FAQ
1. What is a hosted PBX and what are its advantages?
A hosted PBX is a VoIP business phone system where the “PBX hardware” resides in our data centre. IP Telecom maintains the software and servers at the data centre and provides technical support. IP Telecom’s hosted PBX can save significant upfront hardware charges because the PBX software/hardware sits remotely at our facility and connection is made to it from your office through our connectivity with high capacity Internet Providers.
Cost reduction is the main advantage of a hosted PBX because your business phone system can avoid the traditional cycle of replacing entire systems for upgrades or expansions.
The only onsite hardware you'll need are IP phones that connect to the Internet through a router or firewall device. A hosted PBX reduces costs of installation, hardware, and ongoing maintenance.
2. What is an onsite VoIP phone system?
An onsite VoIP phone system is where the PBX is a purpose built open source phone system which resides on the customer’s site. The main advantage of a VoIP PBX is reduced costs because your business phone system escapes the traditional cycle of replacing entire systems for upgrades or expansions.
Traditional manufacturers typically require you to purchase new systems or upgrades and propriety phones. Open source solutions allow business to acquire any SIP compliant handsets for use with the system.
3. What is an IP capable PBX?
An IP capable PBX is a traditional PBX (Private Branch Exchange) which has the software required to switch calls over VoIP using SIP Trunks.
In many cases even if your PBX is not IP capable you can still use a SIP trunk to connect to IP Telecom.
This is done by adding a gateway device that sits between your phone system and the Internet and uses a SIP Trunk over your broadband Internet connection.
4. If we lose power can we still make phone calls with VoIP?
Losing power at your premises can cause your Internet connection to go down. If this happens you will not be able to make calls unless you are equipped with a backup UPS which could power the connection for a limited short duration.
Using a UPS to power your network equipment including phones should allow an Internet connection to be maintained for a short duration and should suffice for short local outages, providing that your ISP is still powered up from your connection to their head end.
IP Telecom can divert calls to mobiles in the eventuality of any failure. For more information about emergency divert, see Emergency Divert.
5. What happens to my calls if broadband goes down?
The VoIP telephone service requires broadband to operate. If your broadband goes down and you want to continue receiving calls temporarily to a mobile or a landline device you have few options:
- Set up a failover divert per user. See Call Forwarding
- Set up an emergency divert on the main callflows by adding the mobile phone device to a ring group or a user. See Emergency Divert.
6. After we install VoIP, can we disconnect from our current telecom provider?
Yes, the VoIP service can be integrated throughout the premises by connecting to the existing network wiring, already in place.
7. Can we use a credit card machine over our VoIP connect?
Yes, but the credit card machine must connect through the Internet. IP Telecom recommends getting advice from your merchandiser about your options before implementing VoIP.
8. Can we integrate our alarm system with VoIP?
Due to their dependence on Internet connectivity, VoIP services are not considered to be good for lifeline services such as alarm monitoring, lifts and so on.
IP Telecom recommends contacting your alarm company’s technical support for exact answers about their connection alternatives. It should be possible to use a mobile SIM Card.
Lift alarms are generally required to have a dedicated copper line and should not be connected to VoIP without further investigation.
9. Why does my mp3 file not sound as good when it's played on the telephone system?
The reason the audio quality is lower than the original mp3 file is because the sampling rate is decreased to make the audio compatible with the standard voice codec on the PSTN.
Example:
Sample audio file below has the following specification:
It has a sampling rate of 48khz and a bitrate of 320 kbps which is trimmed down to 8 khz and 64 kbps
The standard voice codec in Europe, G.711a, samples at 8kHz (64kb/s = 8kHz sampling x 8 bits per sample). Audio files must be converted to this sample rate in order to be compatible with the standard voice codec and the PSTN.
10. What is the difference between Call Parking and Call Hold?
Call Hold: When you place a call on hold, the call remains on your specific phone line. Only you can retrieve it, typically by pressing the "Resume" or "Hold" softkey (highlighted in green below). If you have multiple calls on hold, you can usually manage them using your phone’s interface.
Call Parking: Parking a call allows you to place it in a shared "parking lot" within the system. Any user can retrieve the parked call from any device by dialing the appropriate retrieval code or pressing the designated "park" key (highlighted in red below).
More information
See also: