Cellular GatewaysWhat Are they?Cellular gateways are quite small pieces of hardware that can be attached to virtually any existing telephone system. They attach just like a regular telephone line would, except that they are not directly connected to any kind of network outside of the building. They operate just like a cellular phone with the exception that they are available to every telephone on the system. They are currently available for the GSM cellular networked (Singular and T-Mobile). While the technology works for the other networks it is not approved for use in then United States at this time.What do they do?The benefits that the gateways provide are varied and numerous. They have one major thing in common: they save companies money.The first thing that they do is the best thing that they do in terms of saving money. They turn every call to the office from all of a company's cell phones and all of the calls from the office to those same cell phones, into mobile to mobile calls so that there is not charge for them. The minutes don't count. Among the other things that the gateways do is make it easier to a put a caller on the line with an employee who is away from the office, but on a cell phone. This is particularly useful when dealing with sales people or warehousemen, who don't spend much time at their desks. The more advances gateways can even be configured to allow an employee to dial into the telephone system from their cell phone and access outgoing trunk lines. This is especially beneficial when international calls are involved because the "landline" rates for international calling are much less expensive then the cellular rates. This, and the fact that the minutes don't count makes for very cost effective telecommunications. |