VoIP for Dummies 2005

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Stationary computers

VoIP soft phones do not necessarily have to be on a laptop, a notebook, or a tablet PC. These phones run just as well on a stationary (desktop) computer. Depending on your needs, a soft phone can eliminate the costs associated with a hard phone.

Also, VoIP soft phones can support videoconferencing. If you need to run video, the computer screen has an obvious size advantage over a video phone’s screen. Figure 10-3 shows a soft phone on a computer screen.

Figure 10-3:

A soft phone running on a Windows PC.

Portable computers

Portable computers include laptops, notebooks, and tablet PCs. If you can carry it into a nearby coffee shop and carry a cup of coffee at the same time, it is a portable computer. One disadvantage of a portable computer compared to a stationary computer is the size of the screen for the dialing pad.

Another disadvantage is the cost of the computer itself. Here is a case where less is more. Portable computers are almost twice as pricy as desktop computers.

An advantage of using a portable computer is that you can take the computer with you, wherever you go. Today, portable computers are coming off the line as light as two pounds or less. My tablet PC weighs in at 2.2 pounds, but it cost almost $2000.

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Portable computers are also more likely to include wireless networking capabilities.

Features supported

Soft phones generally don’t provide the same level of calling features that you get with a hard phone. Soft phones run on your computer, and all features are implemented and accessed through the screen. Hard phones, on the other hand, include buttons and software optimized for quick use. The types of features provided with soft phones are generally limited when compared to hard phones.

The better versions of soft phones are generally Windows-based, so the software has a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables your computer to do VoIP telephony over the network. In its most basic form, the software needs to display the dialpad for making calls. It also needs to interface with your network using TCP/IP protocols.

Because soft phones work with Windows, you can use Microsoft Outlook and a Web browser to access contact lists (including LDAP-based directories) and the phone numbers stored within these applications. You can also do instant messaging and VoIP calls simultaneously. At present, this is about as good as it gets for call features.

Many versions of soft phone software are available. Most companies go with a proven market leader and standardize on a soft phone version for all employees. (See Chapter 18 for a list of top VoIP manufacturers.)

Consumers, on the other hand, can choose from (and may be bewildered by) a number of different flavors of soft phone software available over the Internet. See whether someone you know has installed the software and has had a good experience with it. When you look at which VoIP carrier to use, request a trial download of their soft phone software. If they require you to go and get your own soft phone package and merely sell you the VoIP carrier service, consider using a different carrier.

VoIP Wireless Phones

Several types of wireless phones are available. The first type are IP wireless phones, which have a limited range and are strictly tied to corporate networks. For example, a hospital or a large construction site may have wireless

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networking and VoIP available over that network. VoIP wireless phones hook into the network and do VoIP within their specified range. Features on these types of phones are generally limited.

One thing to watch for in IP wireless phones is whether they are WiSIP compatible. If they are, the phones can include quite a few features not normally available, such as the ability to connect to WiFi networks and IP-PBXs without the no-peak or off-peak minute charges. These types of phones cost a bit more, but they make calling other WiSIP phones very easy.

Finally, it can be argued that a pocket PC with VoIP capability is, indeed, a wireless phone. These types of computers do everything that a cell phone can do. If the pocket PC has built-in WiFi capability, you can use it to make VoIP calls in addition to regular cell calls.

Maximizing Your Current

Telephone Investment

If you are pondering the move to VoIP but are thinking about your company’s significant investment in existing telephone sets, read on. Your company is just like the majority of companies today still running on a PBX model, with lots of digital phone stations that were not cheap and a system that represents a sizable capital investment.

Upgrading older telephone systems

Most KTS and PBX models use digital telephones that have a great deal of capability and flexibility. (Both KTS and PBX systems are discussed in Chapter 11.) If your company is currently running a PBX manufactured in the last three years, it’s a safe bet that all your telephones can operate in the new VoIP environment.

Some upgrade adjustments will be needed to your current PBX systems, but the individual telephone sets that connect to the PBX need no such upgrade. For instance, the PBX may need to have an interface card installed so it can connect to the LAN, but the individual phone sets would not need such an upgrade.

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All devices in a VoIP network must have a MAC address, which is procured by installing a network interface card. Pure VoIP phones have their own MAC address, but when a PBX is being upgraded to work with VoIP, a NIC must be added to support this requirement. After the PBX gets its NIC and its own MAC address, all the telephone sets connected to the PBX can share the PBX’s MAC address.

