PBX Phones

More Than Just Hosted PBX Phones - By: Mark Etinger

Setting up a business is no easy feat. Before you can even think about what color to paint the office or what chairs will be the most comfortable, you have to take care of the important items first, like buying computers and choosing a telephone provider. If you're a medium to large-sized business, you're probably going to choose a PBX phone system. However, there is more than just a hosted PBX phone and you'll need to know which is right for your business.

The basic PBX phone, or private branch eXchange, is a privately owned phone system. You can have several lines and can easily route calls. The extra features you want can determine just how cheap or expensive this option is. Standard features include caller I.D., call forwarding, and call conferencing. This simpler system is being used less and less with the rise in popularity of VoIP business phones. They still remain a good choice for medium to large-sized businesses.

Growing in popularity is the hosted PBX system, also called the virtual PBX phone. The big difference between this phone and the former is that you can manage calls through the Internet. You also do not need to setup tons of extra hardware. Some of the basic features of these phones include redirecting calls to cell phones, home phones, or faxes, online call logs, online voicemail, and dial-by-name directories. The costs tend to be cheaper than the traditional PBX system and the phones are great for any size business.

With so many businesses switching to VoIP, there is now a VoIP hosted PBX system, or IP PBX. This type of phone brings the best of both systems together. Costs are low because you do not need to install new hardware. The phones can be connected to a computer rather than through landlines. You can also manage your system online just like the hosted PBX system. Simply install the software on your computer and you can begin making phone calls. Again, this is a great choice for all types of businesses.

The fourth and last type of PBX system is the virtual or hosted IP PBX system. This phone system is best for small to medium-sized businesses. All the equipment is held and maintained by the telephone provider. Therefore, there is nothing to install at your company. You still receive all the same great features, but without any installation hassle.

Cost and features are the most important factors to consider. Choose the right phone that can make your business run efficiently without soaring prices.
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First Look at ShoreTel Mobility Router - By: Drvoip


The ShoreTel Mobility Routers (aka SMR) is an exciting product that can make fixed/mobile convergence a reality! It builds heavily on inherent SIP functionality in call setup, call flow and Session Description Protocol. It acts as both a SIP client and as a SIP proxy server (e.g. B2BUA). If you are comfortable with SIP protocol, the SMR is a relatively simple device to understand. The products primary contribution to the state of the art is the ShoreTel Roam Anywhere Client (aka SRAC) and the fact that it is available now; it works and there are plenty of reference accounts.

The product demands a pervasive, voice enabled wireless network with a best practice recommendation of controller based access points. In my opiniion the product is optimized for Campus environments in which the same QOS requirements that you would expect for WAN connectivity are strictly adhered to. The Wireless environment requirements are for advanced network and power management strategies. The product is oriented toward a CISCO like Wireless networks “best practice” deployment. Clearly, you can make VoIP calls from StarBucks but you will not have the QOS that you would have on an enterprise Wireless Network.

The product can be integrated with most any PBX that supports SIP integraton including Microsoft Linx. When implemented as part of a ShoreTel deployment there are license requirements for both the SMR and the ShoreTel iPBX. For example, the SMR interconnects to the ShoreTel with both SIP extensions (Wifi connections) and Sip Trunks (Cellular connections). The number of paths, as you would assume, is calculated based on simultaneous conversation estimates. You are required to have two different ShoreTel PBX extensions if you are Mobility user. (My guess is the ShoreTel “twinning feature “was developed in part, primarily to support the SMR). It is not clear if the required SIP trunk, SIP extension and ShoreTel User licenses are bundled in the SMR acquisition cost but they are required. There are also extra SMR licenses required for presence and secure voice.

The best working model you might use for discussion purposes, is to envision a “tie-line” configuration between two pbx systems. In this case the SMR acts as a tie line between the iPBX and the Cellular network. You do a 10 – 4 Digit translation on the Cellular side of the tie line to reach ShoreTel extensions; and you do a 4 – 10 Digit translation on the PBX side of the tie line to reach Mobile phones. The SMR acts as a registration point and based on the SRAC calculations of WAP signal strength and active call can be handed off to the cellular network.

An incoming call to a ShoreTel users deskphone, also rings the associated SIP extension via the SMR. The Wireless SIP extension is the ShoreTel Roam Anywhere Client running on your faviorite smart phone. The SRAC is smart enought to register with the SMR either wirelessly or over the Cellular network depending on signal strenght. A call from the SIP extension displays the CID of the ShoreTel deskphone. The product is fully formed and is an exciting addition to the ShoreTel product family. Another Brilliantly Simple Solution!
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