Connecticut Telephone Archives - Connecticut Communications

To SIP or not to SIP?

Have you ever wondered what all the fuss is about with SIP trunking? Well, for starters, not only can SIP trunking improve communication and collaboration, it can also significantly lower your IT costs – so much so, that some organizations have taken advantage of the savings to justify additional investments in Unified Communications.

Traditionally, an enterprise’s private branch exchange (PBX) is connected to the public-switched telephone network (PSTN) over a “trunk”, which is a hard-wired connection of the enterprise to the rest of the world. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking is an alternative to that model, in which third-party Internet telephony service providers (ITSPs) connect the PBX to the Internet and then to the PSTN, allowing communication with fixed and mobile devices worldwide without the hassle of a physical wire trunk.

Why Switch to SIP…THE BOTTOM LINE

Switching to a SIP trunking solution can yield significant communications savings and offer a quick return on investment, especially if your company has multiple locations and often uses international calling.

So what are the benefits of SIP trunking, and how can SIP help your organization? SIP trunking will better utilize your bandwidth because telephony and Internet lines are combined, allowing for optimization based on average consumption rather than peak usage.

nec-unified_communications_-_sip_-_protocol-image

Additionally, call speed is increased because all data, voice, and media is passing through carrier systems as IP traffic rather than analog signals. The risk of implementing new technology is mitigated by using an ITSP, as the ITSP keeps you current with technology updates without recurring costs. By using multiple ITSPs and least cost routing (LCR) to always make the most cost-efficient call, a company can realize substantial savings – especially with regard to international calls. What’s more, SIP reuses HTTP ports so it can be easier for end users to work with. Plus, billing is bundled, making things easier on you, the end-user. These aren’t the only benefits; check out the list below for more.

Benefits of SIP trunking

Reliable delivery of communication applications such as instant messaging (IM), presence tracking, video conferencing and application sharing.
You will no longer need a costly PSTN gateway.
Long-distance charges will be reduced.
Voice, video, and data are combined in a single line.
SIP trunking can be a cost-effective delivery option for external communication.

Connecticut Communications can help you decide if SIP trunking is for you. We can analyze your phone bill and go over the advantages and disadvantages.There’s an ongoing debate questioning the value of SIP trunk costs savings as justification for migrating your PBX. Some believe the value is an overstated reason to migrate, while others point to real cost savings. Which side are you leaning toward?

Newsletter October 2013 – Conference Bridge

This month’s newsletter talks about the NEC Conference Bridge. Do you use a 3rd party conference service? If so, save money with the added convenience of hosting your own conference calls.

The NEC SV8100 VoIP unified communications server has a conference bridge card that connects to your LAN and phone lines. Easily setup conference calls with email notification. Callers can call in when they are ready to join the conference.

The newsletter also talks about changing your company’s main greeting on your automated attendant.

View the Connecticut Communications newsletter to learn about the NEC conference bridge. Host your own conference calls with this easy to use feature.

– Save money, purchase the card and host unlimted conference calls at no extra charge!

– Comes in 8 or 16 user conference capability

– Host mulitiple conferences simultaneously

NEC Conference Bridge

Host your own conference calls

NEC offers a built in conference bridge where you can setup and run your own conference calls. I’m not talking about 2-3 party conferences, I’m referring to a conference bridge where callers call in, enter a PIN number, and are joined together with superb voice quality.

The conference bridge connects to your LAN so administers can easily setup a conference. Invitees are sent an email with the call in information where the user can click to add it to their Outlook calendar.

NEC offers the conference bridge as an 8 or 16 party conference.

Get rid of your monthly 3rd party conference bill. Purchase the NEC conference bridge one time and get unlimited conference calls forever at no additional cost.

Click below for a brochure on the NEC Conference Bridge!

NEC Conference Bridge

AT&T sells wireless service – Connecticut Communications 1/2014

In this month’s Connecticut Communications Newsletter, read about AT&T selling it’s Connecticut wireline service to Frontier Communications for $2 billion. Wireline service is analog copper lines, otherwise known as AT&T’s CentraLink product.

If your phone system has AT&T lines now you are okay. However, when your AT&T contract is up, you may want to see what other carriers have to offer. Otherwise, you will become a customer of Frontier Communications.

Phone communications has been converting to VoIP over the last decade or more. Our cell phones are VoIP, we use Skype on our computers and Vonage for lower long distance service so it’s a natural progression that AT&T sell off it’s older technology so it can concentrate on future VoIP offerings. Whether or not VoIP is something your business should have now is a discussion you need to have with your equipment service provider.

Connecticut Communications can offer phone line service from multiple vendors and we can tell you the pros and cons of each.

AT&T sells wireline to Frontier

Back in the August, 2010 Newsletter we told you about AT&T’s decision to end their wireline (copper) business. They were going to start to phase out all copper lines. AT&T was moving to an all wireless and IP-based infrastructure and it was too costly to maintain both networks. Well, AT&T did not wait for a phase out of their wireline business as they sold it’s Connecticut wireline operations to Frontier Communications for $2 Billion. The deal is targeted to be final by the fall of 2014.

What does that mean to you if you have AT&T wireline service?
You might be asking, ‘Do I have wireline service?’

Wireline service includes Centrex, CentraLink, Flat Business Line, DSL, and others.

You should expect emails, phone calls and other marketing schemes to get you to switch to another provider.

Let the experts at Connecticut Communications help you decipher which provider is the best for you and your current/future phone system. We will provide an unbiased view and might even give you options you haven’t even considered. It might be best to stay with AT&T, or switch to your cable provider, or go to another carrier like EarthLink or Windstream. Give us a call and we will be happy to explain what phone lines you have now and what options you have for phone line service in the future.

Music on hold for a VoIP phone system

Music on hold (MOH) is the playing of music to a caller placed on hold so they don’t hear silence. Callers calling into a VoIP phone system often get put on hold for a variety of reasons; being transferred to another extension or because the user needs to walk away from the telephone. Without something to listen to the caller might think they were disconnected by accident and hang up.

A PBX, or VoIP phone system, has a music on hold port to connect any audio device for music on hold. That music on hold device can be a radio, CD player, an .mp3 player or any device with an audio output.

The problem with a radio is that it is illegal in the United States to re-broadcast without the permission of the radio station. And even with permission, it’s illegal for the radio station to license it because it would violate their agreement with music title owner. Besides, who wants to risk the caller hearing a commercial on the radio from one of your competitors?

SiriusXM radio offers businesses a music on hold option. You pay for the service so it is legal, but it does come with a monthly fee that never expires.

A CD player that plays music is also illegal unless you first obtain permission from the owner of the song. You can record your own message and download it to a CD player, such as ‘please stay on the line your call is important to us’. If you select this option, please make sure the CD player automatically replays in an endless loop.

An .mp3 player, like the one above, is one of the more advanced options for music on hold for unified communications systems. You can easily create your own message file from a PC and then plug the USB drive back in the .mp3 player. Once again, you cannot load music that you do not have permission to use, but you can creatively produce your own messages anytime you want. Click on the link below for detailed information on an .mp3 music on hold player we offer.

.MP3 Music On Hold Player

To add music on hold to your digital phone system, hosted VoIP phone system, or premised based VoIP phone system, please contact Connecticut Communications at 203.985.1000.