Michigan CAT has deployed an open source Asterisk IP PBX to handle its phone calls and contact center at half the cost of what commercial vendors would have charged. Free Asterisk software itself was free, but network prep, peripherals and a tech to handle the project full-time all came with a price tag. Analyst: Down economy hit PBX sales hard down 25% in 2009 – and they have yet to recover. Asterisk and other open-source PBXs held an 18% marketshare among PBX vendors in North America.”]