New small business Voip system up and running
Nov1
Well it’s been a bit of an epic – mainly struggling with diverse hardware and getting Telecom to give up the Wanaka Wastebusters number. But the new internet based phone system is now up and running.
The system:
- 4 x lines on standard phones through 1 x Linksys ATA and 1 x WAG with 2 ATA ports
- 4 x people using softphones – X-Lite
- 1 x Linksys SPA922 VOIP deskphone
- Auto attendant on main calling in line
- Eftpos and Fax on a POTs line which also carries the ADSL
- Voicemail on all extensions with voicemail sent to email addresses where necessary
Lessons so far:
- Linksys ATA’s seem to be more reliable and give better call quality than a software phone on a PC.
- Starting out with one sort of end point (ATA’s) would have been easier. Having people on three different solutions makes config and customization a bit of a nightmare.
- The free version of X-Lite does not do a blind transfer, I haven’t found a free softphone yet that does but will try Zoiper tomorrow.
- Without a local digital PBX (Wastebusters is using the Kiwilink service) you are restricted to the options that the external service offers on their (usually Asterisk) setup. In this case a limit of 9 speed dial numbers restricting the pool of possible blind transfer speed dials.
Savings
- Reduced monthly rentals by around $200
- Cheaper calling costs
- Flexible extensible PBX features, mostly changeable through web interface
Journeys in the world of VOIP
Sep0
So…the VOIP project for Wanaka Wastebusters continues. Most of the bases have been covered in the last few weeks:
- Tested the Kiwilink service with a variety of hardware and software phones. PAP2T, X-Lite etc. Call quality is very good 90% of the time and choppy around 4pm…hmmm…hopefully a new ADSL link fullspeed in both directions will solve that
- Have setup auto attendant features and voicemail, nice and easy
- Blind transferring a call has been a bit more of an issue. In X-Lite it is disabled in the free version and PAP2T’s don’t seem to have a good speed dial method. Kiwilink has been exceptional in trying to find a solution – so far the easiest seems to be to use dedicated VOIP phones over ATA’s with analogue phones – will up the investment price a bit
One of the outcomes for me has been to see how VOIP technology, maybe technology in general, has evolved over time. The standards and even the hardware has been around for a few years but it has still not bedded in as a simple flexible solution: system components require extensive configuration, quality is variable and trouble shooting still an art not a science.
Depolying a VOIP PBX is not yet a turn key industry, but the advantages still greatly outweigh the disadvantages.
VOIP system for small business install…in progress..
Aug0
Wanaka Wastebusters has a second hand Samsung analogue PABX that was installed a few years ago. It is relatively reliable (apart from dropping a few calls … hmmm) but the interface to make changes to the settings has prevented any economical evolution to bring it up to a usable solution for the business. This alone makes it worth replacing.
I have been slightly obsessed with VOIP for a while, mucked around with Asterisk on and off and have used World Exchanges VFX service at home for a year or two. I’m not sure why I have this obsession – I suspect because it is such an attractive disruption – voice, and all its features, becoming as cheap and easy as email.
I managed Cactus to start using VFX for it’s main calling line a while back, and now hardware QOS has improved and DSL speed settled down (you can finally get full speed both ways relatively cheaply) it is time to try on a larger scale. The benefits are too big to ignore.
- Hosted PBX – no hardware investment…and features+ like the below…
- Web interface to control the PBX as opposed to semi-blind phone keypad inline programming
- Voicemail to email – email seems to be THE collation point for business communication
- Softphones like X-Lite, point and click phone action! Address books!
- Cheaper calling
- Movable phones – take your latop to the other side of the world and you are still on the same system
I have been working on the implementation plan and have agreement from Wastebusters, I’ll write it up here as it happens.
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