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Types of Telephone Systems
The different types of phone systems depend
primarily on how heavy your phone traffic is.
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Single-Line Phones. These
are basic telephones, just like the
ones in an average home, that can be
bought at an appliance store and have
no additional extensions, no transfer
capabilities, and are analog units
that hook up directly into a jack in
the wall. These are best in home
offices or businesses that do not
need multiple lines. Additional
features
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What is now commonly called
the "pound" sign (#)
is actually called an octothorpe.
It was originally used for
international numbers (which
can vary in length) to let
the exchange know you were
finished dialing. |
can be added through your local
phone company, such as call waiting
and three-way calling. If you prefer
not to utilize your phone company's
voice mail service, an answering
machine can be purchased to handle
missed phone calls.
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Small Business Multiple-Line
Phones. A small business
that has moderate-to-large phone
traffic will need a phone system that
can handle all calls efficiently. A
multiple-line phone with two or more
extensions (depending on how many
people are in the office), along with
a digital line hookup, can manage a
small office effectively. A voice
mail system with 2-10 ports can be
used to keep the office from missing
phone calls.
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Large Business Multiple-Line Calls. A
business that has over 50 employees
with a large number of phone calls
needs a large phone system, one that
can hold up to hundreds of outside
lines, with an even larger number of
extensions. Through this phone
system, one or more T1 lines
(see below) are necessary to
effectively handle the load, and the
voice mail system will need a large
number of ports.
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Types of Phone Lines
The three forms of lines used for phone
systems are analog, digital, and T1. Here are
brief descriptions of the three:
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Analog. An analog line has
four grooves on the center of the
connector, in which the middle two
conductors, known as the "tip" and
the "ring", connect a phone line,
while the outer two would be for a
second line. All
Some famous people who've had
phone-related careers:
Wesley Snipes, actor
(telephone installer)
James Walsh,
Rep-NY (telephone company
executive)
Pedro Almodovar,
Oscar-winning director
(Spanish phone company
employee)
Dick Armey,
Rep-TX (telephone lineman)
Jim Lovell, astronaut
(president of Centel
Corporation, owner of Fisk
Telephone)
Princess Muna of
Jordan, royalty
(telephone operator) |
modems require an analog line.
Phone lines that are in an industrial
building will connect to a PBX, a
telephone switch within the building,
and analog lines always work on a
PBX. If you are using phones that do
not have multiple lines or digital
displays, then an analog line will
work for your system.
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Digital. A
digital line has 6-8 grooves on its
connector, and is used for phones
with multiple lines and phones with
digital status indicators. If your
phone system has either of these, and
your business is not big enough to
merit the use of a T1 line, then
a digital line is for you. In an
industrial building, however, most
(not all) PBX's can connect to
digital lines, so confirm this with
building operations before trying to
run a digital line.
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T1. This
is a powerful phone line that acts as a
tube to funnel information at a fast
rate. A T1 line consists of 24 channels,
each channel handling 64,000 bits per
second. Each channel can be configured to
your specifications, whether it is
for voice mail or data traffic. In
business, T1's are popular as a leased
line, which means that they are a
permanent telephone connection set up
between two points (for example, if your
business has offices in different
buildings in a business complex, a T1
connection would be necessary for direct
access). T1 leased lines are always an
active line between the two places.
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Phone System Hardware
The basic hardware needed in a phone system
consists of the control unit and the
individual phone units. In some systems, IP
Telephony is used.
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PBX Server. The PBX server is
a private telephone switchboard that
serves a designated group of users
(like a building). The server
provides on-premises dial service and
can provide local and trunked
communication network conne ctions.
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The Control Unit. A control
unit is the nerve center of a phone
system within your office, where all
of the individual lines connect and
all calls get routed. While a
residential phone line may be hooked
up to an analog service, a small
business server is usually handled
digitally, with larger businesses
requiring a T1 line. Depending on the
size of your company and the
telephone usage of your business,
this will decide whether analog
or digital would be best.
The control unit is where a central voice
mail message for the company is recorded,
all lines for the company can be
accessed, calls can be transferred, and
other items such as night calling and
music services can be handled. All
extensions, which help with transferring
and voice mail, are programmed at the
control unit.
If your phone unit is starting to become
cramped, then you can purchase expansion
cards, which will increase the number of
lines or extensions available for your
system.
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Individual Units. For each
person who will have an extension in
your office, an individual phone will
be needed. An individual unit can
have multiple lines, but depending on
the number of employees your company
has, each unit may not have all of
the lines available to
them. Everybody in the company does
not need to have a phone unit that
has all incoming lines available, as
this could reach up to several
hundred lines in a large company.
