| |
 | |  | | | Glossary | Handsets are available from a growing number of suppliers and with a wide range of features and price points. We recommend Cisco products as these have proven to be the most reliable with sufficiently long product lines to ensure continuity of availability of models. This avoids building a legacy of different handsets with varying appearance and feature sets as your handset inventory grows over time. | | Where it is necessary to attach non-VoIP capable telephone devices - faxes, answerphones etc - to an otherwise VoIP telephone system then this is achieved via inexpensive, simple to install devices known as Analogue Terminal Adapters. These devices - commonly referred to as ATAs - convert the digitally encoded packets transmitted over the VoIP network into signals and tones which can be understood by non-VoIP analogue devices. | | Unlike traditional telephone systems, VoIP phones do not have a physical location and so cannot be used to make 999, 112 or 911 calls to the emergency services. Where a VoIP phone is connected to the public switched network via a router then the address of that router does correspond to a known, fixed location and attached handsets calling the emergency services will automatically send their location with their call in the normal way. It should also be remembered that in these days of mobile phones the dependency on the availability of a fixed location handset is significantly diminished. | Household phones and some private branch exchanges (PBX) can tolerate mains power failure either because they take their power from the public switched network or by way of battery back up or other electricity generating equipment. Other than the domestic user and the larger corporate enterprise, businesses have long recognised that installing any kind of modern telephone switchboard or exchange meant that whenever mains power failed their phones were disconnected. The position with VoIP is the same; in the absence of battery or other power back-up sufficient to run the VoIP network then, in the event of mains power failure, the VoIP network is off the air. Bearing in mind that when this happens everything else electrical - PCs, printers, lighting, lifts etc - stops too most users are sanguine about this (but see the box above concerning calling the emergency services. | | VoIP phones typically require a direct current power supply in order to function. This power can be supplied in one of two ways; using mains transformers or via the CAT5e cable. One of the major cost benefits of VoIP is the dual use of the LAN trunking installed in most of today's offices. Having to install power points at every phone point would reduce these benefits. In a typical CAT5e conforming LAN where the network speed (to the PCs) is less than the latest Gigabit specification a pair of wires is available to carry dc power to VoIP handsets. In Gigabit LANs all the available pairs are used and an offsetting technique is used to enable the voltage to be carried over the cable. The necessary voltage (typically 48VDC) is supplied either directly by the switch (endspan injection) or by the incorporation of a second switch/transformer (known as midspan injection). Reliable suppliers of these devices include companies such as Powerdsine whose products have a well-earned reputation for reliability and low-cost. | | In spite of all the hopes - and the millions of pounds - invested in fibre it is the original copper based telephone network that has made broadband possible. The speeds offered - projected to reach 100Mbps and already approaching 30Mbps in the US and parts of Europe - can only be achieved currently over copper pairs which means that bringing broadband connectivity into a business is straightforward and inexpensive.
Most domestic and small business users can adequately satisfy their capacity needs using aDSL - where the 'a' stands for asymmetric - lines. Asymmetric lines carry data away from the user towards the network at significantly lower speeds than at which data arrives. In computer applications this is acceptable because the data loads are asymmetric; a few clicks of the keyboard, for example, can download a book or a film.
Telephone calls typically, however, are symmetrical in the demands they place on capacity and larger users will therefore want to install sDSL lines - where the 's' stands for symmetric - to ensure they have sufficient capacity for their likely peak call volume and thereby ensure quality of service.
Collectively aDSL and sDSL are known as xDSL. DSL in all cases stands for "Digital Subscriber Line". |
| |  | |  |
| |
 |
VoIP |
 |
Free Demonstration The best way to evaluate VoIP
is to see and hear it working. If you have an aDSL (broadband) line we will
be delighted to come to your offices with a selection of phones and show you
VoIP in action. There is absolutely no charge for this and no obligation.
To arrange your free demonstration click the
Contact button. We'll get back to you straightaway to confirm the details.
