INTERNATIONAL ROAMING CHARGES OPTUS NETWORK

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

We regularly have people ask us whats it cost to make a phone call overseas. If you are on Optus network ...here you go...just follow the link and scroll down the page.

http://www.telaustralia.com.au/mobiles/business-fleet-mobile-plans

CHEAP PHONE SYSTEMS

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

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

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.
Any Call Answer	Ability to answer calls from any phone
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.
Busy Lamp Fields	Keys on your phone programmed to show the status of other extensions and allow one touch intercom
Call Forwarding, (all, busy, no answer)	Automatic diversion to voicemail or another number immediately or when busy or unable to answer
Calling Line ID Presentation	See the number of the calling party
Direct Dialing to each extension	Each phone has its own telephone number allowing callers to dial directly
Directory	SPA525 Handsets allow you to store up to 200 Contacts with Alpha Numeric Search
External Transfer/Forwarding	Transfer or Forward your calls to any external number (including a mobile phone). Call Charges apply
History	View, save or redial numbers that called or have been called.
Hold	Allows a call to be placed on hold. Callers hear music while waiting.
Intercom	Calls between HostedPBX users are free no matter where your staff are located (data charges may apply)
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.
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.
PAC	PC Attendant Console designed for Windows and iPhone to allow you to monitor your handset, other users and access the directory
Paging	Allows you to page through the speaker of one or more phones simultaneously
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.
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.
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.
Speed Dial	Provides fast access to frequently dialled numbers.
Transfer	Transfer calls either with or without announcement
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.
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.
Web Based Handset Administration	Allows you to make changes to your handsets via a Web Browser (Directory, Keys, Ring Tones etc)

NBN PBX PHONE SYSTEMS - HOW TO FUTURE PROOF YOUR BUSINESS

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I get asked about what will happen with my existing PABX Phone system when the NBN is rolled out.... heres a summary of my response ...

 The NBN is coming. You need to buy a new phone system PBX for your business. You are worried that what you get now wont do the job when the NBN is rolled out in your area and don't want your new equipment to go to waste.

What do you do?

Probably the best and cheapest option to to equip your Business with a Hosted PBX or IP PBX System equipped with SIP trunks

Hosted PBX systems run over an ADSL or SHDSL internet connection and that is essentially what the NBN is going to be. A very high speed internet connection that will carry your calls over VoIP. Hosted PBX systems are available now at around one third the cost of equivalent traditional PBX systems and make financial sense to take advantage of costs savings now. Most commonly used and reliable equipment is supplied by reputable manufacturers such as Cisco and Polycom.

There is one major caveat with buying Hosted PBX systems with current ADSL or SHDSL connections. The internet connection must be a good quality connection with decent upload speeds and low (preferably zero)  jitter rates.

If you purchase a Hosted PBX System without a decent internet connection you will be asking for no end of trouble. A poor connection will cause drop outs and garbled calls so its best to establish and qualify the quality of the connection with your internet carrier first.

Get more information about NBN Hosted PBX Systems here.

 

 

PBX TELEPHONE SYSTEM HACKING & FRAUD

Thursday, June 23, 2011

IMPORTANT NOTICE

PABX PHONE SYSTEM HACKING & FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY

In Australia there has been a recent increase in the fraudulent hacking activity across a number of carriers involving international calling.  Much of this activity relates to a practice known as “International Revenue Share Fraud”. 

 

“IRSF" is a form of traffic inflation or flooding whereby an international revenue share provider obtains a number, or range of numbers designated as a premium rate service (PRS) which allow callers to access some form of entertainment service/feature, such as mobile ringtones, screensavers, horoscope readings etc, usually 190X numbers in Australia and more notoriously 900 numbers in the US.

 

Each call to a PRS generates profit for both the revenue share provider and the content provider, ranging anywhere between 30% and 80% of the net tariff. Fraudsters have been known to enter into arrangements with the PRS content providers, with the purpose of flooding traffic to them using various methods, most commonly via hacking PABX, VoIP or Voicemail and programming the extension to automatically dial the PRS number.

