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Telaustralia have put this guide to relocating your business phone lines and PABX system to help you to avoid any issues or down time with your phones. There are list of important questions that you will need to provide to ensure a smooth and non disruptive move of your telecommunications. Although we speak of relocating the phone lines the facts are the lines are not physically moved. New phone line/s are set up at the new premises and the old phone numbers are then switched over or diverted.
Of course nothing beats talking to an experienced expert so if you would like a free no obligation discussion please contact us with your details by clicking THIS LINK and we will call you ASAP.
You can keep your existing numbers if you are moving to a location serviced by the same telephone exchange. If you have an ISDN 100 Number Indial Range you can usually take those numbers to adjacent exchanges. If you cant keep your existing numbers you have the option of setting up a number redirection which is a permanent diversion of your old number/s to your new numbers. Alternately you can have a message set up providing details of your new numbers to anyone who calls your old number. Please note that just because you are moving down the road doesn't automatically mean you will be serviced by the same exchange. Please contact us with your new address to determine if you can retain your numbers.
It is vital that you allow sufficient lead time when planning your business relocation to give your business phone company sufficient time to book the installation of your new phone lines or manage the relocation of your business phone lines. Relocation of a PSTN phone line is usually quite simple but an ISDN 2 order can take up to 4 weeks and an ISDN 10/20/30 order can take up to 10 weeks and sometimes more.
If you change your moving dates, the network provider will cancel your order and the lead time will start all over again. Changing the date of your relocation can cause delays with your phone lines as orders will be placed at the back of the order queue, essentially re starting the order process. It can be difficult juggling all the different time frames required but the most important requirement in managing this is lead time. As a rough guide the following time frames are required to relocate your business phone lines assuming no network upgrades are required ...
Product Lead Time to Install
PSTN - Reconnection of In Place Line 2 - 7 Working Days
PSTN - New Line 3 - 10 Working Days
ISDN 2 10 - 20 Working Days
ISDN 10/20/30 Telstra Network 25 - 60 Working Days
ADSL 1 & 2 3 - 5 Working Days after PSTN is connected
SHDSL Business Grade internet 15 - 20 Working Days
Hosted Voice Hosted PBX 1 Day of ADSL/SHDSL active at new site
1300/1800 Inbound Number 1 - 15 Working Days
One of the first lines that needs to be connected is a PSTN line for the ADSL service. Given it takes 3- 5 days to get ADSL working after the phone line has been connected, it makes sense to get the ADSL line in first, which will allow your IT staff to configure the service and have it up and running prior to your relocation. This may costs a bit more in line rental etc but is worth it opposed to operating your business without ADSL Internet.
If you are moving into a new Industrial or commercial estate and your business will be one of the first business to move in, please be aware that a network cable upgrade is often required and this can often take many months. The cable upgrade is usually required where there is insufficient capacity in the main cable leading into or past the estate to carry the volume of phone lines anticipated for the new estate. Your developer should be talking to Telstra well in advance and advising them how many business's will be going into the new estate. It is not uncommon for cable upgrades to taken anywhere between 6 weeks and 6 months. Our experience has shown this to be a regular issue when connecting phone lines into new Industrial or Commercial estates.
It is important that you provide us with accurate details of the services you want to relocate. Any changes or modifications to the order can delay the process so please ensure you get the details right from the outset.
• The main phone line and or any advertised phone numbers including customer service or accounts numbers
• Your fax number
• Any Direct In Dial numbers that have been advertised
• Eftpos Numbers
• Security & Alarm lines
• ADSL lines
Where you are moving to is clearly quite important and there are a range of factors that need to be considered. Most important is to supply your service provider with accurate site address details. If your address details are not accurate the network carrier may cancel your relocation order and put you to the back of the order queue, essentially restarting the order process.
If you are relocating within the same exchange area you may be able to keep your existing numbers. To ensure a seamless change over we usually arrange the new phone lines at your new site approx a week before you are due to move. Then on the day of your move, we arrange a number change on the new phone lines, switching your old numbers to your new site.
You cannot keep your numbers if you move to an area serviced by a different exchange, although you are able to permanently divert your numbers to your new numbers. The only exception to this can be a ISDN 100 Number range which can sometimes be relocated to nearby exchanges.
