Rick, I noticed that when I call your telephone, I get a selection of choices to pick from (ordering, etc.)...I'm looking to have the same type of system for my biz, so that the caller has different selections to choose from. Is this a service you subscribe to, or can that be done thru the phone company?

Thanks!

Joe

Unfortunately there isn't an inexpensive way to accommodate getting a really good business phone system that I know of. And you can trust that I shopped it long and hard before I went with the system we now have.

What we have is a Toshiba PBX system and a T1 connection. A PBX phone system consists of PBX hardware and a group of matching phones. Our system is a Toshiba CIX VOIP system (VOIP is voice over internet).

The system consists of a Toshiba PBX processor board, and a group of matching Toshiba phones. The PBX processor component is mounted on the wall in our office. The space on the wall for phone related components takes up about one square yard of wall space.

The system rides on a T1 internet connection. The T1 connection gives us blazing fast internet and plenty of bandwidth. The T1 line provides our internet as well as the pipeline for our phone system. The T1 package provides us with voice phone service and 8 incoming phone lines. This covers our needs amply at this point in time. The phone line package includes, a grouping of phone numbers, our 800 number, a fax number, etc.

Here's a PDF file of what the Toshiba package provides.
http://www.toshiba.com/taistsd/common_dsd/pdf/CIX_40_Brochure.pdf

In addition to all the standard old school PBX stuff that you'd expect from a phone system (like music on hold, multiple lines, etc), this is a VOIP system. This gives me the ability to be anywhere in the world and I can operate my IP phone as a part of our office phone system (via a broadband connection). The VOIP aspects of the system are very cool, and are one of the key reasons I selected this system!

A complete system like this (installed) will set you back a little over 3 grand. Plus there is a separate cost for a T1 connection. A T1 with VOIP will normally run between $500-$1000 a month, depending on the package that's available in your area. This may look like like a lot of money, but that provides us with T1 internet, 8 phone lines (including 800 service), and a monstrous amount of long distance minutes (more than enough for our needs).

One other alternative that provides a bit less horsepower is a product called TalkSwitch. TalkSwitch is the only other product that comes remotely close to a true PBX system that I have seen. We actually used the TalkSwitch in our business prior to purchasing our present system. Unfortunately, the TalkSwitch wasn't dependable enough for us. It gave us a constant headache as our phone needs grew. But for lower call volume, a TalkSwitch may be all that you need... http://www.TalkSwitch.com

If you're at a point where you just need some basic features, the TalkSwitch is something you might consider. If you need a more serious PBX phone system with VOIP capabilities, the Toshiba CIX systems provide a state of the art phone package that I can't recommend highly enough!








Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

The funny thing is ... when you call a business repeatedly, and eventually learn that you get the same person no matter which number you punch.

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to do this, check out gotvmail.com they offer a substitute for the PBX type systems that don't require purchasing any type of hardware. It would probably not work for a very complicated operation but it is a cheap alternative that may be enough for you.