I need a new phone system for my small business and have no idea where to begin! I've heard a lot about on site PBXs and hosted phone systems but don't know which solution would be a better fit for us. I know we have a T1. Help!

Start by answering a few questions such as the following:

How many current/projected phone users?
Which is your current service carrier?
What is your local, regional, LD, and international voice calling usage/cost?

Call me at (888) 636-1559 for more suggestions.

Cheers

Hello Sir, We provide voip services & solutions providers,we can provide you cheap based ip-pbx system connected to your phones or pc sip clients or sip mobile clients. i request you to send us your requirements to my email
malliks@gmail.com

thanking you,
with regards
Mallik

we recomend that you look at www.Zultys.Com. Zultys MX30 is a highly competent, self contained ip-pbx system with all the features, yet it is cost effective, state of the art and consistient a winner. Chris Romine, ZCSE, 918-599-8776 X 5202 chris.romine@digibiz.us

I have been in this industry for twenty years. Currently unemployed, but would be willing to advise you for free. I will not try and sell you anything. Just unbiased advice.

Remember that the most important feature is reliability. New players may build feature rich boxes but reliability comes from experience and a manufacturer’s corporate ethic of constantly improving.

Figure out how many phones you need right now and how many of them need to be in use at the same time. For example, most offices with 16 phones only need to have about 6 phone lines. It's not productive to have to wait to make a call because all the outside lines are in use, but at any given moment, most people don't need to be on the phone. Offices with 32 phones usually only need about 12 phone lines. You get the idea.

Next, plan on your expected growth. If for example, you believe that in a year or so you will need 30 phones but you only need 10 now, don't buy more that you need right now. Just make sure that the system you buy is expandable to the size you will need. Also find out how much the expansion will cost. Usually you will need circuit cards as well as phones.

I can't overstate the importance of reliability. A quality system will last 20 years or more. Some systems won't last 3 years. Having parts repaired usually cost more than buying new ones. Almost all wireless phones need to be replaced every 3 years.

I've been in the phone business since 1976 and would be happy to answer any questions you have. Don't forget to plan on voice mail.

Sincerely,

Joe Selig
HIGH-TECH Communications, Inc.
(858) 272-4000

I agree with Joe on just about everything with the exception of the system lasting 20 Years. He is correct that a high quality system will last a long time. However, please take into consideration that technology and businesses change fairly quickly and with that so do the requirements on a phone system. I would figure on the phone system lasting somewhere between 7 and 10 years.

Regarding the hosted PBX or VOIP PBX, I would be wary for a few reasons. First, most companies providing these services are buying and aggregating multiple providers, which can impact quality. Second, a majority of these companies compete for the micro business, which means their margins are small and they may not be around long. Third, if you choose one of these providers you will be renting/leasing just the phone handset, which means that if you change to a premiss based PBX you most likely will have to buy phones again. Lastly, is your office wired to handle VOIP phones on each desk? If not, you'll need to add wiring drops. Most newer offices have been wired with Cat5 or Cat6 and can handle VOIP.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thanks-

I've been using Toktumi, http://www.toktumi.com/ virtual PBX for almost a year now and would highly recommend it. Voice quality is great, as is the call tracking. It has all the PBX features, auto attendant, call handling, etc. that you would get from a traditional PBX but with no equipment to buy and service. I really love their iPhone app, which let's me put my biz number on my iPhone- totally separate from my personal cell number and voicemail. Litterally let's me take my office on the road.

Hi,

We have produced an impartial guide entitlted ''How to choose a new telephone system''. If you would like a copy let me know or go to our web site and make an enquiry - www.firstoffice.co.uk

For a fairly small phone system, I would recommend a hosted IP PBX. As a hosted solution requires the least expertise on the user end. Additionally, if you have available bandwidth with your existing T1, you might only need phones to go w/the hosted solution. Feel free to email me any questions you might have.

As a UK based ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider), we get to see which PBX solutions have the least problematic installations and least ongoing technical issues. We don't sell any kit at all and therefore my opinion is completely unbiased and agnostic.

I'd recommend looking at 3CX or an Asterisk based solution. Both of these provide all the features and more importantly, have little or no problems of a technical nature.

The problems we experience are from the more traditional PBX vendors when the IP / SIP compatibility is more of an add on or afterthought than a solution which originates from IP. The vast majority of the IPPBXs with which we have the most success (technically and commercially) come with SIP compatibility as standard with an upgrade path necessary for BRI / PRI.

As the IP industry grows, the newcomers are potentially offering more in terms of reliability and ease of ongoing maintenance as well as a huge amount of flexibility which you wouldn't otherwise see from more traditional solutions.

In some European countries, an open source solution has to be included in any public sector tenders. This is certainly a sign that IP / VoIP and SIP are technologies here to stay and that the industry recognises that the more "experienced" PBX manufacturers are not necessarily the best place to look when implementing such technology.

The other thing to note is that the vast majority of growth in the IP sector comes from your (SMB) sector and the majority of companies providing such solutions come from an IT / Systems Integrator origin rather than PBX. If your phone system is becoming part of your IT network, surely it makes sense to have it supplied and maintained by a company who understand both technologies?

PBX vendors learning IT? Sure - why not...?
IT solutions providers learning telephony? Well... rocket science it most certainly is not.

I wish you the best of luck sifting through the various options and technologies available...

