The Business Phone Blog

WHAT IS ISDN 2

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:05:00 GMT

What are ISDN 2 Phone lines?

Our customers are still asking for ISDN 2 phone lins despite the overall trend away from Fixed wire services. Fir business Nothing beats the reliability of ISDN 2 Phone lines. Many business still connect ISDN 2 services. Formerly known as OnRamp 2, ISDN 2 business phone lines transforms your existing analogue telephone line into two digital connections. ISDN2 features are; Two telephone numbers on the one ISDN 2 phone service. With ISDN 2 there are two digital channels capable of transferring both voice and data at bandwidth rates of 2 x 64kbps or 128kbps when 2 lines are combined. Only one service line is required for telephones, faxes or computers allowing you to use the other line to work remotely in the field or at home or can be used for a 2nd voice line. An ISDN2 service must be connected to an ISDN compatible PABX system at the customers premises. With ISDN 2 you can access a 100 Number Direct Indial (DID) range so even if you only have 2 lines you can have 100 numbers. A full explanation of the range of features available on an ISDN 2 service is located here.

What is an ISDN2 Enhanced Line?

ISDN2 enhanced services are identical to standard ISDN2 services but are supplied with an integrated network termination device and router. Since this hardware is more expensive to supply, the monthly line rental is a few dollars higher than standard ISDN2.

The integrated unit supplied currently is the Open Networks NT1 plus II . This unit allows the customer to connect multiple computers on a small LAN to the ISDN service to leverage the ISDN investment. The NT1 plus II also allows customers to "bond" the two channels together for 128kbps internet access when no phone lines are in use. Although these units require mains power they have the ability to keep the main phone line active during a mains power failure.

Why Use ISDN2 Phone Lines?

ISDN 2 Phone lines are Digital business phones lines delivering clearer and faster phone calls.
ISDN 2 are a scaleable service in that you can add an additional set of lines in increments of 2 lines at a time. eg start with 2 lines and add in 2/4/6/or 8 ISDN2 services as required.
ISDN 2 gives you the availability of a 100 Number Direct in Dial range. Even if you only have 1 or 2 ISDN 2 services you can have 100 phone numbers or more. ISDN 2 is ideally suited to small to medium business that require crisp clear digital communication lines in conjunction with a PABX phone system. ISDN 2 Business phone lines have access to all the great business phone line features you need including Line Hunt & Caller ID.
For more than 10 channels you will require and ISDN 10/20/30 service.

A full explanation of the range of features available on an ISDN 2 service is located here.

How do I connect to ISDN2 Phone Service?
As ISDN is digital, there is no need for a modem. However, a customer will need a terminal adapter to receive the ISDN service. A terminal adaptor enables the communication from the user's terminal to the network and serves as an interface between the ISDN BRI line and the customers equipment.

Terminal adaptors are sometimes referred to as Network Termination (NT) devices or ISDN modems/routers, although this latter term is slightly misleading.

The terminal adapter is provided by the ISDN service provider.

To connect the customer's local area network (LAN) to an ISDN2 service the customer will require a separate ISDN router or (as is more common) a terminal adaptor with a modem / router built in.

Customer wishing to connect a LAN to an ISDN2 service should choose the ISDN2 enhanced service.

A full explanation of the range of features available on an ISDN 2 service is located here.

UNLIMITED BUSINESS INTERNET BUNDLES

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:03:00 GMT

UNLIMITED ADSL 2 BUSINESS INTERNET BUNDLE

Our Unlimited ADSL 2 bundle is proving very popular with business customers.

Unlimited ADSL 2 Internet on Telstra network, Unlimited Up Loads and Down Loads, Free Static IP address, Free Line rental, Free local calls and Free National calls and local calls un timed at 60c for the first 10 minutes and then 30c per min after that.

We also have a Massive 1TB Residential ADSL 2 Bundle with 1 Terra Byte of downloads, unlimited uploads, Free Line rental, Free local calls and Free National calls and local calls un timed at 60c for the first 10 minutes and then 30c per min after that.

For the winter months right through to the end of August 2013 we are offering free ADSL connection or churn and a free Netcomm NB604N modem on a 24mth agreement.

Call us on 1300783528 or submit a web inquiry.

PHONE SYSTEMS MELBOURNE SYDNEY AND AUSTRALIA WIDE

Mon, 06 May 2013 01:30:00 GMT

Announcing that Telaustralia have now added Avaya Phone system to their list of PBX suppliers. So customers that that call us will typically get 3 very competitive phone system quotes from the one phone call to us.

