Business Telephone Lines Explained

When you consider your business telephone and the lines that you wish to use for communication there are three main options to evaluate:

• PSTN - Public Switched Telephone Network (Analogue).
• ISDN – Integrated Services Digital Network.
• VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol.

Analogue telephone lines may be sufficient if you have a small business and your communication needs aren’t extensive. The analogue Public Switched Telephone Network allows you to make and receive calls with additional features like call divert, call hold and call waiting. The signals travel via copper circuits and telephone lines.  Additional lines can be installed easily.

For more advanced technology, why not consider ISDN, an Integrated Services Digital Network.  First invented in 1988, this digital method for business communication comes in two forms, ISDN30 and ISDN2.

These lines have all the basic attributes of analogue telephones but they have the capability to allow multiple calls on the same line at once, whether it’s a voice call, video or data being transmitted. It still operates using the traditional copper telephone lines from the analogue system. It is suitable for use with intelligent tills and EPOS systems, especially in areas where the internet coverage can be patchy.

ISDN2 is most suited to small businesses with call requirements of less than eight calls at any time. This runs at a speed of 64kbps, but lines may be combined for faster speeds. The ISDN30 lines are suitable for larger businesses with greater capacity needs. While this option offers the same level of performance, you have up to thirty channels. WAN - Wide Area Network and LAN - Local Area Networks are possible with the larger ISDN.

VoIP, Voice Over Internet Protocol or internet telephony, is a secure and private high performance telephone network operated via an internet service computer to computer and not through traditional copper lines, it costs less than circuit based telephony. It’s becoming ever more popular and VoIP is perceived as the future of communication. VoIP works at internet hotspots, including home, so calls are simple. Voicemail messages and calls are easy to pick up.

Normal phones can be used via an analogue telephone adaptor (A.T.A.) and the VoIP telephone system sends a voice message (analogue data) by converting it into digital signals so that the data is transferred in packets using the IP, or internet protocol.  For a PSTN telephone, the signals revert to voice (analogue) before reaching the destination.

SIP trunks, or Session Initiation Protocol, is frequently used as part of a VoIP system. SIP provides the feature of routing telephone calls from a client’s private branch exchange (PBX) within a VoIP telephone system over to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). So, basically, SIP trunks are an alternative to the more traditional analogue and digital business telephone lines. This option makes communication with anyone, anywhere, simple and high performance in voice while video calls are of high definition (HD) quality.

Whichever option you choose, it’s best to think about today’s requirements but also those of your future business, you’ll need to allow for growth and technological advances as much as for your budget requirements.

If you need business telephone lines in Worcester and the surrounding areas, contact us at Midland Networks today.