FreePBX is a web-based
open-source graphical user interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
(GUI) that manages
Asterisk, a
voice over IP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...
and
telephony
Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunication services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is i ...
server.
FreePBX is licensed under the
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the Four Freedoms (Free software), four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was th ...
version 3. It is a component of the
FreePBX Distro
The FreePBX Distro is a freeware unified communications software system that consists of a graphical user interface (GUI) for configuring, controlling, and managing Asterisk PBX software. The FreePBX Distro includes packages that offer VoIP, PBX, F ...
, which is an independently maintained
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
system derived from the source code of the
CentOS distribution, having Asterisk pre-installed. It is also included in various third-party distributions such as ''The FreePBX Distro'' and ''AsteriskNow''.
FreePBX was acquired by Schmooze.com in early 2013. That firm was, in turn, taken over by
Sangoma Technologies Corporation
Sangoma Technologies Corporation (Sangoma) provides Communications as a Service (“CaaS”) products globally for businesses. It was founded in 1984. It is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Acquisitions
Sangoma acquired FreePBX ...
on Jan 2, 2015.
FreePBX is a community of developers and contributors who devote their work to making complicated phone system software easy to use and functional.
Many of the songs that are preinstalled are made by artist
Macroform.
Installation
FreePBX can be installed as standalone software, or as part of a pre-configured FreePBX Distro that includes the operating system, the Asterisk PBX, FreePBX, and assorted dependencies:
FreePBX is included in open source distributions such as
The Official FreePBX Distro, AsteriskNOW,
Elastix
Elastix is an unified communications server software that brings together IP PBX, email, IM, faxing and collaboration functionality. It has a Web interface and includes capabilities such as a call center software with predictive dialing.
The El ...
and RasPBX
Development
FreePBX is written in PHP and JavaScript. The first FreePBX release, version 0.2 (November 28, 2004), was named the Asterisk Management Portal (AMP). The project was renamed to FreePBX for trademark reasons, as
Asterisk is a registered trademark of the
Digium
Digium, Inc. is a communications technology company based in Huntsville, Alabama, and since 2018, a subsidiary of Sangoma Technologies Corporation. The company makes VoIP business phone systems, IP phones, and hardware products. It was founded ...
corporation (which is now also a subsidiary of
Sangoma Technologies Corporation
Sangoma Technologies Corporation (Sangoma) provides Communications as a Service (“CaaS”) products globally for businesses. It was founded in 1984. It is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Acquisitions
Sangoma acquired FreePBX ...
).
New releases of Asterisk have been accommodated by various updates to FreePBX. Updates have included new menus and support for additional capabilities such as voice mail, calling queues, fax, multiple languages, DAHDI and a local user directory.
Current versions are:
* FreePBX 2.11 – Completed 2013-05-14- – Adds support for Asterisk 11, Destination popOvers, Module Admin Security Auditing, Chan Motif Module, WebRTC User Control Panel
* FreePBX 12 – Previous Release 2014-06-23- – Adds support for Asterisk 12&13, New User Control Panel, Module Admin version control, PJSIP Support
*FreePBX 13 - Previous Stable - adds responsive GUI, support for Asterisk 13, Call Event Logging CEL and reporting, fwconsole CLI system management, Enhanced Bulk User Management, expanded localization support for audio and sound files, and a new global search option.
*FreePBX 14 - Previous Stable
*FreePBX 15 - Stable Adds a new REST and GraphQL API. Adds a rebuilt backup module and a new Filestore module.
FreePBX supports numerous hardware manufacturers, including
Aastra Technologies
Aastra Technologies Limited, formerly headquartered in Concord, Ontario, Canada, made products and systems for accessing communication networks, including the Internet. Its products included residential and business telephone terminals, screen ...
, Algo, AND,
AudioCodes,
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
, Cyberdata,
Digium
Digium, Inc. is a communications technology company based in Huntsville, Alabama, and since 2018, a subsidiary of Sangoma Technologies Corporation. The company makes VoIP business phone systems, IP phones, and hardware products. It was founded ...
,
Grandstream,
Mitel
Mitel Networks Corporation is a Canadian telecommunications company. The company previously produced TDM PBX systems and applications, but after a change in ownership in 2001, now focuses almost entirely on Voice-over-IP (VoIP) products. Mitel ...
,
Nortel
Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Quebec, ...
,
Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...
,
Polycom
Poly, formerly Polycom, a part of HP Inc., is an American multinational corporation that develops video, voice and content collaboration and communication technology.
Polycom was co-founded in 1990 by Brian L Hinman and Jeffrey Rodman. In 2018 ...
,
Sangoma,
Snom
Snom Technology GmbH is a German company which manufactures Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephones, based on the IETF standard Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Snom's products are targeted at the small- to medium-sized business secto ...
, Xorcom, and
Yealink. FreePBX developers estimate the distro has been deployed in millions of active PBX systems in over 220 countries and territories.
''Telephony features...''
TMC.net
References
External links
* {{official website, https://freepbx.org//
Free VoIP software
Unified communications
Software using the GNU AGPL license
Software using the GPL license