SHDSL MELBOURNE SYDNEY BRISBANE ADELAIDE PERTH

Mon, 06 May 2013 01:23:00 GMT

SHDSL INTERNET PLAN OFFER 10MB/10MB UNLIMITED $359 WITH FREE INSTALLATION

We have a winter special on SHDSL to warm to heart of any IT Manager. 10/10mb SHDSL with Free Installation on a 24mth agreement on the AAPT network for $359 inc Gst Per Month and includes free installation for orders taken May, June and July 2013.

See details here at our SHDSL Broadband page http://telaustralia.com.au/internet/shdsl-business-internet

SIP TRUNKING- HOW TO MAKE THE SWITCH TO SIP

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:31:00 GMT

SWITCHING TO SIP TRUNKS MAKES SENSE

We get a lot of queries about how to reduce the number of PSTN and ISDN lines (and therefore reducing the line rental charges).

As long as we can be assured of a good quality ADSL connection at your site, the reality is you can significantly reduce your Telco charges by reducing the number of phone lines you have in place and replacing them with a Hosted Voice or a SIP trunk solution.

Hosted Voice is a Phone System that runs over VoIP. SIP trunks are VoIP lines that connect to a PBX phone system. SIP trunks connect to an Office PBX Phone System using Analogue Telephone Adapters or with current IP capable equipment ports are already built in the systems.

For example ...a business with 6 PSTN phone lines could reduce the number of PSTN phone lines on the Phone System by replacing 5 lines on their Phone System with 5 SIP trunks and the saving in line rental alone would be around $140 a month without taking into account the cheaper phone calls.

The pros are the significant savings to be had and portability of your numbers. Calls to Local and Long Distance numbers are usually at a fixed rate, Inter office calls usually free and calls to mobiles are significantly cheaper.

Because the numbers then reside with your Phone System rather than on a carrier network, if you move you pick up your phone system and your numbers will move with you.

You do need to make sure you go with a reputable SIP provider who supplies Business Grade SIP trunks. A budget carrier will probably have off shore support and cut lots of corners.

A reputable and quality SIP provider will have some pre requisites in regard to equipment types and will want to supply and configure the equipment before sending it to you. This can be the difference between getting quality calls or having a system that is basically non functioning and un useable. If you cut corners with your equipment you are asking for ongoing problems.

The cons are that if you lose your internet service for any reason you wont be able to make outgoing calls from your SIP trunks. Incoming calls can be set up to immediately divert to a mobile air another site if the lines are unavailable.

You can also port your existing Phone numbers onto your SIP trunks. This can take up to 3 months to achieve but it typically done in around 4-5 weeks. When your numbers port your numbers your old phone lines will be disconnected automatically.

A further advantage is that you NBN/future proof your phone lines. All they need is an internet connection to work so regardless of how your internet is delivered or where you are located, you get to keep your numbers. For example of you relocate your business to another area, you can take your SIP trunk numbers with you as they have no relationship with the local phone exchange. You can also get numbers from other areas to emulate having you business located in another state for example.

There isn't much point doing this is you have a single phone line and don't make a lot of calls. But anything above 2 lines doesn't make sense these days. It really makes sense to consider the switch to SIP Trunks.

OPTUS AND TELSTRA TO SLASH MOBILE DATA ALLOWANCES - BIG MOBILE PHONE PLAN CHANGES COMING UP

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:00:00 GMT

We have been advised by both Telstra and Optus that they are planning big changes to the way mobile phone data allowances are allocated.

They have indicated that in the later part of 2013 ....probably within 60-90 days of the next iPhone release they will be drastically cutting the data allowances on all plans to either Zero or 1-200 mb allowance. Data charges will primarily be pay as you go with data rates of 2-3 c per Mb being fairly typical. They have also indicated they will no longer provide free social networking access.

The driver behind this has been the rocketing use of mobile data that is placing massive cost burdens on the carrier networks. The carriers are reporting annual triple digit mobile data usage growth that parallels the massive growth in the use of smart phones. The carriers are investing significant sums in infrastructure investment to keep the networks going and bandwidth usage costs soar with increased use. The upcoming spectrum auction is expected to free up additional capacity currently used for Free to air TV (and raise billions for the Government). These costs will also flow on to the carriers and by extension the end users.

