Alternative to standard phone lines in my office?
Discussion
I run a small high street solicitors firm. I current have 4 lines with BT. I pay around 600 a quarter for the lines/rental including broadband and the usage charge is around 350 a quarter.
I am aware that it is now possible to have internet lines which ends up costing a lot less but I'm so busy with work I don't really have time to research how it works, if it is cost effective and reliable.
I wonder if there are others out there who have a system set up away from the traditional BT setup and if it's any good?
I am aware that it is now possible to have internet lines which ends up costing a lot less but I'm so busy with work I don't really have time to research how it works, if it is cost effective and reliable.
I wonder if there are others out there who have a system set up away from the traditional BT setup and if it's any good?
assadahmed said:
Its a fast connection. My office is based in North London next to Seven Sisters so we have no issues with speed.
We have 6 staff that use the internet.
Well you can get a leased line or EFM or something, and hosted 3cxWe have 6 staff that use the internet.
http://www.cloud-phone.co.uk/3cxhosted.php
I used yealink phones which were £30-40 each
And SIP trunks which I got from voipfone, they charge £2-3 per incoming line.
Shouldnt cost you more than £150 for the phone system per quarter plus whatever you are charged for your internet connection.
I would suggest considering two main options.
First option is to transfer your existing setup to a cheaper provider. There are lots of wholesales who will sell openreach lines for a significant discount on BT prices.
The costs of this option would be as follows. Expect to pay around £8 per line per month if paid for 12 months in advance. Assuming you have fibre to the cabinet, the last part of the line will need its own PSTN line. Plus you need a fibre connection.
So for your setup it would cost 4 x £8 (2 pairs of ISDN2 would be best for this) plus 1 x £8 for a PSTN used by the broadband. Unlimited business Broadbrand via Openreach would be about £30 / month.
This would cost you £70 / month or around £210 / quarter.
On top of this you would need a replacement for your phone system (PBX) - I would agree 3cx is an excellent option. You would need to pay for a service contract, the software, and a hosting solution for the software. This would likely cost the equivalent of around £80 / month although it can purchased for less.
So for less than £150 / month you would have a managed phone system with broadband and phone lines.
You would also need phones compatible with the new phone system. I like POE powered Cisco SPA504G which cost circa £40 each on ebay. Super reliable and work well with headsets.
The second option would be to move to VOIP. This is likely to cost a bit less (although not as much less as you might think). However, it is less reliable (IMHO) vs ISDN2. However, it is the future and eventually ISDN2 will be phased out. However, I personally like ISDN2 at least for the next 4-5 years.
First option is to transfer your existing setup to a cheaper provider. There are lots of wholesales who will sell openreach lines for a significant discount on BT prices.
The costs of this option would be as follows. Expect to pay around £8 per line per month if paid for 12 months in advance. Assuming you have fibre to the cabinet, the last part of the line will need its own PSTN line. Plus you need a fibre connection.
So for your setup it would cost 4 x £8 (2 pairs of ISDN2 would be best for this) plus 1 x £8 for a PSTN used by the broadband. Unlimited business Broadbrand via Openreach would be about £30 / month.
This would cost you £70 / month or around £210 / quarter.
On top of this you would need a replacement for your phone system (PBX) - I would agree 3cx is an excellent option. You would need to pay for a service contract, the software, and a hosting solution for the software. This would likely cost the equivalent of around £80 / month although it can purchased for less.
So for less than £150 / month you would have a managed phone system with broadband and phone lines.
You would also need phones compatible with the new phone system. I like POE powered Cisco SPA504G which cost circa £40 each on ebay. Super reliable and work well with headsets.
The second option would be to move to VOIP. This is likely to cost a bit less (although not as much less as you might think). However, it is less reliable (IMHO) vs ISDN2. However, it is the future and eventually ISDN2 will be phased out. However, I personally like ISDN2 at least for the next 4-5 years.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 6th January 14:04
EddieSteadyGo said:
I would suggest considering two main options.
First option is to transfer your existing setup to a cheaper provider. There are lots of wholesales who will sell openreach lines for a significant discount on BT prices.
The costs of this option would be as follows. Expect to pay around £8 per line per month if paid for 12 months in advance. Assuming you have fibre to the cabinet, the last part of the line will need its own PSTN line. Plus you need a fibre connection.
So for your setup it would cost 4 x £8 (2 pairs of ISDN2 would be best for this) plus 1 x £8 for a PSTN used by the broadband. Unlimited business Broadbrand via Openreach would be about £30 / month.
This would cost you £70 / month or around £210 / quarter.
On top of this you would need a replacement for your phone system (PBX) - I would agree 3cx is an excellent option. You would need to pay for a service contract, the software, and a hosting solution for the software. This would likely cost the equivalent of around £80 / month although it can purchased for less.
So for less than £150 / month you would have a managed phone system with broadband and phone lines.
You would also need phones compatible with the new phone system. I like POE powered Cisco SPA504G which cost circa £40 each on ebay. Super reliable and work well with headsets.
The second option would be to move to VOIP. This is likely to cost a bit less (although not as much less as you might think). However, it is less reliable (IMHO) vs ISDN2. However, it is the future and eventually ISDN2 will be phased out. However, I personally like ISDN2 at least for the next 4-5 years.