Benefits Summary  |
all your telephone bills can be reduced to one, single, fixed monthly payment and this can include the costs of calls (within the UK) | |
taking full advantage of VoIP requires minimal upfront investment – there is little or no capital cost involved in migrating to VoIP | | calls are free when internal (ie between two or more handsets on your network) or significantly reduced in price when connecting to the public switched network | | your degree of commitment to VoIP can be phased allowing time for users and support staff to adjust and for management to identify and exploit the benefits of the new technology | | connect local and remote fixed (ie “landline”) equipment, mobile phones, self-diallers and other monitoring equipment all through the same platform into one, seamless telephone system without buying additional equipment | | VoIP
grows and flexes easily to accommodate growth or seasonality – there is no concept of a
telephone exchange with just so many lines or extensions – you can install as many or as few handsets
and numbers as business activity demands | | |
there is a wide range of numbering options available; show your
large company as a small local organisation or your small company as
a nationwide operation. Provide free to call numbers or charge
callers for connection time. | | you pay only for what you use; handsets – with a wide and growing variety of features and costs - can be acquired and released on
flexible terms | | you can choose to enable as many or as few features of the ipCentrex software as your business demands varying the feature selection dynamically and from one worker to the next | | handsets are self-managing; whenever they connect to the network they check and update their internal software if necessary, automatically | | VoIP is future proofed; the ipCentrex switching software is constantly updated and the enhancements are available network wide immediately they are implemented | | VoIP is resilient ; our ipCentrex switch is triplicated; most companies traditionally only ever had a single
exchange | | your entire VoIP telephone network is visible through, and managed via, a web style control panel, handsets and features can be activated on demand | | call charges, durations, patterns etc can all be identified and analysed via the real-time activity reporting built into the web based control panel. |
Convergence
The convergence of computer, web and telephone technologies has been so marked that the telephone is no longer restricted to speech but is now just one aspect of information and communications technology delivered via the office LAN. The ability of web technology to deliver voice and data communications flexibly and at a lower cost than hitherto has hastened this convergence to the extent that the imminent and inevitable demise of the company switchboard, or PaBX, and specialist telephone cabling and other infrastructure is predicted by most commentators. Moving to VoIP based on our hosted switch technology requires minimum capital expenditure and promotes a cost-effective route towards convergence.   Management | VoIP is flexible; handsets can be added as required and in any location which has single point or LAN access to the web. Your entire VoIP network – regardless of geographical spread, complexity and types of handsets attached – can be managed from a single desk using a standard PC and browser software. Billing is transparent and all call and other charges information is available in real time, again, via a standard office PC running any of the current internet browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer, FireFox etc). Downloading billing information is straightforward and can then be re-processed to generate internal charges, update budgets etc using standard software such as Microsoft EXCEL. |  App 1
|  App 2
|
| | The inventor was puzzled as to why his first patent application was turned down. |
The "Virtual" Switchboard
Our hosted switch based on a tried and tested, market leading ipCentrex software solution brings many significant benefits including: | minimal upfront investment; there is little or no capital cost involved in migrating to VoIP and by phasing the degree of commitment, costs can be spread | | no need to devote valuable IT resources to manage the solution; we project manage the migration programme working with your in-house network support staff where necessary | | by eliminating the physical PaBX and its cabinetry and wiring space is freed-up, maintenance costs are avoided and reliance on a potential bottleneck and point of failure is removed | | by connecting local and remote fixed ("landline") equipment, mobile phones, self-diallers and other monitoring equipment all through the same platform you achieve one, seamless telephone system - without buying additional equipment | | pay for only what you use; handsets and telephone features (voicemail, fax to email, conferencing etc) can be acquired and released, on monthly terms | | scale easily to accommodate growth or seasonality – there is no concept of lines or extensions - you can install as many or as few handsets and enable as many or as few features of the ipCentrex software as your business demands and when it demands it | | future proofed ; the ipCentrex switching software and the software in the handset are self-maintaining | | resilient; our ipCentrex switching infrastructure is triplicated; most companies traditionally only ever had a single PaBX | | All the features associated with large, expensive switchboards are now available to the smallest company enabling them to take advantage of services previously restricted to the larger organisations | | telephone numbers can be allocated regardless of company size or location enabling the smallest operation to appear as a national undertaking or as local to its customer clusters. |
The ipCentrex allows allows software in the handsets - regardless of location - to be upgraded and enhanced easily and at no cost. There is no work disruption and no equipment changes or upgrade costs. There is no requirement for technicians or installers to visit every desk. Every time a VoIP handset attaches to the network its software fit is checked automatically and, if necessary, updated.