Whats does that mean to most users? Currently the average user user uses around 250-350mb per month. On a plan with 100 included Megabytes and with a data charge of 2.5c per Mb this will add approximately $5 per month to the users mobile phone plan and of course heavy users will pay a lot more ...if you currently use a 1gb of data its going to be an extra $25 per month.

What does it mean for the carriers? Well its going to be interesting to see who is going to jump first because you would expect that whoever jumps first is going to see a rapid flight of customers to the other carriers. Timing is expected to be around 60-90 days after the release of the next iPhone as many customer contracts are tied in with the iPhone updates (Customers signing new contracts to get a new iPhone) so the carriers will want to get those number locked away before making any moves. However we are seeing moves already in the wholesale space that will flow on to the smaller telcos first.

For the bottom line the returns are impressive . Multiply the number of Smart Phone subscribers on each network with an increase in Revenue Per User of $5 per month per subscriber, x 12 months of the year and there is a lot of Zeros in the outcome for each carrier.

WHAT SHDSL BUSINESS DSL SPEEDS ARE AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA?

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:00:00 GMT

SHDSL Business DSL is like other Internet products and the speeds available will vary depending on the site the service is to be delivered to.

Assuming the Exchange the customer is serviced by is SHDSL enabled, the main factor that will dictate the available speeds will be distance from the exchange. Other factors that can effect SHDSL speeds are the quality of the copper and network equipment between the exchange and the customer premises.

Ethernet over Copper is the most commonly used method of delivering Business DSL and typically involves bonding up to 8 copper pairs.

Most SHDSL Business DSL services will offer the full advertised speeds only up to around 1km from the exchange. After that point the data speeds drop off dramatically.

For example an AAPT 80Mb service can only be offered indicatively out to 500 metres from the exchange. At 1.25Kms the Max speed being offered is 60Mb and out to 2.8kms the speed is down to 10Mb. This is know as transmission loss.

If the service is delivered over high bandwidth fibre, the transmission loss is not as dramatic. However High Bandwidth fibre is not readily available at all exchanges without large up front construction costs and a lengthy lead time.

Telstra offers a maximum of 10/10mb Business DSL while AAPT offer up to 100Mb/100Mb but the author has never seen those speeds delivered. Speds start at 1mb/1mb on Telstra network and 2mb/2mb on AAPT Midband Ethernet.

NBN INTERNET NOW AVAILABLE AT TELAUSTRALIA

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:24:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce we now have NBN ...National Broadband Network services available! Short but sweet. More on this soon.

SHDSL BUSINESS INTERNET - PRICES DROP BY UP TO 25 PERCENT

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Telaustralia announce 25% off the price of a 100mb/100mb SHDSL service to $1999 per Month on AAPT Mid Band Ethernet network. Most other plans have also had significant reductions. Our most popular SHDSL Business Internet plan is the 10mb/10mb plan and it has dropped from $699 to $649 per month.

Our Telstra BDSL SHDSL are are also market price leaders so we have you covered with both Coverage on Telstra BDSL Network and price on AAPT.

This represent a great opportunity for business that are struggling with slow internet connections that are hampering operations. We are finding many business that have moved systems and software to Cloud based solutions are continually running in bandwidth limitations causing massive interruption to business. If you network has slowed to a halt SHDSL Business Internet will be the solution you need.

OPTUS MULTI LINE - LINE RENTAL NOW $15 PER CHANNEL

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:00:00 GMT

OPTUS MULTI LINE PRICE REDUCTION - Cheap line rental, untimed national calls.

We have recently negotiated an massive price reduction in our Optus Multi Line ISDN service rentals and call costs.

For new installations including ports of existing Optus Multi Line On Net services and Telstra ISDN 10 services, Telaustralia is now offering On Net Sites $15 per Channel Line Rental, using Optus Multi Line on a 36 month agreement.

We can also offer 12c Un-Timed National and Local calls and 20c per min calls to mobiles. These are very close to VoIP rates with guaranteed Digital Voice Quality and with out any of the hassle of configuring multiple sets of switches and routers to run your phone system.

For Full Detail CLICK HERE

http://telaustralia.com.au/landlines/business-multi-line-isdn

ISDN 102030 AUSTRALIA - WHATS THE DIFFERANCE BETWEEN OPTUS & TELSTRA ISDN

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 13:00:00 GMT

ISDN 10 PHONE LINES

Following on from our recent post about the difference in SHDSL networks, we thought we would also provide some detail on the differences between Telstra ISDN10 and Optus Multi Line.

