We get asked a lot of questions. And there's a lot that don't get asked. If you want to know anything about PBX / VoIP just give us a call, or send us an email. We'll get right back to you.
Q. What defines a PBX?
A. Private Branch eXchange (PBX) is a telephone exchange that serves a particular business or office, as opposed to one that a common carrier or telephone company operates for many businesses or for the general public. PBXs make connections among the internal telephones of a private organization — usually a business — and also connect them to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) via trunk lines. Because they incorporate telephones, fax machines, modems, and more, the general term "extension" is used to refer to any end point on the branch.
PBXs are differentiated from "key systems" in that users of key systems manually select their own outgoing lines, while PBXs select the outgoing line automatically. Hybrid systems combine features of both.
Q. What are the benefits of a PBX?
A. Initially, the primary advantage of PBXs was cost savings on internal phone calls: handling the circuit switching locally reduced charges for local phone service. As PBXs gained popularity, they started offering services that were not available in the operator network, such as hunt groups, call forwarding, and extension dialing. In the 1960s a simulated PBX known as Centrex provided similar features from the central telephone exchange.
Q. What are some common features available on most PBX Systems?
A. Although systems may vary feature offerings, many popular features include;
- Automated Attendant
- Auto Dialer
- Automatic Call Distributor
- Automated Directory Services
- Automatic Ring Back
- Call Accounting
- Call Forwarding
- Call Park
- Call Pick-Up
- Call Transfer
- Call Waiting
- Camp-on
- Conference call
- Custom Greetings
- Speed Dialing
- Busy Override
- Direct Inward Dialing
- Direct Inward System Access (DISA)
- Do Not Disturb
- Follow-Me
- Interactive Voice Response
- Music On Hold
- Night Service
- Shared Message Boxes
- Voice Mail
- Voice Message Broadcasting
- Voice Paging (PA system)
- Welcome Message
Q: What is VoIP?
A: VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is simply the transmission of voice traffic over IP-based networks. The Internet Protocol (IP) was originally designed for data networking. The success of IP in becoming a world standard for data networking has led to its adoption to voice networking.
Q. What are the advantages of using VoIP
A. VoIP has become popular largely because of the cost advantages to consumers over traditional telephone networks. Most organizations pay a flat monthly fee for local telephone calls and a per-minute charge for long-distance calls. VoIP calls can be placed across the Internet. Most Internet connections are charged using a flat monthly fee structure. Using the Internet connection for both data traffic and voice calls can allow consumers to get rid of one monthly payment. In addition, VoIP plans do not charge a per-minute fee for long distance. For International calling, the monetary savings to the consumer from switching to VoIP technology can be enormous.
Q. What is QoS and why is it so important?
A. Some broadband connections may have less than desirable quality. Where IP packets are lost or delayed at any point in the network between VoIP users, there will be a momentary drop-out of voice. This is more noticeable in highly congested networks and/or where there are long distances and/or interworking between end points. Technology has improved the reliability and voice quality over time and will continue to improve VoIP performance as time goes on.
Q. What does Hosted or Virtual PBX mean?
A. Hosted PBX and Virtual PBX are one and the same. They deliver PBX functionality as a service available over the internet with VoIP or Public Service Telephone Network. Rather than buying your own PBX you contract for the service with a hosted PBX (Virtual PBX) service provider. With this service you will be able to get all the feature rich options of a PBX along with many other additional features to help you manage your business better.
Services include...
• Consulting
• Planning
• Design
• Implementation
• Customer Support
• Maintenance
• Repair
Case studies...
We've helped our Customers with their PBX / VoIP, and we'd like to share with you how.
• Lincoln Military Housing
• The Sporting Club
• Peregrine Semiconductor
Frequently asked...
Looking for an answer you can't find? Send us an email.