Time to Implement
VOIP systems are set-up with no planning, installation and commissioning delays using existing xDSL facilities or standard 2 wire analogue phone lines (converted to offer xDSL). 
| Organisations wanting to take full advantage of this trend will find that their legacy of traditional voice communications from multiple suppliers can be integrated into a single, coherent solution covering desk-based workers, field based sales, engineering and other staff, home based “teleworkers” and peripatetic staff whose roles move around them around a company’s various locations. Temporary or "life of project" locations can be set-up and added to the VoIP network in the time it takes to install an xDSL line. | | Early attempts at mobile telephony met with mixed results. |
When no longer needed, the telephony infrastructure can be discontinued with no dismantling or other removal costs. Any handsets or other equipment thereby released can be retained for use elsewhere in the organisation or returned. Costs of Ownership
VoIP is low cost; both the costs of acquisition - comprising purchase and maintenance - and operation are significantly lower than with traditional PaBX switched PSTN services. And because of VoIP's inherent granularity, large, up-front capital costs are avoided and replaced by incremental costs as handsets are added one by one. No longer do entire PaBXs have to be uprooted and replaced because they have been outgrown and neither do businesses run the risk of buying more switching capacity than they need. Low cost, high speed aDSL and sDSL broadband links (xDSL) mean that voice can be carried with not just equivalent but, in many cases, improved quality and with new and enhanced features made possible by the adoption of web technology. The concept of transmitting voice over a data network will be especially appealing to companies with an intranet infrastructure in place for their offices – which they are supporting via expensive to train and retain network support staff – while paying for voice circuits to PaBXs in those same locations. The cost savings realised by moving to a single, network based system for both voice and data are unarguable and irresistible. Keeping Pace with Technology
The pace of change brought about through VoIP is self-evident. Whereas the traditional phone system has hardly changed in years – and involved significant physical changes whenever it did – the coming together of the web and telephony has led to an easily adopted, continuous stream of productivity features and new ways of putting the telephone to work. Not least of these is the ability to add home workers and field based staff to the corporate telephone system as though they were working at the next desk. VoIP unites an organization's many locations - including mobile workers - into a single converged network. It promises cost savings by combining voice and data on one network that can be centrally maintained, as well as by eliminating charges for calls between locations. If your business is dynamic with a changing workforce profile, or is based in two or more locations or employs home workers or a field based workforce you are likely to find the move to VoIP especially beneficial. The future of voice communications lies is in the web accessed via an IP-based network. |  | | Not the sort of "net" our own David is used to? |
Voice will inevitably evolve into a specialised, always business-critical, application on a converged IP-based network.
Security and Resilience
Security, reliability, and quality of service questions can make network managers hesitate before committing to VoIP. Recalling that a company’s entire IT operations depend on IP technology and infrastructure – and have done so for many years – serves as a useful reminder that this technology is tried and tested and with a workforce with the appropriate skills and experience to support and maintain it in place. 
| In the past the telephone system was regarded as a black box and, often, little effort was put into disaster recovery planning, contingency provision through redundancy etc. With convergence comes the opportunity to apply the same security, survivability and resilience criteria that your IT department has applied to its data processing operations for many years. Equally, what isn't there cannot be destroyed or fail. Removing reliance on PaBX installations means the amount of equipment and other fixed infrastructure requiring redundant back-up, disaster plan provision, and so on, is significantly reduced and the space it occupied freed up. | | Almon Strowger was a mortician and invented the telephone dialler to stop people stealing his business. Click the picture to see his original drawing. |
Choosing your VoIP Partner
Adopters of this new technology may be concerned about the most effective way to migrate to the new world of convergence. SOPHTEL’s extensive technological capability and the strength of its partnership with VoiceNet means we are the right choice for companies looking to build their road-map to this vision of the future. | |
Call us now
or email us
or complete our
Further Information form for an immediate response and
absolutely no obligation initial quotation.
