The advantages of VOIP
What is VoIP?
VoIP stands for ‘Voice over Internet Protocol' and is a term used to describe the transmission and delivery of voice communications over IP networks.
A traditional phone system
Terminology
PSTN – Public Switched Telephone Network. The PSTN is the traditional network used for telephone calls. Originally an analogue network the PSTN is now almost entirely digital and incorporates mobile as well as fixed phones. Calls via this network are chargeable.
ISDN 30 - a type of Integrated Service Digital Network system that is used for the transmission of voice and data over wires
GSM - Global System for Mobile communications (standard digital cellular phone service that you will find around the world).
Octavia’s Office Phone System
Terminology
DSL - a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network.
SIP trunk – Session Initiation Protocol (connects a company’s PBX to the existing telephone system infrastructure)
PBX – Private Branch Exchange
VoIP translates your voice into data packets and sends them directly over to the person you’re calling. The receiver of your call will not notice anything different. The call quality is the same as a landline call over PSTN.
Click here to view VOIP most frequently asked questions
FAQ’S
Do I need to buy new phones for the system to work?
No – you can use free soft phones on PC’s if you wish. If your existing phones are IP phones, you can use them. However, it is likely you may need some new handsets (which are included in all system prices quoted)
I have many staff working remotely from home – what software and hardware will they require for the system to work? How much is this going to cost me?
All they need is a windows pc/laptop and a broadband connection. Installation of the soft-phone is a very simple process that takes minutes
What customer support do you offer?
Fully supported under our MITSS service (30 mins response, 24 hours a day, etc) - Managed IT Support Page
If my server goes down will my phones go down also?
No – if you have a good, reliable server platform we can install 3CX on those existing servers. However, in some cases we will provide you with a box dedicated to running the 3CX system
What will happen if we have a power cut?
Octavia have a range of Business Continuity offerings that can keep your systems running in the event of most situations. One of the main advantages of our system over a traditional PBX is that it can literally be moved to any location with an internet connection, plugged in and will work*. Therefore, if you have a prolonged power cut, your phone system can be moved to an alternate office and your staff can work from any location.This is near-impossible to achieve with traditional telephone systems. For organisations with very unreliable power, etc we advise that the system is run from our data centre (which incurs a small additional cost) which will have guaranteed power etc
*with suitable connectivity
Will the phone call quality be affected? (People are saying the big issue is with crackling, echoes, static, speech delays & dropped calls)
This depends entirely on the type of connection used to connect your system to the outside world. Our pricing includes the installation and regular costs for a dedicated “VoiceStream” connection. These connections are designed specifically for VOIP and will give quality very similar to traditional ISDN (and certainly better than many “copper” BT lines”. However, it is possible to run the system over much lesser connections, which will result in degradation of call quality. This, however, can reduce the ongoing costs even further.
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