If you cant keep your old numbers you can elect to do a 12 month diversion or divert the numbers month by month. If you have a 1300 or 1800 number the redirection of the service to the new site is simple and seamless.
Have you had a technical inspection done on the site ……. with a technician to ensure that all internal phone and data cabling is in place for your voice, data and print requirements? Telaustralia strongly recommend you do. If you haven’t yet, you will need to map out exactly what your requirements are and arrange a contractor to supply the required power, voice, data and print cabling. If cabling is not in place your service provider will be unable to deliver your services and you may be up for hefty charges and even worse … long delays when it is time to install your PABX phone System. You will need to allow for cabling to each desk, computer, printer, any servers you may be operating and to where your PABX Phone System will be located. If appropriate site cabling is not available your services will not be connected by the due date.
Time and time again we come across business that have relocated without giving due consideration to their IT and Voice services. Short cuts are taken that lead to extensive costs and down time further down track It is strongly recommended you take time to sit down and plan your relocation with your PABX maintainer, IT staff/consultants and your Phone Company.
You should consider when is the best time for you to relocate. Which time of the day and day of the week or month are you best able to manage your workload and staffing levels to ensure the smoothest possible transition?
Depending on where you relocate to you may want to divert calls from your old numbers to your new numbers. There is a charge for diverted calls and a cost to “rent” the diversion on your old line. Prior to removing your PABX from your old premises it is very important for your PABX technician to set diversions to your new numbers. If this is not completed at this time an emergency diversion (fee for service diversion) will have to be set via the telephone exchange, which is significantly more expensive and can lead to a interruption to your service while it is being arranged.
The relocation of your PBX Phone System is the job of your PABX Maintainer. However if you don't have a maintainer we can help you find one and assist with coordinating the move. If you are relocating an existing PABX Phone system this is where things can get tricky in juggling the period between when the system is removed from the old site and installed at the new site. If your system is large relocation can take several days from removal through to installation, jumpering of the new phone lines and configuration and in these cases it can be cheaper and less disruptive to consider a new PABX Phone System which can be installed without any disruption. NOTE: Your new phone lines need to be in place and active to relocate the PABX phone system and configure it. Even if you have a new phone system installed it is highly advisable to have your technician at hand during the first day of the move or to ensure that the system configuration and set up is correctly. If you have to re call your PABX maintainer back you may be up for hefty call out fees.
Given the reliance that most business have on the Internet it is probably more important that you get your Internet relocation planning right over ad above everything else. Firstly get a PSTN line connected as early as possible and get the ADSL up and running well before its intended usage date. That leave sufficient time for your IT people to organise & redirect DNS servers, change systems that use a Static IP address, Back Up MX records and configure all necessary Network and Mail Exchange equipment prior to you moving in.
Your IT is separate to your voice services. Items such as Wireless networks, LANs, WANs PCs, fax machines, photocopiers, scanners and other electrical equipment and systems can be quite sensitive during as move so it is advisable to have your IT experts on hand to assist with set up and configuration of your business equipment and network requirements.
Whats the cheapest way to purchase a Phone System?
Get a Hosted Voice PBX system and you can save a fortune is set up and recurring costs.
In addition to getting discount call rates, the cost of setting up a new Office Phone System can be as much as a 3rd of the cost of traditional PBX Phone Systems.
Here's a cost comparison between Hosted PBX and Traditional Business Phone Systems.
While there is a bit of recurring costs with a Hosted PBX system, ...they do require access to a ADSL connection to function, the costs and line rental savings in addition to the high level of functionality they bring, usually far out weigh and costs when compared to buying a traditional PBX. In addition the Hosted PBX is virtually Guaranteed to work on the NBN when rolled out in your area so you future proof your business.