Non-VoIP digital phones use the inside house wiring to connect to the circuitry of the PBX. Nothing much changes on these phones except that the PBX that they have always connected to is now also connected to the VoIP network. Figure 10-4 illustrates this arrangement.

These older telephones can enjoy the traditional features that come with any telephony connection. For example, voice mail can continue to be delivered via the network to the PBX telephone stations connected to it. Voice mail would be stored in the mailboxes that have already been allocated by the PBX administrator. Your company would not even have to reassign telephone numbers or mailboxes. Other features such as call transfer, call forwarding, and conference calling are all still available.

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Using older telephones on the new VoIP network

One of the big differences between older digital phones and the newer VoIP phones is their respective call feature sets. For PBX telephones, traditional call features are delivered over the existing telephone wiring, not the LAN wiring or WiFi network utilized by the VoIP network.

However, these PBX telephones do not have a LAN connection port or the advanced features provided through VoIP telephones. If you need to provide any VoIP advanced features to a subset of your employees, your company must acquire the appropriate VoIP phones.

Figure 10-5 illustrates how VoIP telephones can coexist on a VoIP network with a traditional PBX and its older non-VoIP digital phones.

at the same

VoIP location. telephony

server

Chapter 11

Simplifying Cost Management

In This Chapter

Watching the charges disappear

Recapping the final four telephony models

Unifying telephone and computer networks

Convincing upper management to switch to VoIP

When VoIP was introduced, many analysts projected savings for companies choosing VoIP versus companies continuing to operate with

circuit-switched telephony systems. But a number of these first-adopters ended up frustrated with the earliest forms of VoIP, mostly because the systems were based on using the Internet as their network backbone. (As you discover in Chapter 9, the Internet doesn’t provide the optimal infrastructure for companies with heavy telecommunications needs.) As a result, the majority of companies back then continued to operate with circuit-switched telephony systems.

VoIP has matured since its inception, and today saves companies huge amounts of money. It provides a great quality of service over private, dedicated networks. Moreover, VoIP enables a number of slick calling options. VoIP features enhance the collaboration of employees across the enterprise and ultimately increase productivity while reducing the operating expenses of the company.

This chapter includes details that you need to consider when planning for a VoIP conversion. Here you find information about your current telephony system and how you can realize savings by converting that system to VoIP.

You also find ways in which you can convince your corporate decision-makers that they should give the switch a try.

VoIP Comes and the Charges Go

One of the big “aha moments” with VoIP is that companies can enjoy an immediate cost benefit with their toll charges. VoIP can save money in other ways, as well. You won’t need to pay any additional per-line feature charges

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because VoIP runs on your computer network. Regulatory fees, surcharges, and taxes are applied on a per-line basis. As you reduce the number of lines, the line cost and recurring charges go with them.

Reducing or eliminating phone lines

If you can eliminate one or more of the lines that you lease from the carrier, the call feature charges, the regulatory fees, and the taxes are also eliminated. Reducing the total number of lines really makes a cost difference.

In the POTS/PSTN way of doing telephony, you get additional lines as you need to increase your capacity. In the VoIP way, you can upgrade your bandwidth on your dedicated line to increase capacity.

There are several disadvantages for companies that use POTS/PSTN rather than VoIP telephony. POTS-related lines are leased from a carrier. Just leasing a single line incurs added expenses. For example:

Each line usually has a nominal startup charge.

Each line has a monthly recurring access charge.

For each POTS line, the company must pay monthly recurring usage charges. (Chapter 3 provides a breakdown of charges and charging categories.)

All recurring charges are based on a rate per minute per line. When you add up all the minutes from every line in operation at each of your company’s locations, the monthly cost can get into serious amounts of money.

If your company has separate telephony and computer networks and the company has significant aggregate toll volume, you can reduce or eliminate most of your charges by converting to VoIP and running your telephony over your computer network.

Take off your add-on charges

Traditional phone service normally includes costs that apply to every single line you lease. Just like any other service, traditional telephony lines and services are taxed. Depending on where you are located, you could have one or more taxes in addition to all the other monthly charges. Taxes are based on the total cost of your line access and other services. For instance, for each line’s total service cost, you can add the following taxes to the bill:

Federal tax (about 4 percent)

State tax (varies by state but the average range is 5 to 7 percent)

911 emergency surcharge fund (flat rate of $1 per line)