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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Hi
gang:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Regarding the Centrex, I have digital centrex and joined this group to see
if I could learn a bit more about VOIP (as my PBX died unexpectedly and I'm
moving towards a hosted PBX over VOIP).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Here's how Centrex works. You get a number of Centrex lines and then
run your extensions as you would with a standard POTS system. Each Centrex
line has its' own number, so in a large business, you would use each line as a
unique extension giving a direct dial capability to an individual
extension.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You're describing a small business. If they have 2 Centrex lines,
they can be on 2 simultaneous calls. Those calls can be incoming,
outgoing, conference, fax, etc. However, you cannot be on more calls at
the same time than the number of lines that you have, other than conference or
switching between calls (as the switching is done central office). </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In my office, we have 3 Centrex voice lines (1 dedicated fax), 6 extensions
and 5 employees. It's rare that we have 5 employees in at the same time
and even more unlikely that 3 people are on the phone at the same time, so the
combination of a PBX with Centrex was to our advantage.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Why Centrex for us? Because when I locked into it, 11 years ago, I
locked my telephone pricing for 7 years. It was a time of uncertainty due
to deregulation and I stuck with Verizon (then NY Telephone?) and reduced my
then current costs by 35%. The features of Centrex were not of much value
to my employees (as they don't think outside of the box), but the cost savings
were of instant value.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Some years later, I installed an inexpensive PBX which gave me voicemail
and better internal call handling. The cost savings from that came a bit
later. Utility that I discovered, was the ability to make 1 of my 3
Centrex lines (the last line in the ring pattern) an unlimited outgoing
line. Having done that, I made that the line that was picked up when
somebody lifted a receiver to make an outgoing call. Our primary number
was still advertised for incoming calls. That tactic reduced my local,
long distance and regional calling costs by approximately $30 per month.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>So, what's the advantage of Centrex for a 2 line business? The
package of call forwarding, call waiting, etc. and perhaps some cost. They
can transfer between the phones, however, I assume if it's a 2 line business,
they are too small for that to be of much value.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The utility provided by VOIP PBX is much greater (if they can take
advantage). Voicemail emailed, transfer to outside phones, ringblasts,
ext.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Now for the cost implications: My current 4 lines cost me
$160/mo. Going to VOIP hosted PBX, I will pay approx. $50/mo each for
unlimited outgoing lines. (That get's me 3 for the same price, however, I
will still have to maintain a dedicated fax line which will be POTS for the
moment). What I can't get my head around, is how to increase my total
quantity of VOIP extensions for the same price as I'm currently paying.
It's not that I use more than 3 phones at 1 time, it's that I would like to be
able to pick one up on the front counter as a convenience, or if my installer
has calls to make, he can make them from his desk, rather than passing a phone
back and forth.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It appears that your client, may be in a similar quandry without
understanding the value of the technology. Remember, for a geek it's the
coolness of the stuff, however for the rest of the world, it's about what will
it do for me. Not that you can transfer a call to a cell phone and then
back to the office, but that you can be more accessible to your client which
will make you more important to them.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Now, if any of you experts have thoughts on how I can make this work better
for me, I'm all ears. At the moment I have Packet 8 (on a trial basis) but
am heading towards Aptela because it appears that their system is more flexible
and business oriented. The one thing I need to get away from is
maintaining a system myself, which is why I haven't put in a server with
Asterisk on it. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10">Rick</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Rick
Smith<BR>JDR Windows Inc<BR>Providing quality window treatments throughout North
America<BR>914-666-5777 x.13<BR>914-666-5796 (fax)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>In a message dated 4/8/2006 3:57:43 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
asterisk-users-request@lists.digium.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>Message:
7<BR>Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 23:04:09 -0400<BR>From: Brian Capouch
<brianc@palaver.net><BR>Subject: [Asterisk-Users] [OT] Centrex
Question<BR>To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial
Discussion<BR>
<asterisk-users@lists.digium.com><BR>Message-ID:
<44372829.1050006@palaver.net><BR>Content-Type: text/plain;
charset=us-ascii; format=flowed<BR><BR>I haven't dealt with Centrex for a long
time, and one of my customers is <BR>being courted heavily by a Sprint
salesperson.<BR><BR>Am I not correct in assuming that each "line" of Centrex
corresponds to <BR>an "extension" in the PBX world?<BR><BR>This site has 2
POTS lines and 5 extensions, and they told me that for <BR>the same thing
they're paying right now (~$40/POTS line) they will be <BR>getting two Centrex
"lines" that will do the same thing.<BR><BR>The way I understood it, each of
those two Centrex lines is an extension.<BR><BR>In general, would they still
be paying their POTS fees, too?<BR><BR>Sorry for the noise, but I can't
discuss this intelligently with them, <BR>and that's hurting
me.<BR><BR>Thanks.<BR><BR>B.<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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