Hi Joanna,
First You can now know more about T1 see below.

And first it can be connected standard Analoque or Digital phone system where it can connected several extension lines for each users.
This will be todays normally way for small companies.

But if You will use this connections at Internet phones more like(Skype way),
it needs new interface system to translate T1 to interwork with Internet.
It is called e.g BRI/PRI/SIP gateway to fixed communication between Telecom network and Internet.

Still You will need an "PC with applications to interwork with the gateway.
We at NSF Telecom have developed TEMPO system working as Virtually PABX and having all normally facilities. But I think there are more close to You lots of suitable packages. But if You need help we can explaine more
about our solutions.

I believe IP network will be the future communication platform and needs still lots of telecom integrations and way to organize traffic and call controll.
brgs,
Kalevi

T1 Phone Lines - What You Need To Know
This article will give you an explanation of what exactly is a T1 phone line and if your business just may be in need of one.
T1 phone lines use a digital transmission link to transmit voice and data and can be particularly useful for businesses. A T1 has a capacity of 1.544 Mbps making it a faster connection than many other methods. T-1 phone lines can be used to connect your private business network to the public telephone network and Internet.

T1 phone lines allow up to 24 simultaneous conversations. The technology uses channels that are only seized for the duration of a conversation and are then placed back into the "pool" of lines allowing anyone to use them. A T1 can also be channelized to allow some lines for data use and some for voice use. This can make sense for smaller businesses. You can choose to port your main business telephone number to the T1 so that you can take in more simultaneous incoming calls. DID (direct inward dial) numbers can be used on the T1 to allow each individual phone user to have their own direct number that rings on their phone. This can help to reduce the amount of calls that come into the attendant console, freeing up the attendant to do other things.

One of the main advantages of using T1 lines is that they are flexible. Lines are not dedicated to specific phones or people but instead reside in a group to be used by anyone as needed. This allows for the most advantageous utilization of the T1. One 24-channel T1 can easily service an office group of 50 to 100 moderate telephone users. Those who have call centers or other phone intense configurations may require additional lines.

The T1 phone lines can be used for both incoming and outgoing phone service. Usage reports are available that can help you determine how well you are using the T1 and if you need to add or reduce the amount of T1 phone lines you have. Proper sizing will allow you to get the most economy from your T1 service.

T1 phone lines are very reliable. Outages are quite rare because typically the central office has redundant equipment. You can also utilize the programming of your telephone system to allow calls to overflow to other lines in the event of a failure or even if the T1 is busy.

T1 service is very affordable and allows small, medium and large businesses to utilize digital capability. Pricing has been coming down so even those with small businesses and their own telephone equipment can take advantage of this great option. The T1 is connected to the phone system or to the data network via a connection point from the provider. You can also use a CSU (Customer Service Unit) which provides a test point in the event of problems.

The speed of the T1 is what makes it so appealing to many businesses. The 1.544 Mbps speed makes it a faster connection than most modems. The bandwidth is typically large enough for many Internet applications including streaming video and web conferencing. Large files can be transferred easily and quickly.

A T1 is engineered specifically for your business taking into account the distance from the central office. The T1 provides a clear, crisp sound thanks to digital signaling. A typical office should be able to recognize savings relatively quickly.

Van Theodorou will help you slash your telecom expenses over 43% and assist or even become your telecom department at no cost to you. For a free analysis or phone consultation go his site for Voice T1 Service

As an IT company, we have run into many different variables when installing our VoIP systems. A few things to consider when doing some research are the amount of phones you have, the upload/download speed of your internet (T1 lines are for reliability, not necessarily speed), how many minutes on average your company is using per month, and the type of business class phone system you want.

VoIP phones take up bandwidth, and you want to make sure you are able to convert/harness the amount of bandwidth with your internet speed.

T1's have been oversold within the last couple of years. They are somewhat dated technology, and unless you are dealing with large data transfers. We recommend our clients to stay away from them considering they are out of date technology and extremely expensive. You can get any standard cable connection with faster upload/download speed than T1. In terms of reliability, there are ways to work around it, such as getting two lines from two different vendors, such as AT&T and Comcast, which would act as a backup line or a fail safe option for half the cost of a T1.

This is a chart we use to compare the speeds and uses of different internet connections that are available.
http://support.summersault.com/bandwidth_chart.html

As you can see T1 has the slowest speed out of all of them.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me,

Jeff Shusterich
ZigZap Technologies
312-348-5160 ex 106

Joanna,
I see there have been plenty of comments to your question...here is one more site to take a look at: www.getjive.com. They host everything for you so all you have to do is basically rent the phones. Mike Sharp is the rep we work with.

Best of success!

Tom

VOIP business phone systems are not as efficient as compared to conventional telephone service providers. Conventional telephones use dedicated transmission lines to carry telephone signals, while Internet is constantly carrying all kinds of data.
http://www.saveandconnectanywhere.com/

Not sure where you are located, bottom line is you get what you pay for. Please call me 314 568 3026, I am in St. Louis, MO and will be happy to help you.

Eric

Hi Joanna,

Give me a call; lets see if I can help!

Frank G. Tirelli
Senior VOIP Consultant
BNCVOICE
280 N. Bedford Road
Suite 207
Mount Kisco, NY 10549
Ofc: 914.290.4250 ext. 301
eFax: 914.380-1082
www.bncvoice.com