of available modules.
- AsteriskThe telephony engine underneath, for readers who want to know what handles the calls.
Replacing an office phone system
Tell us how many people answer phones and how calls should reach them. We will lay out what a FreePBX system would look like.
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