An efficient, functioning phone system is integral to just about every business. With the completion of the nbn™ rollout, Aussie businesses have entered an era that offers faster, more reliable, and cost-effective business phone solutions - based on their internet. If the nbn™ has been rolled out in your area and your business hasn’t already transitioned to the nbn™, you’ll need to within the given timeframe for your area. No matter the size of your team, ensuring your phone system is nbn™ ready can be important for a smooth transition.
Most businesses are already on the nbn™ and so you should be ready to get connected. The key considerations are probably ensuring device compatibility and checking your phone equipment allows you to carry over within VoIP. Cloud systems and on-premise phone systems can be adapted for compatibility. Even older-generation existing phone networks can be adapted by using, for example, analogue telephone adapters.
Hosted PBX and VoIP are the key terms used for newer business phone systems. Here’s how they work and how they interact with the nbn™ or an internet connection.
PBX stands for Private Branch Exchange. Essentially, with hosted PBX, you have a private phone network within your business. You can use it to call people inside or outside the organisations. “Hosted” means it’s hosted by a vendor, such as the same retail service provider (RSP) for your business nbn™ plan.This vendor manages your PBX system and supplies the services and software to operate your phone network.
On-premise PBX systems should be compatible with the nbn as long as they’re IP-enabled (Internet Protocol enabled). In contrast to an on-premise PBX system, your hosted PBX system is in the cloud, so you can make calls from any geographical location as long as you have an internet connection. Hosted PBX is also known as virtual PBX, cloud PBX, IP PBX, and hosted voice.
How hosted PBX is straightforward. It utilises IP communications, so calls are made over your nbn™ connection. Your phones connect to and log into the PBX host (your RSP) through the internet once you’re set up with a hosted-PBX plan. The connection stays online so you and your team can make and receive calls, which, again, happens through your PBX host. To make calls, you can use IP handsets, which could connect directly to your nbn™ modem/router or through your computer. Alternatively, you can use your computer or mobile apps to make calls.
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and this means you’re making calls through your nbn™ connection (over the internet). As such, hosted PBX utilises VoIP technology for calls. As with any landline or mobile connection, VoIP connections let you make calls to any number..
Within a VoIP deployment, a common application layer protocol used for initialising, maintaining and terminating real time calls is the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). SIP is a great option as it delivers good quality calls.
A reliable nbn™ connection with suitable speeds and bandwidth for your business can make a significant difference to your operations. It supports better call quality, since VoIP technology (and so hosted-PBX services) work by converting voice into digital data for transfer over the internet. The better your nbn™ connection, the clearer your calls. You’ll avoid jitters, latency, and call dropouts.
In all cases, your communication system is the foundation for success for all your interactions: with customers, with vendors, and internal ones. A quality connection can boost customer service standards, the customer experience, communications with suppliers and partners, team-collaboration outcomes, and much more.
Newer phone systems, including handsets and equipment, are likely already compatible with the nbn™. In any case, always check with the manufacturer or supplier to find out for certain. As long as your phone is IP-enabled, it should be nbn™ compatible. Even handsets that aren’t can be adapted using analogue telephone adapters. Other than ensuring compatibility, the most important consideration is your internet connection quality. SpinTel offers award-winning business nbn™ plans supported by a friendly, efficient customer service team. Find out more about our business nbn™ bundles here here, and contact us now about finding the best nbn™ and phone bundle for your business.
