QUESTION: What kind of PBX phone system should I choose for my new Medical Clinic in the Fort Worth Hospital District?
“I need 5 incoming lines and 12 telephones. I want a live person to answer all incoming calls. If no one can answer within 5 rings, then I want the Auto Attendant feature to answer with a directory listing for leaving a message or route to the receptionist. I want a straight forward “easy to operate” phone system that will not go down with loss of my internet connection. Also – this is a new building, and I will need voice phone and data computer network cabling, jacks and patch panels installed. What should I do??”
ANSWER:
There are 3 types of PBX telephone systems out there today.
Converged phone systems “aka” Digital PBX / VOIP PBX Phone Systems that act as both a Digital PBX phone system and a VOIP PBX phone system , On- premise Voice Over Internet Protocol aka VOIP PBX phone systems and Hosted or Cloud Based Voice over Internet Protocol aka Hosted VOIP PBX phone systems.
Digital / VOIP PBX Telephone Systems are generally a good choice for companies that have only one location and do not require “branch to branch” communications. Digital phone systems such as those made by TOSHIBA, AVAYA, and Samsung are very stable, easy to use and practical. The cabling network for such a system is straight forward and trouble free – if the installation is properly done. Digital phone systems do not require an expensive IT guy every time you want to make a minor change to your phone system.
If you lose your internet connection your phone system will continue to operate. The Digital PBX Telephone Systems today are usually designed to optionally implement Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) service as well. That means, for example, if you want to put a couple of phones in a small clinic in another part of town you can do so without buying an entire phone system. You can use a VOIP speakerphone telephone and plug it in the computer network at your remote location and connect it to your main location via the internet. The minimum cabling and jacks required for a Digital PBX Phone System and a VOIP phone system is CAT5 to Cat6. It should be noted that if you use CAT5 cable you need to use CAT5 jacks and CAT5 or CAT6 Rated patch panels in your voice and data network cabling. Cat3 cable and Cat3 jacks can be used for Digital telephone sets but if your install VOIP phones to your phone system you should use CAT5 or higher cable jacks. Digital / VOIP PBX phone systems can be equipped with an Auto Attendant Voice Mail System with all the latest features such as Unified Messaging. Unified Messaging sends a copy voicemail messages to your email in the form of “.wav” sound file.
Some typical features offered by PBX with Digital/VOIP technology are:
OUTSIDE TRANFER: Press a button on your telephone and have your calls go to ANY outside phone number, such as your cell or home phone (the caller will think you are in your office).
CONFERENCING: Make multiple party conversations
FULL SPEAKERPHONES: Both parties can talk and hear simultaneously.
RECORD CONVERSATIONS: Discreetly record your call and store as any other message in your voice mail box. Great for Legal Protection Purposes
MULTIPLE GREETINGS: Have up to seven separate greetings that you can activate locally or remotely.
INSTRUCTIONAL VOICE MAIL BOXES: A voice mail box does not require that a phone be associated with it. For example you may want a “directions ” mailbox.
VOICE MAIL NOTIFICATION: Have your phone system call or page you when you receive a voicemail message.
UNIFIED MESSAGING: Voicemails will automatically go to your email so that you can listen to them in “.wav” file format.
DISCREET FORWARDING: Give your customers the option of reaching you on your cell phone from your voicemail box by pressing “1”. Your actual cell phone number will not be revealed.
PLUG INS: Plug a fax machine, cordless phone or modem into the system and integrate it into the system. It will have its own station or intercom number as well.
CALLER ID: Stores missed calls so you won’t miss any business opportunities
VOICE OVER IP /VOIP: Connect remote locations together through the internet.
SIP TRUNKS: Trunks that are provisioned via your internet bandwidth or T-1 service.
Metro-tel represents all the major T-1 and Internet providers such as Charter, Cbeyond, AT&T, TW Telecom, Time Warner Cable , Logix, Verizon. They are the predominate providers of dial tone, T-1, POTS line and high speed bandwidth in the Fort Worth, Haltom City, Arlington, North Richland Hills, and Hurst-Euless-Bedford area. Contact Metro-Tel Business Telephone Systems today for a free consultation on designing and installing your new Medical Telephone System.
– The Metro-Tel Team