 

There is currently a concerted effort across carriers to mitigate fraudulent activity on both the fixed and mobile networks, including a ramping up of monitoring of unusual international traffic and the implementation of proactive measures to block international B numbers which have unusually high traffic flowing to them, often in high risk destinations.  However, this will not completely stop fraudulent activity occurring.

 

As a precaution, you should be aware of the dangers and passing on warning to your SMB and Corporate End Users to ensure they have proactively set security on their own PABX systems to deter hackers. Some tips are provided below which may help prevent fraudulent activity:

HOW DO THEY DO IT AND WHY?

Hackers fraudulently use a company’s PABX system to make long distance telephone calls, usually to obscure international destinations at no cost to themselves. The costs are born by the organisation and can be quite considerable.

 

The more sophisticated PABX systems become, so do the hackers and their software. Hackers exploit weaknesses in the company’s PABX system by figuring out voicemail pins and gaining access via the PABX maintenance port or ‘Direct Inward System Access’ (DISA) point of the PABX. Once they penetrate the voicemail they are then able to re-program the PABX system to make International telephone calls.

 

The fraudsters will often then either on-sell the calls as a phone operator themselves or they may even divert the calls to their own premium rate services. Both methods derive income for the hacker, while the business is left with the bill.

Due to the number of lines that most PABX systems have, the cost to the business can escalate rapidly as many calls can occur during any one time. the hacker will often breach the system late at night when the business is not operating so they can attempt to avoid detection

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS AND YOUR END CUSTOMERS BUSINESS

How you protect the business is a matter for you and/or your End User to determine in consultation with the PABX maintainer.

Here are some of the ways in which you can protect your system:

• Regularly change your voicemail pins and do not use default pins such as 1234.
• Disable any call forwarding or outbound call ability from your voicemail ports.
• Cancel any unused voicemail boxes.
• Block all International calls access unless absolutely necessary.
• Block International call access to countries that you don’t usually dial.
• Ensure your PABX admin access unit is kept in a secure location.
• Restrict the ‘after hours’ outgoing call access.
• Disable DISA access unless absolutely necessary.
• Look for heavy call volumes at nights or on weekends and public holidays.
• Review system call records for discrepancies and unusual use

 

LOOK FOR THE SIGNS

You should consult with a PABX maintainer to determine if your system may have been a target. As far as we know no Telaustralia customers have been victims of this type of Fraud.

Here are some possible warning signs:

• While retrieving voicemail the system returns a ‘busy’ error message.
• Heavy call volumes late at nights or on weekends and public holidays.
• International calls on your bill to places you don’t usually call.

 

To block international calls please call Telaustralia

customer service on 1300783528.

 

PABX Fraud can have a serious impact on your business Here are some Case Studies to provide some insight into the impact this may cause

 

Case Study 1   A prominent Australian bank was the victim of PABX Fraud.Hackers had accessed the company’s system through the company’s main switchboard and jammed the phone to constantly dial a number in Sierra Leone.The following business day, the staff noticed that their voicemail boxes were constantly busy and thought that there may have been an IT problem but didn’t think to alert their maintainer.The banks telephone carrier noticed the breach several days later and notified the customer that approximately $10,000 worth of calls to Sierra Leone had been run up in a period of only 6 days

 

Case Study 2   A government department was a recent victim of PABX hacking. Their telephone carrier noticed the unusual call traffic and alerted the customer within 24 hours of the fraud occurring. Due to problems with finding the correct person to handle the issue, the problem was not rectified for approximately 14 days after the initial breach. The customer eventually received their bill to find out that $80,000 worth of calls to Columbia occurred as a result. The customer was liable to pay the charges

Case Study 3 A small construction business suffered a recent PABX attack. Tthe business was a customer of Telstra and was surprised when they received a bill from Optus featuring calls to Liechtenstein totaling $8,500. The customer did not usually make calls overseas but still had International access on their phone system

Questions or Concerns   If you have any questions or concerns regarding fraudulent activity on YOUR PABX you should consider the steps listed earlier in this document and contact your PABX Phone System provider to make any required programming changes. IF YOU WANT INTERNATIONAL CALLING BARRED FROM YOUR LANDLINES CALL TELAUSTRALIA 1300783528 TO ARRANGE.

