Glad you asked!
Honestly, I am still not satisfied with the current state of competing solutions to next week’s problem!
Also, the situation is incredibly fluid right now. It was only two days ago that Sangoma first “baked in” their solution into the FreePBX testing/EDGE branch, with stable release not planned until two days from now. Then of course there is the module signing fiasco threatening to disrupt some other solutions – perhaps as early as next week – which ABC completely avoids.
Disregarding current events, here’s some reasons you might want to consider ABC for your next project…
- ABC is licensed CC0 for maximum integration opportunity.
- ABC does not require FreePBX (but can be integrated with it, see Examples in file.)
- ABC works with stock Asterisk (although it is a little PJSIP heavy right now.)
- ABC is pure dial plan with no dependencies outside of the Asterisk Extension Language.
And I think the FEATURES list from near the top of the latest v16g file might help make the technical distinction more clear between ABC and competitors:
FEATURES
~ Multiple notification options: Conf Call, Page, Voicemail, Email, SMS.
~ Subnet ID based Caller ID options: currently IPv4 /24-/30 networks.
~ Dynamic temporary pool call back number ↔ caller ID mapping and routing.
~ DIY phone-based geolocation update support for changing GPS info via IVR.
~ Single press DTMF options to play back Dispatachable Location in-band.
~ Same DTMF options also display the DL info on the desk phone screen.
~ Optional automated playback of GPS co-ordinates to remote end upon answer.
~ Dynamic Location Routing via RFC 6442 Geolocation (with some SIP providers.)
~ Optional full call recording of each participant leg of the conference.
~ Instant (Simple Mode) or delayed (Tin Can Mode) bridging for caller.
~ Easy integration with existing ASTERISK and FreePBX(R) installations.
~ Examples included showing usage with FreePBX emergency caller ID numbers.
~ Coming Soon: Complete Ansibile-ized build on fresh Debian 10.