Up Grade Phone System

[chris ashdown]

I have three extentions and two incoming lines plus two skype phones

Looking for a inexpensive pbx type system be it traditional or VOIP

Can see in the near future a maximum no of extentions of 5

Any help selecting a system would be welcome

What is the difference between the DECTsys 2 and 200 series of wireless phones

[Mark H]

Have you looked at BT Featureline? It's basically a PBX type system but all the clever stuff happens in the exchange, not on your own equipment.

[wfl]

Depends how PBX you want it to be Chris and what you budget is.

We use a BT Versatility system that does all the clever PBX stuff inc VOIP if you want it. It is modular so you just have the bits you want and add to it as you grow. We started it 3 years ago with 4 extensions and 2 channels. We are now up to 11 extensions and 6 channels.

It works with PSTN but better with ISDN2e of which we have 6 channels i.e. 3 lines. This gives us various ISDN bits including DDI and, believe it or not, BT's business call bundling with ISDN is not badly priced - I have had several alternative folk not come back because they can't better it.

Leasing from BT is pretty economic vs purchase and the experience I have had of their business telephone system support is excellent.

In a previous life I have used Network Alchamey (now Avia) / BT Fusion and wanted a smaller version of that which this does fine. BT Fusion is actually made by Lake Communications in Ireland themselves part of Intertel who in turn are owned by Mitel

[jont]

We also use the BT Versatility system .. great as Alistair says as you can pick and choose what features you want and add more in at a later point. There are some deals with the number of lines you take so worth building in some redundancy for the busier periods.

[Darren B]

BT versatility here to

the hole system with 4 lines, 6 extensions installed was about £1800 but this is realy dependant on what extras you want. As said can do both isdn or pbx

D

[wfl]

We use Netcom headsets with all of our Verstility phones.

They make keyboard and mouse use much easier when you are on the phone.

We can easily input and process while a customer is on the phone.

[fergusw]

Chris,
There are a few emerging VOIP PXB systems that you might want to have a look at e.g. Voipfone or vonage are a couple I have heard about.
I have used voipfone in the past - features and configs are maybe not as customisable as I'd have liked, but for the cost versus 10+ BT lines for feature line there is no comparison. I'd recommend a separate dedicated ADSL, or get an SDSL connection for using VOIP, especially if you are going to have high concurrent line/ext usage.

[wfl]

Dead right Fergus.

If you use a lot of VOIP over your LAN or such as between sites over WAN then multi layer switching is a must.

Using VOIP and TS between sites we have opted for separate ADSL in this case using managed routers.

[chris ashdown]

Thanks chaps, given me something to work on

Had a look over the weekend on VOIP but totaly confused by the tech speak on the various web sites, no one seemed to have a clear explanation of what they do or what you are expected to do, but talked the talk of experts in comm's setups, rather than laymen

[fergusw]

Chris, I know what you mean about VOIP. The SIP protocols etc involved can "bend your head" a little.

Basically put, your VOIP phone/adapter uses the internet connection to "log in" to your VOIP provider. How they than handle the traffic to and from that phone is up to how they configure their settings.

A VOIP PBX, for example, simply handles calls coming across the PSTN (Public switched telephone netwwrk e.g. BT) and routes them to the correct VOIP phone. Multiple numbers and/or extensions can be configured to route to an endless array of VOIP phones you have registered.
Any good VOIP PBX provider should allow a degree of customisation to this as well e.g. Customised PBX messaging etc.


I know that VOIPfone provide hardware which is pre-configured to their settings and systems. This eliminates a huge amount of the tech headache.
We used VOIPfone adapters allowing the use of existing BT line phones to use VOIP, however I'd recommend the VOIP phones as they handle the features and settings far more gracefully.

Cost: Price plans vary from provider to provider. Check out tehir user forums for past service level history and support.

I'd avoid getting heavily into the techy side - made my head hurt learning it all!

[gabrielcrowe]

for the people with limited funds:

http://www.trixbox.org/

free. úber configurable.