VoIP Requirements?

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mrioso

11 posts

Geek

#71020 3-Nov-2010 17:13

Hi Everyone,

I would like to ask for an expert opinion regarding our plan of having a VoIP System. We're still deciding which pbx system to purchase, the choice between LG Ericsson iPecs and Samsung OfficeServ 7100?

Initially we're considering to get analog line for our incoming calls also use the line for eftpos, fax, security and fire alarm. And outgoing line will be on VoIP. Are we on the right track for this kind of setup in terms of cost?

Do you have recommended provider for this kind of setup? Any suggestions/recommendations will be highly appreciated.

Thanks,

Ragnor

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#399879 3-Nov-2010 22:38

Email and Fax can work over voip depending on the provider.

You can also get IP based eftpos devices which work directly over broadband/internet instead of phone lines.

Many alarm services can work directly over internet/broadband now too.

Which voip service are you looking at using?

Zeon

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#399894 3-Nov-2010 23:05

Ragnor: Email and Fax can work over voip depending on the provider.

You can also get IP based eftpos devices which work directly over broadband/internet instead of phone lines.

Many alarm services can work directly over internet/broadband now too.

Which voip service are you looking at using?

As mentioned, you should take this opportunity to shift your eftpos and alarm across to IP based solutions which go across the internet (for one thing they will save you costs for the phone lines). Faxing over VOIP is fine (we do it) on World Exchange at least.

I wouldn't even bother with analogue lines for the incoming lines. VoiP is very mature nowadays for both incoming and outgoing and if you can go fully voip it will give you a lot more flexibility in the future.

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mrioso

11 posts

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#399990 4-Nov-2010 09:07

Ragnor: Email and Fax can work over voip depending on the provider.

You can also get IP based eftpos devices which work directly over broadband/internet instead of phone lines.

Many alarm services can work directly over internet/broadband now too.

Which voip service are you looking at using?

currently we're considering callplus or digitalisland, but it still not yet final, we're still open for any recommendations. thanks

mrioso

11 posts

Geek

#399995 4-Nov-2010 09:13

Zeon:
Ragnor: Email and Fax can work over voip depending on the provider.

You can also get IP based eftpos devices which work directly over broadband/internet instead of phone lines.

Many alarm services can work directly over internet/broadband now too.

Which voip service are you looking at using?

As mentioned, you should take this opportunity to shift your eftpos and alarm across to IP based solutions which go across the internet (for one thing they will save you costs for the phone lines). Faxing over VOIP is fine (we do it) on World Exchange at least.

I wouldn't even bother with analogue lines for the incoming lines. VoiP is very mature nowadays for both incoming and outgoing and if you can go fully voip it will give you a lot more flexibility in the future.

thanks for suggestions zeon, just a question though, do you have any recommended provider that can offer fully reliable voip? can internet, voip, eftpos and alarm can handle by brodband adsl+ connections? thanks for posting

joshp

205 posts

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WorldxChange

#400108 4-Nov-2010 11:54

Hi Mrioso,

Looking at the PBX's you are looking at I assume it is not a small office installation? I would highly recommend that you look at a dedicated internet service if you have a larger office. ADSL does work and a number of people use it quite happily, but it is a best effort service, and not necessarily a business grade product.

In terms of your other services, eftpos/alarms etc, Alarms NZ does IP based Alarms and most of the Eftpos providers also have an IP solution now.

I would also recommend that you look at a decent UPS, when all of your services are on VOIP, if your internet connection is down so are all of your services. In many respects this alone is a good reason to have at least one backup PSTN line.

Cheers

Josh

http://wxc.co.nz

coffeebaron

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#400111 4-Nov-2010 12:04

How many lines & extensions are your looing at? Where are you based?

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Zeon

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#400118 4-Nov-2010 12:12

mrioso:

thanks for suggestions zeon, just a question though, do you have any recommended provider that can offer fully reliable voip? can internet, voip, eftpos and alarm can handle by brodband adsl+ connections? thanks for posting

You have a few choices including WxC, Callplus, Orcon and probably others. We use WxC for our VOIP and the only major problem we had was more human on their end - can't remember there being a technical outage in the last couple of years on their end.

Taking the alarm and eftpos to being IP based you should be able to save some bandwidth as it will be much more efficient to run that stuff over IP rather than VOIP but still you may want to look at an internet service with a higher SLA such as Fibre or UNS.

Any of the above will be able to provide you with either. As Josh has mentioned, there is a risk of an internet outage affecting your ability to call. Two things I would suggest:

1) put your PBX into the datacenter of the VOIP provider (colocation)
2) get a backup internet line with a different provider (there are many routers that can offer automatic fallback)

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philelvey

104 posts

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#400273 4-Nov-2010 16:40

Sounds like your on a pretty good track. And good advise being given here. Yes the key question I would ask is, how many simultaneous calls do you need to be able to have at one time? This will help you decide what is best in terms of an internet connection.

I would recommend having an analogue line and using it just for fax, eftpos, alarm, and just using VoIP for all your phone services (incoming and outgoing).

webwat

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#400876 5-Nov-2010 17:04

Lots of complaints that Callplus are a bit slow on the customer service, so I would recommend WxC or any others that can demonstrate how serious they are about reliability, to the extent they can show their voice switches and interconnections are redundant/resiliant. That includes having redundant power backups and cooling systems in their data centre.

Agreed that a good quality UPS (with battery conditioning function) must be part of the specifications on your office phone system, and maybe a separate UPS on the PoE switch connecting your handsets so that your PBX can continue analog services (such as a backup phone) during an extended power cut. I hope you are planning PoE (power over ethernet) at least for some of the phones.

There are lots of Asterisk PBXs out there as well as the proprietary systems, but make sure you have someone to take care of its security and maintenance. Hopefully you can find a way to get dual internet connections if reliability is really important, or at least setup some call diversion in case you lose internet.

Time to find a new industry!

Laurence

44 posts

Geek

#401020 5-Nov-2010 23:59

Sounds like a fun setup.

We do iPECs phone systems in the waikato and if your going for more then 4 lines its problably a good idea to get a dedicated internet connection (or at least a reliable one and a good router that can split the bandwidth). Depending on where you are has a huge effect on which is the best internet solution.

We normally put the EFTPOS over the internet and the same with fax. Depending on your alarm there are solutions to put that over the internet but it might not be the best way to do that. Depending on the requirements of the building (lifts/fire/alarm) it may be a requirement to have a analog line.

We have been using WxC for awhile now and have found them to be the most reliable provider so far for VoIP services.