Make phone calls from Linux

[Sir J David]

Hi there, my first post here.

I wonder if there is any software for using the Phone from Linux? I mean the "real phone chip" (3G, 4G etc), not Skype and other apps like that.

Kind regards
/David

[Varti]

A tool for managing calls/SMS is planned, it will be probably based on ofono. In the meanwhile, if Planet will provide a Linux driver for the cellular modem's serial port (/dev/ttyS0 or similar), Wammu will probably work:

https://wammu.eu/

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Varti

[depscribe]

A tool for managing calls/SMS is planned, it will be probably based on ofono.

Is there an ARM port of ofono? Everything I've seen about it, which I admit is a limited amount, has it tied to Intel chips.

I'm just hoping that Planet gives us all the programming hooks for those things for which drivers are not provided (and for those things for which drivers are provided, too). In the video, Janko said Planet is committed to open source all the way or words to that effect; sadly, in today's climate "all the way" or words to that effect has come to mean "some, at least a little. Maybe."

I worry about the 4G support under Linux; with it, I can't forsee ever booting into Android.

[Adam Boardman]

There are installable packages for ofono and wammu available in the debian 9 repository. Something to play with when we get the devices...

To clarify: All I'm saying is that if you type 'apt-get install ofono' you can expect something to get installed (ie its part of debian so yes it works on ARM), from its description it claims to be a 'Mobile telephony stack (daemon)'. So no UI. From the dependencies on wammu there is no indication that it will talk to ofono, seems more like its designed to talk to external bluetooth mobile phones. But my expectation is that ofono would be the route into linux for the telephone functionality of the hardware.

[Varti]

There are installable packages for ofono and wammu available in the debian 9 repository. Something to play with when we get the devices...

Does ofono have its own GUI? I was under the impression that it is just an API.

Varti

[LoneTech]

One frontend for ofono voice calls would be telepathy-ring, another debian package. Found by "apt rdepends ofono". A GUI for the Telepathy framework would be Empathy.

[bogomips]

Damn, I really hope we can get telephony to work under linux! I don't care if its CLI... we can make an interface for it...


Are we expecting 4G to work under linux for mobile data?


PS: am I imagining planet saying there will be a forum or something - to help the community sort out and collab on stuff like this?

[Grench]

The few historical using 4G on Linux threads that I have found wind up with one side asking for 'how do I do this' and the other side telling them to just tether the Linux computer to a phone or 'use Skype'.  Example:
https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/li...8153/page2.html

There have, however, been a few attempts at open source phones.  That makes me wonder if there is an application stack that can be used as a baseline from one of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open-...e_mobile_phones

I'm coming up pretty empty on actual Linux applications that can offer support for telephone and messaging directly to/from the 3G/4G modem.  What am I missing?

[depscribe]

The few historical using 4G on Linux threads that I have found wind up with one side asking for 'how do I do this' and the other side telling them to just tether the Linux computer to a phone or 'use Skype'.  Example:
https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/li...8153/page2.html

There have, however, been a few attempts at open source phones.  That makes me wonder if there is an application stack that can be used as a baseline from one of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open-...e_mobile_phones

I'm coming up pretty empty on actual Linux applications that can offer support for telephone and messaging directly to/from the 3G/4G modem.  What am I missing?

As Varti has noted, unless Planet has cooked up something secret and special oFono seems to be all we have. I do not know what stands between that and a gui, but apparently there are some working implementations in Sailfish, Ubuntu Touch, and MeeGO.

[Varti]

I'm coming up pretty empty on actual Linux applications that can offer support for telephone and messaging directly to/from the 3G/4G modem.  What am I missing?

Wammu might be the only available option on Linux. I'll try it once I'll get my Gemini.

Varti

[depscribe]

I'm coming up pretty empty on actual Linux applications that can offer support for telephone and messaging directly to/from the 3G/4G modem.  What am I missing?

Wammu might be the only available option on Linux. I'll try it once I'll get my Gemini.

Isn't Wammu SMS only?

[Murple2]

Its been a while since I've done anything like this but vgetty was a userland tool for voice calls over modems and it was reasonably easy to make voice calls using AT serial commands in e.g. python. I don't know about modern hardware tho - I know it can't be done over 3g dongles but phone radios obviously do support voice calls. I'd be interested to look at some of the raspberry pi phones that have been made - although they probably use specific python modules for the various GSM shields, or maybe even arduino libraries?

[Murple2]

I'm coming up pretty empty on actual Linux applications that can offer support for telephone and messaging directly to/from the 3G/4G modem.  What am I missing?

Wammu might be the only available option on Linux. I'll try it once I'll get my Gemini.

Isn't Wammu SMS only?

Libgammu can handle calls on some devices - but I think this was with a phone tethered to a computer, rather than an embedded modem. oFono is closer to our use case it seems

Edit: fyi wammu uses libgammu

[Varti]

Wammu might be the only available option on Linux. I'll try it once I'll get my Gemini.

Isn't Wammu SMS only?

No, it supports voice calls too:

https://wammu.eu/docs/manual/gammu/index.html#call-commands

Varti

[depscribe]

Wammu might be the only available option on Linux. I'll try it once I'll get my Gemini.

Isn't Wammu SMS only?

No, it supports voice calls too:

https://wammu.eu/docs/manual/gammu/index.html#call-commands

Varti

This is great news, is it not? The next question I have is as to the format of storage on the sim card, to wit whether at least in theory I could pull the sim card from my Blackberry and stick it in my Gemini and retain access to numbers and so on stored there. Which would be very cool indeed. My other concern is WiFi calling. There is no cellular signal where I live, but I have worked around it through WiFi calling, which has worked with TMobile and my Blackberry (running Blackberry OS, not Android).