By Rashme Wong
Making phone calls applying a broadband Internetconnection,known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), isbecoming so popular with corporations of each size. The prospectof paying a flat fee for unlimited long-distance phone calls isattractive to each company that has struggled to balance thewant to conduct business phone calls with the cost of thosecalls.
Many companies are finding that installation of VoIP phones issimpler than traditional Private Branch eXchange (PBX) systems,since the desk sets can share the Ethernet cables already inplace for the desktop computers. Now, I m going to review 3 mostpopular Voip Services providers who offer full service productsprimarily aimed at the small to medium sized business telephonemarket. Such companies typically support multi-line telephonesystems, small PBX gateways and hosted VoIP.
Vonage will bring VoIP service without routing calls throughyour PC. When you sign higher for its DigitalVoice service, thecompany gives you a phone number in the area code of your optionand sends you a free ashtray-size devices device known as ananalog telephone adapter or even ATA. You easily plug theadapter into your network router and attach your phone to theadapter, and you're ready to produce calls. If you like, you areable to plug the adapter to a wall jack, connecting each phonein the home.
For corporations that want extensions and services that are evenmore closely identified with PBXs uncovered in the corporateglobe, Vonage isn't a very good option. Its Microscopic BusinessProject is built on a lone line, similar to a residential line,and does not provide facilities for multiple extensions, calltransfers, administrative functions, and the more tasksvirtually all corporate users take for granted. 2 more vendorsare better suited for the corporate environment.
Vonage Features:
Equipment required: Broadband telephone adapter (included inactivation fee) , Motorola VT1005V $30 activation fee. Nocontract. $39.99 termination fee after 14 days (refunded if youreturn the adapter) call waiting, caller ID and conferencecalling. 911 service TalkSwitch 48-CVA The TalkSwitch uses yourphone company's existing phone lines and phone numbers toconnect to the outside world, but uses your Internet connectionto connect to other TalkSwitches in your company's remoteoffices. This setup is simple to install and lets you keep yourexisting phone numbers and lines. It also lets you keep yourexisting phone bills, since your long-distance calls stilltravel over your phone-company lines.
Where TalkSwitch shines is in its features as a PBX and itsability to connect remote offices and treat them as a singlephone system. When two or more TalkSwitches connect through theInternet, the company has a virtual PBX. The offices can makecalls to one another by dialing extensions that may be in thesame office or at a remote office without incurringlong-distance charges.
The same connection can be used to make standard calls to phonenumbers that are local to the remote office but long-distancefrom the calling office. I found this feature worked well, butit requires the person making the call to know whether thenumber is local to the remote office. That's something manycallers won't make the effort to deal with.
TalkSwitch 48-CVA Features:
Price: $1,795 4 lines in 4 VoIP trunks 8 local extensions 8remote extensions Expandable to a 16-line, 32-extension phonesystem by networking up to four 48-CA or 48-CVA units on the LAN9 Auto Attendants 26 voice mailboxes Built-in traditional andVoIP trunks for combined network access Full-featured PBXtelephone system Customer installable and configurable via PCinterface Works with standard analog cordless or corded phonesand TalkSwitch TS 100 phone sets Packet8 Virtual Office
Packet8 is a service provider. It will bring a "virtual office"by means of a hosted PBX that you are able to attach to from anybroadband connection. The equipment consists of 1 DTA and 1phone for every extension. Minimum configuration for a Packet8system is 3 extensions, however there appears to be no upperlimit to the number of extensions. Every DTA and phonecombination costs $100, and there exists a $40 activation feeper line. Because all the extensions attach to the equivalentPBX, calls to extensions and calls to outside amounts areprocessed just as they usually are in a corporate office. Thephones have a huge LCD with soft-buttons for voicemail, don'tdisturb, and each feature you would expect in a corporate PBX. Ipersonally discovered the system elementary to utilise howeveras well incredibly flexible. Phone functions are managedapplying the phone's LCD and its buttons, while extensionassignment, routing, auto-attendant, and system-relatedfunctions are managed through the PBX's Web interface.
Packet8's sound quality was incredibly fantastic. Calls betweenPacket8 VoIP lines were clear with no noticeable delay. Callsbetween Packet8 VoIP phones and standard phone lines wereequally clear. The quality of the overall system was even morethan acceptable.
This is the kind of system that fits any virtual office whoseemployees require to produce lots of long-distance calls. ThePacket8 system is particularly well suited to today'sdistributed virtual businesses. The fact that all the extensionsare section of the equivalent system and operate as a seamlessphone system puts a consolidated face on the distributed office.
Packet8 Virtual Office Features:
Price: $40 per extension per month, plus setup costs of $100 forequipment and $40 activation fee per line Unlimited callingwithin the U.S. and Canada Full-featured conference bridge forup to 20 participants Auto-Attendant Voicemail with messageforwarding and e-mail notification Call transfer and automaticcall forwarding 3-way conferencing Music/messaging on holdDistinctive ringing for internal/external calls Caller ID andcall-waiting caller ID Stutter tone notifications Call park/callpick-up
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