What do I need when buying a Motel Phone System?

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

What do I need when buying a Motel Phone System?

In today’s competitive business environment, your success depends on first class service. You need an effective communication solution that enhances the efficiency of your operations and improves the level of customer service you provide your guests.

Of all the equipment that you operate at your Motel, nothing is more important than your phone system & service. It is therefore very important that you choose your Hospitality PABX Phone System carefully. Both Alcatel and Samsung offer a range of advanced hospitality solution PABX Telephone Systems suitable for Hotels, Hospitals, Nursing Homes or Halls of Residence. Review these systems and download product brochures at http://www.telaustralia.com.au/Downloads

PABX stands for Private Automated Branch Exchange. The older PBX Phone System models were manually operated and usually required an operator. Modern PABX systems now use software to do the work of the operator.

Getting a price for a Phone Systems is easy. But will it really have the functions and features you require. To get an accurate price estimate you need to carefully plan your current & future network and determine the required PABX functions and features you need. Review systems functions and request a quotation at http://www.telaustralia.com.au/phone-systems/pabx-system-quote-form

The first thing you need to plan out is how many lines you have in, are the lines PSTN (standard analogue or POTS Plain Old telephone Service) or ISDN & how many handsets do you need. If your lines are ISDN lines do you have ISDN 2 or ISDN 102030 On Ramp? Do you have an Indial Number range? This is all important when requesting a quotation for a PABX Telephone System.

Then think about growth. Will you need more lines coming in and are you likely to require additional handsets? Providing this information when getting a quotation will allow your supplier to provide an appropriate sized PABX System that will have adequate Space and cards for your future needs.

Will you require any of the following Voice Features:-

Voice Mail
Auto Attendant – press 1 for front desk, 2 for restaurant, 3 for housekeeping etc.
Music or message on hold?
What level of Handset do you require? Most Hotels have 1- 4 higher end digital handsets at the front desk.
Will you require Digital Display handsets for the rooms or will non-display models suffice. Most hotels don’t have display handsets in the rooms.

Then you need to think about the functions and features you will need from your PABX.  Current models from Alcatel, LG and Samsung allow the operator to simply & quickly perform many of the following features :-

Book & Check In Rooms & Determine Room Status
Fax & Email Confirmation letters
Automatic Invoicing eliminating manual accounting
Take & Store Guest details & preferences for frequent visitors
Guest Database/Contact Management
Distribute Calls to Housekeeping, Room Service & Front Desk
Guest Messaging Services
Direct In Dial Calls to rooms
Room Call Accounting with customizable call tariffs
Phone Restrictions while guest is out of room
Security features

Many of the larger PABX Manufacturers have models that have a wide range of integrated functions that can assist in the day to day running of a motel without the need for a PC. These functions are operated directly from the front desk phone handset. This system will usually suffice for a motel/hotel up to around 20 rooms.

Of course if you are running a larger Motel/Hotel with 20 plus rooms and you require the full range of Management & Guest Functions then the PABX Phone System Software provided can be integrated with your PC network.

 If you are starting out from scratch you will need to arrange your phones lines. We suggest mid size hotels go with an ISDN Phone services. ISDN lines provide for crisper voice quality and allow for Indial Number Ranges.  Commonly accepted line ratios for a Motel/Hotel are 1:5 not including front desk and management requirements.

This means with 1 X ISDN 2 for every 10 Rooms and a multiple of an ISDN 10/20/30 once you go over 50 rooms. Of course if you think your usage will be low it can be cheaper to go with a higher ratio and then add lines in later if usage patterns & line availability dictate more lines.

Another line option to consider is an In Dial Number range or Direct In dial Range. Direct In dial provides more numbers than lines and means that a caller can call directly to the room with out the intervention of a Receptionist or Operator.

If you need advice there are a number of Phone companies in Australia that specialise in providing advice on Hospitality Phone Lines & Hotel PABX Phone Systems. Telaustralias contact number is 1300 783 528.

www.telaustralia.com.au