Coverage

The winner here is Telstra. Telstra has ISDN 10 availability at around 1800 exchanges Nationally while Optus has Multi Line directly available at around 300 Exchanges. Its not quite as straight forward as comparing the numbers though as Optus will delivery Multi Line ISDN up to 15Km from an equipped exchange which increase coverage considerably. This is considered an Off Net Installation. On the downside once the ISDN service is required more than 10Km from a Multi Line Equipped exchange then it jumps to a minimum of 20 Channels.

Quality

This is a draw. Both Telstra ISDN 10 and Optus Multi Line deliver business grade digital quality voice calls. Both feature a full range of products including 100 Number In-Dial Ranges and the normal add services such as Call Forward, Calling Number Display etc.

Flexibility

Both services have a minimum requirement of 10 Channels. Optus the winner in regard to flexibility as once the service is connected the user can nominate any number of channels above 10 ...eg 13 channels while on Telstra ISDN 10 the limitation is 10, 20 or 30 channels.

Price

Optus Multi Line is the clear winner when it comes to pricing on ISDN services. Line Rental on ISDN is available at this point in time, for $15 per month per channel, and the Optus calls rates are lower across the board however prices do increase for installation on an Optus Off New installation. Both offer free installation on 24Mth agreement.

ISDN Install lead time

Telstra usually will have a ISDN 10 service installed in 20-25 working days. Optus Multi Line installed typically slightly longer lead times at 25-35 working days. Optus Off Net services can be up to 60 Days lead time.

At this point in time where there is an Optus ON Net service availability we recommend Optus network. If Off Net is required we then usually order a Telstra ISDN 10 unless the customer specifies otherwise.

AUSTRALIAN SHDSL NETWORKS COMPARISON - WHATS THE DIFFERENCE

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 13:00:00 GMT

BUSINESS DSL

Because we sell 3 different Business DSL networks we regularly get asked what's the difference? Well there is quite a bit of difference in price, speed, coverage and quality between the Australian SHDSL networks and here we explain what the differences are and why they matter.

One thing that is equal is that all our Business SHDSL plans have unlimited data downloads with no shaping and are fully supported with Australian based staff.

Coverage

Telstra Business DSL has coverage at 1850 exchanges, AAPT IP Line SHDSL has coverage at 350 exchanges and Soul EFM at 250 exchanges. If you are in a Metro area chances are you will have choice of networks. If located outside a Metro area chances are you will have a choice of 1 - Telstra Business SHDSL. So Telstra is the clear winner in terms of coverage.

Speed

The winner here is AAPT with 100MB/100MB in certain locations. Next is Soul with a max speed of 20mb/20mb and then Telstra with 10mb/10mb ...... but outright speed is not it's all cracked up to be. All speeds are theoretical maximums and only Telstra Dedicated SHDSL and AAPT give any guarantee on achieving anything like the theoretical maximum. AAPT SHDSL Guarantee a minimum 25% of available bandwidth, Soul EFM gives no guarantees around bandwidth. With both Telstra Dedicated SHDSL & AAPT connections you will be given a speed guarantee before connection that will be very close to the advertised speed. With both Telstra Business DSL & AAPT SHDSL connections your the only user of the connection so the service isn't subject to traffic fluctuation as a shared connection would be. Soul simply advertise best effort so there is no bandwidth guarantee.

Price

No doubt Soul SHDSL represents great value but with SHDSL you pay for what you get. For example we would not recommend Soul SHDSL for any real time apps such and VoIP or Video conferencing because the quality of the service cannot be guaranteed. AAPT also represents great value and comes with service guarantees. Telstra is the most expensive but also the highest quality network we sell. When you compare price of a Telstra 10mb/10mb with an AAPT 50mb /50mb and take into account the comments made under the speed heading above, Telstra can actually end up being cheaper for a similar speed but higher quality service.

Quality

Telstra SHDSL is the clear winner in this category when we include service availability, fault response times,fault restoration times & actual service performance. AAPT SHDSL comes close second in the areas of service availability, fault response times and restoration times but in the key area of actual service performance it only guarantees 25% of available bandwidth. Soul EFM SLAs are basically we will do our best but don't ask hold us to a response or restoration time because we can't give you one.

