What is SIP Trunking? Part 2 – How do SIP-based trunks work?

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Netcelerate

SIP trunking is an alternative way of connecting on premise customer equipment (such as PBX, communication gateway, etc.) to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or telephone network in short.

SIP trunks differ from the traditional network by leveraging internet protocols to create a flexible and cost effective highway between a customer’s PBX and the global telephony network without the need for new infrastructure. SIP trunking is built based on widely accepted Internet Protocol (IP) technology and utilizes Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to control connection management.

As an IP based solution, SIP trunking benefits from the underlying technology, existing IP infrastructure and cost models. It offers:

Easy and flawless integration with other IP/SIP based applications.
Simplification of deployment and management of solution.
Rich set of new capabilities and features (Instant Messaging, Multimedia Conferencing, Presence info, etc.); high redundancy, high availability and location independence (often called disappearance of distance).
Lower cost of voice transport.

Switching to a SIP network allows for the deliverance of many features between the on-site PBX and the telephony network. You are no longer limited to the infrastructure you have on-site.

As the SIP trunk provides an alternative connection of customer’s PBX to the PSTN, it is totally transparent to end users, which continue to use their existing telephones and favorite business features they are so used to.

What is SIP Trunking Part 1 – The Traditional Network:

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Netcelerate

Clear telephone conversations have been around since 1876 when Alexander Graham Bell said “Mr. Watson, come here! I want to see you!” Since then, the technology has evolved into the digital age. What is important to note, before understanding current technology, is how it worked in the past.

If you go back to the days of the manual switchboard, it is easy to understand how the larger phone system works. In the days of the manual switchboard, there was a pair of copper wires running from every house to a central office in the middle of town. The switchboard operator sat in front of a board with one jack for every pair of wires entering the office.

When someone picked up the handset on his or her telephone, the hook switch would complete the circuit and let current flow through wires between the house and the office. This would light the light bulb above that person’s jack on the switchboard. The operator would connect his/her headset into that jack and ask who the person would like to talk to. The operator would then send a ring signal to the receiving party and wait for the party to pick up the phone. Once the receiving party picked up, the operator would connect the two people together in exactly the same way the simple intercom is connected.

When comparing this to the current age, the role of the human operator was replaced by specialized computer located in the Central Office of telecommunication company or Private Branch Exchange (PBX) in case of a business. If you are calling someone connected to the same office, then the switch simply creates a loop between your phone and the phone of the person you called. If it’s a long-distance call, then the loop between your phone and remote location is created using a long-distance network.

The costs for this network connection, however, have been extremely high. For businesses with multi-site operations, in addition to high connection costs, creation of unity between parties located in separate offices may pose a significant challenge. This leads us into the second part of this series: “How has SIP trunking changed the network?”

A Shift in Technology Part 3 – The Benefits of Going Hosted

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Netcelerate

In parts 1 and 2 we have gone over the history of business phone systems, and explained some of their main downfalls. Our next step, naturally, is to talk about the new alternative that is gaining traction and market share around the world, the Hosted PBX.

IP Phones

It’s no mystery why businesses in Canada and the US have taken an interest in Hosted PBX. The new solution takes away the physical PBX in your office. That expensive box that had to be maintained on a regular basis is now history. All of the technology, call termination, and everything else that reaches you to your customers is done in a Data Centre away from your office. No more maintenance or repairs, as it is all done seamlessly in the Cloud.

What this does is allow the business owner to focus on their business, and not on their phone system. This plug and play model gives business flexibility and eliminates the up-front cost of purchasing the PBX.

Traditionally calls that are made to your business would terminate through the PBX on-site, and be transferred to the intended party. With a Hosted System, the termination is made at the data centre of the service provider, and is converted into IP (the Internet language) that deals with the call from there. Having the termination occur in the cloud means the technology needed on-site is reduced and the business is able to utilize features they may never have been able to afford in the past.

Voicemail

A business with a PBX would need to purchase a separate module to be able to give callers the opportunity to leave voicemail. With a Hosted System, there are dozens of features that are included with the service, giving every business the opportunity to use advanced features.

Overall, this shift in technology is great for businesses. No longer are you paying for anything that you don’t need, and no longer are you missing out on features that would benefit your business.

For more information on Hosted PBX systems, please click here.

A Shift in Technology Part 1 – Understanding PBX

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Netcelerate

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Almost everyone has had some experience with a company’s Private Branch Exchange, or PBX for short. A PBX is a company’s gateway to doing business over the telephone, connecting incoming calls with their intended recipient. When you need to talk to someone in billing or from tech support, you end up calling a phone number and get directed to the department or individual you need. Alternatively, you might have been in one of those departments and had a call from a co-worker two offices away. Both of these scenarios occur on a company’s PBX. A totally automated system called an automated attendant directs callers to the department they are trying to find. A PBX helps to organize internal communication as well. By giving employees free phone access to their co-workers makes collaboration easier. This idea even includes other businesses as well. The conference calling function provided by a PBX lets people from multiple companies collaborate from many different locations. All of these, however, are features that can be costly upgrades from a basic PBX system.

In the past, PBXs were large, complex and hardware intensive. As time progressed the technology became much more accessible to small and medium sized enterprises. Now, with the advent of the Internet, PBX has gone online. This offers huge benefits for companies, specifically small and medium sized ones, who otherwise, would not be able to afford the advanced features that made communication easier. Voice over IP (VoIP) technologies that drive software like Skype, have reduced PBX systems physical presence and increased functionality. Hosted PBX is a new take on an age-old technology. Now PBX systems fit into current IT infrastructure and provides more functionality than ever before.

Understanding Hosted PBX

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Netcelerate

Outside of the IT world, terms like Hosted PBX are still a mystery to many small business owners. More easily understood are applications like Skype, and even the term VoIP. To understand how VoIP plays a role in business telephone systems, we’ll be exploring the basics of a Hosted PBX system, beginning with the meaning of a PBX.

What is a PBX?

PBX stands for Private Branch Exchange which is a piece of hardware (telephone box) that makes connections among the internal telephones of a business and connects them to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or public telephone network. This is done via trunk lines, otherwise known as phone lines. A PBX can incorporate multiple telephones, fax machines, modems and more, and the term extension is used to refer to any end point on the branch. Extensions are also commonly referred to as the 3 or 4 digit number associated with an individual telephone within the business phone system. For example, your telephone number might be 613-355-1234 extension 123. Depending on the configuration of your PBX, you can transfer phone calls between extensions and reach extensions individually through the Auto Attendant: the automated greeting played to callers when they first call in to your business.

The Hosted in Hosted PBX

A hosted PBX >> provides all of the same functions (and many more) as a PBX however the system is delivered as a service. This means you can eliminate the need to buy and install a physical PBX (phone box) since the hosted PBX is provided and managed by your service provider. Instead of buying a PBX, installing and configuring it, with a hosted PBX system you are only required to purchase telephones and have an internet connection. Not only will your business save money by eliminating the need to buy a PBX, but it’s estimated that yearly updates and repairs can cost between 10-20% per year of the original purchase price of the traditional PBX. With a hosted PBX system, updates are managed by the service provider without additional cost to the customer. This is only one of the ways in which the longevity of a hosted PBX system can benefit your business.

Longevity and Scalability

Any type of investment in telecommunications or IT can impact how you operate your business and can impact your business for years to come. A major benefit to a hosted PBX telephone system is its ability to grow with your business; meaning telephones and phone lines can quickly and cost effectively be added or removed from your system whenever you need them. To read more about the benefits of hosted PBX, read Why Companies are Switching to Hosted PBX >>