Some of the features available
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ACD* |
Allows calls to be queued for an agent or group of agents. Greeting and waiting messages are provided along with music on hold and the ability for callers to dial out and leave a voicemail message or speak to someone else. Supervisors are able to monitor the Groups realtime and access historical reports showing agent performance, abandoned calls etc. |
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Any Call Answer |
Ability to answer calls from any phone |
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Automated Attendant |
Can be programmed to answer your calls immediately or after a certain number of rings. Callers are greeted with a customised message and offered the opportunity to dial departments, direct to staff or wait for reception. |
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Busy Lamp Fields |
Keys on your phone programmed to show the status of other extensions and allow one touch intercom |
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Call Forwarding, (all, busy, no answer) |
Automatic diversion to voicemail or another number immediately or when busy or unable to answer |
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Calling Line ID Presentation |
See the number of the calling party |
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Direct Dialing to each extension |
Each phone has its own telephone number allowing callers to dial directly |
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Directory |
SPA525 Handsets allow you to store up to 200 Contacts with Alpha Numeric Search |
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External Transfer/Forwarding |
Transfer or Forward your calls to any external number (including a mobile phone). Call Charges apply |
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History |
View, save or redial numbers that called or have been called. |
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Hold |
Allows a call to be placed on hold. Callers hear music while waiting. |
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Intercom |
Calls between HostedPBX users are free no matter where your staff are located (data charges may apply) |
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Music On Hold |
Prerecorded Music On Hold comes standard. Should you wish to upload your own recordings contact us for information about pricing and supported formats. |
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Night Service |
Activated automatically based upon time of day or manually via a key on your phone night service reroutes your calls and changes user permissions. |
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PAC |
PC Attendant Console designed for Windows and iPhone to allow you to monitor your handset, other users and access the directory |
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Paging |
Allows you to page through the speaker of one or more phones simultaneously |
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Park |
Call Park allows you to place a call into a Parking Bay so other extensions can pick it up. While waiting callers hear Music. |
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Portability |
You can connect to your system from almost any broadband internet service. So take your handset home, to a hotel or load a softphone onto your PC and your extension travels with you. |
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Simultaneous Ring |
Allows your mobile phone to ring whenever a call is received at your deskphone. Ringing can be immediate or on delay with day/time scheduling. |
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Speed Dial |
Provides fast access to frequently dialled numbers. |
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Transfer |
Transfer calls either with or without announcement |
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Voicemail Dial Out |
When callers reach your voicemail you can give them the option to Dial 0 to be connected to any other preprogrammed number. |
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Voicemail to Email |
All phone users have voicemail but it is also possible to receive your messages as a wav file via email. This allows you to replay, store and forward the message. You can even play it back off your iPhone or other mobile Smart Phone. |
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Web Based Handset Administration |
Allows you to make changes to your handsets via a Web Browser (Directory, Keys, Ring Tones etc) |
Customers often ask for an explanation of what types of business phone lines are available to them. Here a brief explanation of the office phone options available in layman’s terms.
ISDN 2 is a digital line phone line mainly used for business and is also known as Basic Rate or BRI. An ISDN 2 gives the user 2 channels for voice and is mainly used by SMEs. The service is delivered via a NTU modem and is mainly used in conjunction with a PBX Phone system. ISDN 2 can be ordered in multiples of 2…2/4/6/8 channels. Line hunt can be added to ISDN 2 but only with multiple ISDN 2s…eg 4 channels or more.. Line Hunt cannot be added to a Single ISDN 2.
ISDN 2s main feature benefit is that it can have a 100 Number Direct In Dial Range (DID range) added. This gives the user a range of 100 numbers that can be used to direct dial in to. Even though the user may only have 4 voice channels or lines available, they can have 100 numbers. Fort example an advertised number that would go to the Receptionist while also have Direct Dial numbers that can be used for individual or departments.
ISDN 10/20/30 is also a digital phone line that is also know as Primary Rate or PRI. As the name suggests ISDN 102030 comes in increments on 10 20 or 30 channels and is mainly used for Medium to Large business.. Line hunt can be added to ISDN 10/20/30 and delivery is via a NTU modem. A PBX with a PRI card is required to use ISDN 102030. 100 Number DID ranges are also available on ISDN 102030.
Often referred to as POTS (plain old telephone service). PSTN are the same lines carried over copper that run in your home and most business’s. One line usually means 1 number but a 2nd number can be had on a line for additional cost but only 1 number used at a time ... eg only 1 phone call at a time from either number.
While not state of the art, PSTN are typically reliable and available in nearly all locations.
