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Cellular Dialing

Martin.AIR

Joined
Oct 22, 2017
Messages
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Hello

3CX softphone app is great for making calls when out of the office - until you don't have a strong data signal. However, you may have a good cellular signal, just the data may be too slow or unstable. As such, I propose a "dial over cellular minutes" option for smartphone apps.

Here is how it works:

You dial a number
-App prompts "Cellular or Data"
--If choosing Data, than continue as it normally does.
--If choosing Cellular, than:
---3CX calls your cell number (mobile number in extension settings)
---3CX calls the recipient (number you dialed in the 3CX app)
---3CX connects the 2 calls together.

Viola! You are using cellular minutes, the call is passing through 3cx, the caller ID is the 3cx number, and the log shows up in 3cx.

This is kinda possible now by:
1) Call into voicemail system using cellular minutes (DID to voicemail or similar)
2) Do an outbound call from the voicemail system (has to be turned on)

But having it in the app, seemless, would be great.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lev
Upvote 20
How does the mobile client communicate with 3cx to call your cell number if data is not possible?
 
You are correct - you will need some cellular data. This is for the (all too common here) situations where your cellular data connection is not stable or cannot handle a call without breaking up.
 
This is a great feature, I have used several other products that offer this as I am out on the road I can not rely on data for calls - quality is not reliable - but to have it dial me on cell then complete call has worked awesome - customer gets my business caller ID - I have reliable cell coverage
 
Before i stombled across 3CX i read a lot about "one number concept" and "Fixed Mobile Convergence". I tried out some "solutions" just to find out, that all the softclients - just like 3cx - are hardly relaying on a stable mobile data connection. And that is - by my own experience - not a vialable option in a lot of places, especially for an productive environment.
So you have to use your normal "fallback" solution and basicly give away your mobile number to everybody you call (which you might not wand - and going to anonymous is simply "not ok" in B2B).
The only thing i came across, that did this right, was nfon. They have (or had) a pretty good working solution, that worked very well with 2G, because it would only send a small data package to initiate a call and then switch back to GSM. During the call you where even able to use DTMF Codes to redirect a call to another extention etc.

I think its pretty silly, that a lot of companies are propagating "one number concepts" and FMC, but simply do not finish the job right, nor try do understand their customers daily reality needs (which is that 3G "solutions" do not work well enough to be called viable)

+10
 
Last edited:
I have used this function on NEC's Univerge 3C platform and it works well. They do have some issues to resolve with it, but for the most part it works great. One thing I think would be helpful is if in 3CX it would become User based and not just extension based. This way you can set up a user with multiple extensions and then have rules or be able to select where the call is sent. So if you know that you will be out of the office and want the calls to come to your mobile number you can change that with the client and disable the calls on the SIP client.
 
I'll vote for this, with a slight modification.

Seeing as there is already a way to accomplish this solely with minutes, I'd say the final solution should not need any data (post #3 implies that some data would be needed to start the call). A button in the softphone that dials a backend number (set in the 3CX MC), enters a code to authenticate, then dials the user supplied number as an outbound call would be wonderful.
 
Had a need for this recently so I'll add.

As for a cellular only method, basically what SweetAction was mentioning I can see a few ways (and have also witnessed a few of these methods) for this to work.

Backend number with DTMF where auth and dialed number would be sent when call connects. This used to be common in call centers, agent would transfer you to a call center in another country and the end user (me) would hear the actual DTMF script. Not very professional and we didnt hear (to decode) the backend number because it was a transfer, but I can see something easily implimented like this.

Many versions ago I created a contact in my phone that called my backend number, logged me into my vm then navigated me to the area where it prompted me to dial a number. It worked until spotty cell coverage would drop a digit and I would have to restart the call.

Another method would be establish the call and use the absolute lowest baud possible to handle this instead of DTMF so you can build in ECC. This method would be like TCP where DTMF would be like UDP. The lowest baud would be for higher success. Implement a filter on the app so we dont have to hear it like how 56k modems you would only hear the handshake and the first second or 2 of the actual data which was the fuzz. This would require a lot more work from the DEV team since it would be from the ground up. This would require the app to have the phone make the call and interface through this?

Easier method: backend number that has a whitelist of caller-ids to accept relay from. if it receives a call from either a custom table, or the mobile number field in the extensions, it knows what extension to use. The user will enter their pin number (auth), the phone system would play a tone that it accepted the auth and then you can dial as normal. In the 3cx app this could be a failover option where it may pop up as "3cx connection not available, call using cellular?" and it just gives you a button much like the phone automatically detecting 10 digit numbers and providing a convenience link.
 
It seems like you are trying to get 3CX to solve a problem that is not a 3CX problem. There's not a lot of scenarios I've been in where data was completely absent yet voice was still good. Generally if you have a poor signal, you have a poor signal, at least in my experience. So the answer is WiFi or have a backup phone with another carrier which is what I do because I do need to make calls because generally lack of signal in a particular are is limited to one carrier or technology. Having two phones solves that issue for me. This why the carriers starting supporting WiFi calling. Everything else is just hack that is going to depend on a decent voice connection which, if your data is gone, voice is likely not in the greatest shape either.
 
I like that 3CX has implemented the ability to keep the call connected when switching between wifi and mobile data but I would love to see an option to disable that or select a preferred data method. When using my phone it will switch multiple times during a call and the person on the other end cannot hear me for 5-10 seconds so they end up hanging up on me.
 

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