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IP Telephony. This is the
latest technology in phone systems,
where your server would run through
your computer network. One of the
options of this is a PBX server on a
disk. One of the early problems with
this system is that other systems on
your network (e.g., a printer) may
clog up your system, causing phone
calls to be missed because they can
not get through the system. This is a
problem that should be fixed within
the next couple of years.
Jerry Seinfeld
once held a telemarketing job
selling lightbulbs. He has since
publicly apologized.
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Phone System Features
Any of these features can appear on
individual units, and most of them are
standard.
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Call Waiting Or Multiple
Lines. Depending on the
system that you use, your phone
may either have call waiting or
multiple lines. If individual
units only have one line, then
call waiting is necessary to keep
lines clear. Multiple lines avoid
this problem, as long as calls on
each line can be put on hold.
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Conference Calling. Conference
calling gives a person the
ability to add a third party to a
phone call. This gives the
user the ability
to hold long-distance meetings
without the need to have two of
the parties in the same place.
When two people are on the phone
and a third is on hold, the third
can be entered into the
conversation through this
service. The service can also
allow the first party to
disconnect and let the second and
third parties continue talking.
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Call Attendant. A call
attendant handles all phone calls
directly before transferring the
calls to extensions. Through
this, a list of all employees'
extensions can be given (allowing
callers to transfer to the right
extension), calls can be put on
hold if all lines are busy, or
could send calls to voice mail if
the extension transferred to does
not answer. A call attendant is
set up to even play background
music while callers are on hold.
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Hands Free Calling. Hands
free, or speaker phones, give
a person the opportunity to talk
on the phone without holding the
receiver, not only giving the
user the option of moving around
the office while talking, but
also allows for several people to
hear a phone call at once.
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Speed Dialing. This
feature allows the user to keep
multiple phone numbers saved,
allowing one-button dialing.
Speed dialing is best for
domestic long distance and
international numbers, where
additional codes must be dialed,
but it also is great for numbers
that are dialed constantly.
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Caller ID. Know
who is calling before you pick up
the phone. Caller ID will tell
you who is calling by showing
what phone number or extension
the call is coming from, on a
digital display usually within
the phone unit itself. If it is
important to have knowledge of
outside phone numbers, make that
an extra that must be on the
system.
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The word telephone comes
from the Greek words tele (far)
and phone ("voice"
or "sound"), which
together meant
"far-speaking." |
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Phone System Features (cont.)
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Number Blocks. Number blocks
keep employees from taking advantage
of the phone. A number block will
block out calls to specific area
codes (such as 900 toll calls), and
can keep phone calls limited to
interoffice if necessary.
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Voice Mail. Along with a
company voice mail on the control
unit, each individual unit has
its own personal voice mail.
These voice mailboxes can be
coded to keep other employees
from hearing messages, and both
the control unit and the
individual units can transfer
messages directly into a mailbox.
Individual voice mailboxes gives
employees the ability to check
their individual messages from
outside of the office, and also
allows the employee to leave a
personalized message for incoming
calls. Another option to voice
mail is a call log, which keeps a
numeric log of calls you missed
and allows the user to return the
missed call with the press of a
button.
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"Utility is when you have
one telephone, luxury is
when you have two, and
paradise is when you have
none." - Doug Larson |
When selecting a voice mail system
for your phone, decide on how many
ports you will need. The number of
ports is equal to the number of
simultaneous calls that your voice
mail can take. Every time a person
gets into voice mail, whether it is
an outside call leaving a message, or
an office person checking their
calls, this takes up a port. If you
are the only person in the office,
then you probably only need one port,
two if you handle a large amount of
calls. 2-4 people can probably use
two. If you have 12-20 lines or
extensions, then get a phone with 6-8
ports. As extensions are added and
there is more phone use in the
office, an expansion card can update
the voice mail system.
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Call Transfer. This
feature allows calls to be sent
directly to specific extensions.
This way, only one phone number
is needed for the company, and if
there is no single person at the
company to answer phones, anyone
can answer the line and transfer
the call to the appropriate
person. It also is helpful when
one person needs to speak to
several people within your
company. On a control unit, a
"night" switch can be used to
directly send calls to voice mail
when there is no one in the
office.
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Battery Backup. This allows
the phone system to operate for a
short period of time if power leaves
the building. Usually a backup will
keep phone use for anywhere between
30 minutes to an hour.
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Accessories
Optional additional equipment that can be
connected to individual units.
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Headsets. An option to
hands-free calling is headset
equipment, which allows the user
to keep the conversation private
without  having
to hold the receiver. Headsets
are a health advantage as well,
as they have also been known to
decrease neck pain for users who
bend awkwardly to rest the phone
receiver on their shoulder.
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Amish people do not advocate
the use of telephones. This
is because they wish to
remain separate from the
world in order to obey the
biblical mandate to be "in
the world but not of this
world," and so as to maintain
the solidarity of their
community. |
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