PSTNs can be used for voice but are also used often for ADSL Internet, Fax & Eftpos and also often used as security phone lines. If you want to add in ADSL then you don’t have much choice other to add an ADSL line in but the good news is a PSTN telephone line can be shared between fax, Eftpos & ADSL. A range of features can be added to PSTN Phone lines including line hunt & message bank.
Multi Line ISDN 10 is Optus networks version of ISDN 102030 Primary rate. The main difference being that it can be delivered with a minimum of 10 channels but there is no 10 channel increment requirement above 10 ISDN channels. For example you could have 13 channels but no less than 10 channels. While being generally cheaper than Telstra product it is not as widely available. Most features are the same as ISDN 102030 with a DID range also being available. A PBX Phone System is also required to use Multi Line ISDN
Hosted Voice, otherwise know as Hosted PBX, is a VoIP service where the equipment interface including the modem and handsets are held on site but the PBX System is virtual and managed via Software. The PBX is in effect hosted elsewhere. There is no PBX Unit as such but the system offers the full functionality of a Business Phone System. ADSL or SHDSL Internet is required to carry the calls.
The main benefits of a Hosted PBX or Hosted Voice system is significantly cheaper set up and calls costs. Call costs are often less than half the price of PSTN or ISDN lines, in particular for Long Distance STD calls. Because the lines are virtual, the numbers of PSTN or ISDN lines needed for a business are negligible therefor offering further savings on Line Rental. The Hosted PBX line rental is significantly cheaper per channel because there is no network infrastructure in place that requires maintenance.
In addition whenever the system needs to be configured it is simply a matter of logging into the Management software to do the configuration there by saving on call out charges for Technicians.
One further benefit of purchasing and using a Hosted PBX System is that it will be transferable onto the NBN.
SIP trunks work the same as a Hosted PBX in that the calls are carried over VoIP. The main difference being that SIP trunks usually connect to an existing PABX system and allow for a mix or ISDN, PSTN and Voip lines on the one set of equipment.
For example a business could use ISDN lines with a 100 number range for incoming calls and then route all outgoing calls over SIP trunks to take advantage of the lower call charges available on SIP and Hosted Services.
While not really a phone line, a GSM Gateway is equipment that enables a PBX system to make calls over a mobile network enabling the customer to take advantage of fleet pricing or capped mobile plans. A SIM, or multiple SIMs can be used to give multiple outgoing call channels.
WHAT IS ISDN 2
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.(on the one piece of copper)
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 giving the user the option of 2 voice channels.
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 ISDN 2 ENHANCED
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 ISDN 2 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 ISDN 2 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.
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Telaustralia have been the ideal business partner for my business. I have landline, Blackberry Mobile and Internet services through them. The highlight besides the pricing is the personalised service for new products and.. more..
http://www.bazaarvoice.com/ Telaustralia was fantastic. Helpful, responsive, maintained ownership throughout our ISDN 10 Primary Rate Installation... more..
Our office relocation went more smoothly than I could have hoped, thanks to Telaustralia. It was such a relief to have one point of contact for this project. Telaustralia managed the relocation of our fixed lines and sup.. more..
Since changing to Telaustralia we have saved a considerable amount on our business phone accounts. We have been very impressed with the professional & prompt service we have received from the Telaustralia team. Nothi.. more..
I would like to thank you for the level of service we received when you took over our business and home telecommunication accounts this year. It seemed like a daunting task to move our supplier considering we had been wi.. more..
We are very new customers to Telaustralia after being referred by one of your existing clients. Telephone communications is so frustrating, different person everyone time you call for service,no followup and waiting peri.. more..
I would like to thank the Telaustralia team for their fabulous service - being time & equipment - also taking the time to review our account during our problem - Their patience & understanding has solved our issu.. more..
Just wanted to take the time to thank everyone at Telaustralia for their superb service, after spending what seemed like days trying to explain to someone what I required. I was recommended to Telaustralia and you guys g.. more..
We use telaustralia at all of our sites. Their pricing, and service has been fantastic. When we need something it is done with a minimum of fuss and we don’t ever have to worry about our phones... more..
Since changing to telaustralia we have saved a considerable amount on our telephone accounts. If we have a technical issue, nothing is ever a problem they are more than helpful and dont let you go until it is solved. The.. more..
