Allcom - Voice, Data, Mobility. Complete communication solutions

Are you looking for a way to make your business sound more professional? Old system not doing what you need it to do any more; or are you ready to take your business to the next level?  

What do you need in a phone system? What options are there? How can Allcom tell me what my business needs, when I don’t know myself? And what is a PABX?

These are questions we hear all the time. Until recently, fully featured phone systems were out of reach for small, emerging businesses. We aim to not only help design the system for you, but help you to understand what it’s all about, so you and your staff can utilize the technology you have, and decide exactly what you need.
 

1. What is a PABX?
2. What kind of phone line do I have?
3. What exactly is VoIP?
4. How do I add more phones?
5. Can I really make free phone calls on the internet? What's the catch?
6. So, what is a SIP Trunk?

What is a PABX?

A private branch exchange (also called PBX, Private Business eXchange or PABX for Private Automatic Branch eXchange) is a private telephone network used within a Business. Users of the PABX share a certain number of outside lines for making telephone calls external to the PBX. A key system, or KTS, is a premises telephone system that is best known by the phones that have buttons for calling inside an organization and for placing calls outside through the public telephone network.
A key telephone system is in the same category as a PBX (private branch exchange), except that key systems rely on the telephone company switching equipment, while a PABX relies on a central control unit located at the customer site.

What kind of phone line do I have?

Public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the concentration of the world's public circuit-switched telephone networks, in much the same way that the Internet is the concentration of the world's public IP based packet-switched networks. Originally a network of fixed-line analog telephone systems, the PSTN is now almost entirely digital, and now includes mobile as well as fixed telephones.
Stated simply, PSTN is the basic analogue (copper) lines within the Australian Network.

ISDN, which stands for Integrated Services Digital Network, is a system of digital phone connections which has been available for over a decade. This system allows voice and data to be transmitted simultaneously across the world using end-to-end digital connectivity.
There are two basic types of ISDN service: Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and Primary Rate Interface (PRI). BRI consists of two channels. This basic service is intended to meet the needs of most individual users. PRI is intended for users with greater capacity requirements.

What exactly is VoIP?

Voice over Internet Protocol, also called VoIP, IP Telephony, Internet telephony, Broadband telephony, Broadband Phone and Voice over Broadband is the  routing of voice conversations over the Internet or through any other IP based network.

I have a PABX, and don't have enough phones. Can I just add more phones to it?

This is a tricky question. Most phone systems will allow analogue extensions (in phone system technology, an "analogue" extension is a standard telephone- something you can plug in at home and use. A PABX specialised handset is called a "digital" handset). You can usually add some analogue handsets to your system with limited use. Digital handsets are system-specific (Ericsson handsets will only work on Ericsson systems, LG-Nortel and Samsung are the same).
You may need to add an expansion card to add more handsets. Remember that a phone system is like a computer- they do become obsolete at some point (not usually as fast as a computer!), and sourcing parts and technicians able to install them can be difficult. 

 

Here at Allcom, we aim to give you the latest information on phone systems, in an easy to read format.
If you want to know more, you can reach our Sales Team on (02) 6043 0000 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Can I really make free phone calls on the internet? What's the catch?

The short answer for this is yes, it's possible to make free phone calls. You will have heard of different internet offers that allow you to call other users of the same product for free. Other providers charge a smaller fee per call or per month to allow calls over the internet.
Here's the catch- while these products are great for home use, calling family and friends, they're not always suitable for business use. And the problem is quality.
Think about it like this: data goes through the internet in little bundles, called Packets. When it's text, like emails, it doesn't matter that you will loose little parts of those packets along the way- you get the whole product eventually. When it's your voice travelling one way, and packets drop off, or get delayed due to the traffic on the line, you end up with a real-time conversation with drop-outs, and only hear parts of words (like bad mobile reception).
Now, that's OK if you're talking to your mother-in-law. Not great if you're trying to take an order from a customer.
There are ways around this- getting a good, business grade internet service is a start. Also, a good IP PABX with built in quality of service (may I suggest Mitel?) will also reduce problems. Our major Telecommunications suppliers are coming out with Internet based phone lines soon (known a SIP trunks), so it's best to be prepared.

So, what is a SIP trunk?

A SIP (Session Initiated Protocol) connection is a logical connection between an IP PABX and a Service Provider's servers that allows Voice over IP traffic to be exchanged between the two. Effectively, it's an internet-based phone line, using the internet instead of a standard copper wire phone line. No major Telecommunications suppliers have introduced SIP trunks yet, although they are expected to launch them soon. A SIP (Session Initiated Protocol) connection is a logical connection between an IP PABX and a Service Provider's