SHDSL Installation lead time

Telstra is typically 17 days install lead time in metro areas while AAPT & SOUL offer 30 days install time.

So to sum thins up, all is not as simple as judging a service purely based on advertised speeds. There are many factors that should be considered before selecting your SHDSL network in Australia.

UNLIMITED SMS ON $50 PLAN EXTENDED

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:19:00 GMT

Our Unlimited SMS on our $50 Business Fleet Plan has been extended to 31 March 2013. This means any customer signing up or renewing their $50 plan will get bonus unlimited SMS for the life of their 24 month agreement.

ALTERNATIVE TO TELSTRA NEXT G USING TELSTRA NETWORK - JANUARY RELEASE

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:00:00 GMT

We are happy to announce we will have No Contract Telstra 3G SIM only plans to be released in January.

The plans will feature no Contracts and we will have $30, $50 and $80 Business Mobile Plans. Its BYO handset with no contract.

Our Telstra 3G mobile plans use “parts of Telstra’s 3G network and capabilities”. The service will not be the same as the Telstra retail offering. The Telstra 3G product is a wholesale offering, NextG is Telstra retail’s branded network. Telstra Wholesale 3G runs on the Wireless Packet Data (WPD) on both the GSM and 3G 850 networks. For the purpose of this product, the term WPD will refer to both variants of WPD - GPRS on GSM and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) on 3G 850 which covers 96 percent of the Australian population. The coverage is like for like to that of the current Optus coverage, however when out of 3G range the service will automatically still operate using the Telstra 2G network.

Please submit a Web Inquiry to register interest or call us on 1300783528

My Phone is more than just a Phone these days

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 00:42:00 GMT

TOP 10 USES FOR BUSINESS MOBILE PHONES - AFTER PHONE CALLS

MANY OF TODAYS BUSINESS MOBILE PHONES HAVE A RANGE OF VERY HANDY USES OVER & ABOVE VOICE CALLS.

If your using your business mobile for make phone calls and to take the odd photo you are not using it to its full advantage.

There are many uses and applications now that make the business mobile phone, when connected with a suitable business phone plan even more useful.

Use the Phone to manage your Customer Relationship Manager program

Out on the road, get a lead or referral from an existing customer? Enter it directly into your business CRM with your mobile version of sugar or other CRM programs

GPS navigation

Nearly all 3G phone these days come with some for of GPS Navigation system or software installed or available. The iPhone, Blackberry and most Nokia phones now have GPS navigation as standard.

Many have applications available that allow you to search for a service or restaurant type and based on your location the navigator will find the nearest options for you.

Using the phone as a tethered modem

Why bother having a wireless dongle and a phone with data plan when you can just connect the modem to your laptop and use it as a tethered modem and save on paying for 2 data plans. You can do this anywhere you have coverage or even on the train while on the move. You cant do that with a WIFI network.

Most current phones with a data plan would have this feature. With 3G network speeds data speeds can be better than some home networks.

Email

The now ubiquitous Blackberry started the trend and mobile email is here to stay. Most mobiles now have some form of email service that can be used in conjunction with a business phone plan that has a data allowance. In fact many business phone plans are now geared more toward data than voice calls providing up to 2Gb of included data.

Memo taking

Why bother with a note pad when you can add voice or text memos and notes into your phone and then down load them or check them via your calendar at a later date?

Calender

Now iPhones and Blackberry will automatically update your calendar and reminder events remotely using Enterprise and Mobile me services. All you meetings and events and reminders now just pop up on your screen at the desired time and you can add in new events and edit old ones.

Contacts

All those business and personal contacts can be collated in the one spot when you sync your phone wit your desk top. The smart contact managers now recognise duplicate entries and similar names and ask you if you want the contacts merged.

Back Up data

With the level of memory included on phones now and the ability to add in Micro SD cards up to 64Gb its possible to sync your data from your desktop to your phone and use that information as a back up in the event of PC failure.

Web Surfing

Need to book a hotel room or a flight and your out of the office? Simply go to google on your phone and choose your airline or hotel to do the rest. There are so many applications including banking that make mobile web access so vital thee days. You will need a business mobile phone plan that has an included data allowance though and ideally be on a 3G network.

Remote Desk Top

Out of the office and need to access that important document? Remote desk Top software allows you to log into you office or home PC and download what you need. Apple has Mobile Me service where you load your documents into the internet cloud and can access them directly from your iphone.