At my former employer ( a financial call centre with circa 20 phone operatives) we replaced our isdn with broadband and voip, never had any problems technically or in terms of reoliability and saved us a fortune.First option is to transfer your existing setup to a cheaper provider. There are lots of wholesales who will sell openreach lines for a significant discount on BT prices.
The costs of this option would be as follows. Expect to pay around £8 per line per month if paid for 12 months in advance. Assuming you have fibre to the cabinet, the last part of the line will need its own PSTN line. Plus you need a fibre connection.
So for your setup it would cost 4 x £8 (2 pairs of ISDN2 would be best for this) plus 1 x £8 for a PSTN used by the broadband. Unlimited business Broadbrand via Openreach would be about £30 / month.
This would cost you £70 / month or around £210 / quarter.
On top of this you would need a replacement for your phone system (PBX) - I would agree 3cx is an excellent option. You would need to pay for a service contract, the software, and a hosting solution for the software. This would likely cost the equivalent of around £80 / month although it can purchased for less.
So for less than £150 / month you would have a managed phone system with broadband and phone lines.
You would also need phones compatible with the new phone system. I like POE powered Cisco SPA504G which cost circa £40 each on ebay. Super reliable and work well with headsets.
The second option would be to move to VOIP. This is likely to cost a bit less (although not as much less as you might think). However, it is less reliable (IMHO) vs ISDN2. However, it is the future and eventually ISDN2 will be phased out. However, I personally like ISDN2 at least for the next 4-5 years.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 6th January 14:04
No one needs ISDN anymore particualrly in London.
I'd also go to a cloud based call system and get rid of the antiquated internals pbx too.
keirik said:
At my former employer ( a financial call centre with circa 20 phone operatives) we replaced our isdn with broadband and voip, never had any problems technically or in terms of reoliability and saved us a fortune.
No one needs ISDN anymore particualrly in London.
I'd also go to a cloud based call system and get rid of the antiquated internals pbx too.
Are there any reputable companies that offer a complete service of providing all I would need?No one needs ISDN anymore particualrly in London.
I'd also go to a cloud based call system and get rid of the antiquated internals pbx too.
assadahmed said:
Are there any reputable companies that offer a complete service of providing all I would need?
One of the companies here might.https://www.3cx.com/partners/hosted-pbx-providers/...
assadahmed said:
keirik said:
At my former employer ( a financial call centre with circa 20 phone operatives) we replaced our isdn with broadband and voip, never had any problems technically or in terms of reoliability and saved us a fortune.
No one needs ISDN anymore particualrly in London.
I'd also go to a cloud based call system and get rid of the antiquated internals pbx too.
Are there any reputable companies that offer a complete service of providing all I would need?No one needs ISDN anymore particualrly in London.
I'd also go to a cloud based call system and get rid of the antiquated internals pbx too.
keirik said:
At my former employer ( a financial call centre with circa 20 phone operatives) we replaced our isdn with broadband and voip, never had any problems technically or in terms of reoliability and saved us a fortune.
No one needs ISDN anymore particualrly in London.
When you say "it saved you a fortune", how much per channel did it actually save? No one needs ISDN anymore particualrly in London.
keirik said:
lots but it depends how much you want to pay, its becoming a commodity these days so lots of small companies will do the whole thing for you
Any particular ones you could mention so I can narrow down those I make contact with? Initial start up costs are not as important as long as monthly costs are reduced.I know I am going against the flow here by advocating ISDN2, and I won't push it again after this last post, but in my experience standard business broadband isn't reliable enough for a VOIP business phone system.
Yes, if you get a lease line that will be suitable. But standard fibre broadband isn't quite good enough at the moment if you value every single call you make and receive.
Yes, if you get a lease line that will be suitable. But standard fibre broadband isn't quite good enough at the moment if you value every single call you make and receive.
EddieSteadyGo said:
I know I am going against the flow here by advocating ISDN2, and I won't push it again after this last post, but in my experience standard business broadband isn't reliable enough for a VOIP business phone system.
Yes, if you get a lease line that will be suitable. But standard fibre broadband isn't quite good enough at the moment if you value every single call you make and receive.
I'm going to look into both so your input is also greatly appreciated. I agree with your point 're broadband lines reliability as there have been occasions where the broadband has cut out and left us with no net connection for a whole day or so.Yes, if you get a lease line that will be suitable. But standard fibre broadband isn't quite good enough at the moment if you value every single call you make and receive.
assadahmed said:
I'm going to look into both so your input is also greatly appreciated. I agree with your point 're broadband lines reliability as there have been occasions where the broadband has cut out and left us with no net connection for a whole day or so.
Losing internet for a whole day is very bad. I am more thinking of the occasions when it cuts out for a few seconds, which results in garbled voip call quality or a dropped call. On my system I have a 6 channels of ISDN2 and a SIP trunk for outbound over-spill. My brother had a similar sized VOIP system and found even with a dedicated fibre line it was sometimes flaky. His VOIP issues were only fixed when he upgraded to a lease-line, but they cost a few hundred pounds a month (depending upon location) and so kind of defeats the object.
Provided you pay circa £8 / month per channel of ISDN2, I don't think you are going to save much by going for VOIP.
Talk to www.elitetele.com. They do ISDN, SIP, Leased Lines with failover options and various flavours of hosted PBX.
quinny100 said:
Talk to www.elitetele.com. They do ISDN, SIP, Leased Lines with failover options and various flavours of hosted PBX.
Have you experience of using this company yourself?Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff