Phone Systems

Birmingham-based firm Telephonics is to be taken to court by telecoms regulator Ofcom after failing to pay a fine and change its practices. Telephonics, much like Elite Telecom, offers businesses bespoke telecom services such as phone systems. Unlike Elite Telecom though, Telephonics has breached regulations concerning its telephone services.

Telephonics was initially fined by Ofcom after customers said they were unable to leave the company – without paying hefty amounts of money anyway. Telephonics has not paid the £183,898 fine and has not changed its practices and so Ofcom is to take the case to the High Court. For phone systems and other bespoke business needs, going to a reputable company can save you a whole lot of trouble.

In the post-recession world of business, watching what you spend and what you buy becomes a top priority. This is expressly true when you’re considering a business phone system. Business phone systems, whether for a large office or small office, can be quite costly – so it helps to save money where you can and make sure that what you’re buying is quality.

Among the things to consider are these: Determine what size phone system you need and whether all of the additional bells and whistles are strictly necessary. Consider how your employees use the phone – calls to landlines or mobiles or overseas? You need to choose a price plan that suits the needs of your company, not just the cheapest one!

For a proper consultation about what you need and what you don’t, it’s always best to contact a professional company!

As the economy is still recovering from the recession, many businesses are looking for ways to cut costs. One route that many businesses are choosing to go down is the hosted PBX phone system route. Rather than pay for a whole new phone system while money is tight, companies can instead pay a fraction of the cost to have their PBX phone systems hosted instead.

Many businesses that host PBX phone systems, such as elitetele.com, offer things like unlimited extensions and phone lines, so no matter how much your company grows, you’re covered. Add to that a fixed monthly bill and you can sit the recession out knowing that you’re covered.

Polycom are to join forces with HDConnectProject in an effort to persuade the tech policy makers in Washington DC about the benefits of HD phone calls. The companies will invite the legislators of Washington to a demonstration where Polycom and the HDConnectProject will instruct them on how HD phone calls work. The legislators will then be able to sign up for a free trial of high definition telephony. As far as phone systems go, the two companies are hoping that HD phone systems will change the face of communications. HD and phones look like they’re soon going to be big business – even mobile providers like Orange are jumping on the bandwagon and providing HD mobiles.

The governments Broadband Tax or Landline Duty to give it its proper name, is to cause more controversy as it’s realised that small businesses may be the hardest hit by the tax. Large businesses that have bespoke phone systems with a single fibre connection will be charged the minimum. Smaller businesses that have fewer resources and numerous copper wire lines for their phone system will have to pay for each and every line regardless of them being in use or not. Looks like small businesses will be voting Conservative then?

The IP PBX is a must-have for any business. The centre of any communication, an IP PBX can serve a multitude of functions from a simple phone call to intelligent call queuing. Companies have capitalised on the necessity of IP PBXs and now there is more choice than ever in the market.

Software-based PBXs are extremely popular as integrating the phone system software into an existing system can be less time-consuming and less costly unlike hardware based solutions. One thing that is becoming predominant in the market at the minute though, is open-source IP PBX systems. Flexible, cost-effective and stable, an open source IP PBX seems to be the way to go. For now.

Peel Media are to be provided with IP telephony solutions and optical fibre broadband for its MediaCityUK development taking place on the waterfront in Manchester. Using Cisco technologies and BT lines, Peel Media are looking to be provided with telepresence, cloud computing and telephony solutions as well as a 10Gbs network. MediaCityUK is a venture that aims to build a city on the docks of Salford, housing around 5,000 media workers.

To mark the one year anniversary of Cisco’s specialist small business unit, Cisco have recently released a few new products and upgrades, designed for businesses with 100 employees or less.

Firstly we have Cisco’s 802.11n dual-band clustering access point which is designed to allow easy installation of wireless access points for multiple units. A sure winner for smaller budgets. Next comes the SPA 525G IP phone system update. With the updates to the SPA 525G IP phone, you can have a live video feed from your security camera, straight onto the phone’s LCD display – with an option to remotely open deadbolts too!  The IP phone will also be fitted with VPN technology, allowing remote workers to instantly connect with your PBX via a broadband connection. Cisco will surely have a lot of success with their new small business products!

As Portland, USA, have found out this week, a decent phone system isn’t just for business use. After an E.coli outbreak in the water supply, many Portland residents didn’t realise that they may be risking drinking unsafe water which is why Portland are now looking to invest in a decent phone system that can contact members of the community in the wake of such an event. Utilising a phone system that could use features such as outbound IVR, critical information can get to the right people at the right time. Phone systems – more than just a tool for business!

As mobility becomes more and more of a necessity for businesses, traditional phone systems are being overlooked in favour of wireless phone systems. Although advancements in phone systems such as the addition of VoIP (voice over internet protocol) have made phone systems invaluable to businesses, current trends suggest that wireless phone systems are the wave of the future. Not only do they unify all communications, with a wireless phone system, you’ll also never miss a business call. It looks like landlines are a thing of the past.