Voice Communications
Although virtually all voice communications are carried via the Internet in whole or in part it's important to know what type is right for your businessThere are essentially two types that cover the needs of almost all businesses and can be broken down into what is referred to as:
On-site PBX or Hosted PBXWhich one is right for you?
On-site PBX
On-site PBX means that each phone in your office, or remote phones such as at home or on your cell phone, connect to a device in your office known as a PBX or key system which then connects to the phone company or central office. The advantage here is that you can connect a variety of devices to the new Grandstream smart PBXs like security devices, paging systems, door control and a variety of peripheral devices a little easier than you can with a Hosted solution along with combining different types of lines - both old school traditional copper and Internet based - for redundancy in your connections. However most of todays Internet is stable enough to rely on it for voice provided you have the right connection to your ISP. There can even be redundant connections to more than one ISP giving even greater reliability. You are limited to the number of simultaneous calls your employees can make based on the number of connections to the phone line provider you have. The ratio of lines to sets vary by type of business but an average would be about 1 line for every 3 phone sets. Monthly recurring costs are based on the number of phone lines you have and as it is done on a ratio of lines to sets the costs are usually lower than a Hosted PBX solution. This type also generally has more features than Hosted and allows for better visibility of user status and scenarios that address advanced call flow for call centres and similar unique situations.
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Hosted PBX
Hosted PBX means that each phone set you have is connected back to a central office or phone service provider via the Internet. This is similar to what was known as Centrex in the past and was widely used by large institutions like banks and government as it provided a direct line to individuals. In the past this format did not provide the extensive feature capabilities of an on-site PBX but newer phone service providers with intelligent enhanced central offices like Telifon can offer most of the features and services that customers are looking for along with integration to certain IP based peripheral devices. Since the features and services are provided by your service provider the software is always being upgraded much like using a cloud based service for computer software. This solution is a little higher monthly cost than an on-site PBX but eliminates any busy signals as there is always a separate line for every set in the office and no on-site single point of failure - aside from Internet which redundant Internet connections will virtually eliminate as an issue.
Explore hosted options...About Us
Telifon is a full service wholesale and retail carrier of telecom and other technology related services.
Useful Links
Telifon Communications Inc.
1641 Lonsdale Ave., Suite 413,
North Vancouver, BC Canada V7M 2J5
888.TELIFON (888.835.4366)
(604) 630-9888