Earlier this month, we discussed the first five steps that you should take in order to find the ideal IP phone for your unique needs.
In this post, we continue our list with four more steps:
Sixth step : Determine whether or not you require an IP phone with routing capabilities. If your business already has a Voice Local Area Network (LAN) set up, you will do fine with an IP phone that has a single RJ45 Ethernet port. However, a large number of today’s offices have a single Ethernet run to each computer, which would require both your computer and IP phone to share a single Ethernet connection. This would require you to have an IP phone with dual RJ45 Ethernet ports.
Seventh step : Decide whether or not you will be using Power over Ethernet (PoE). PoE is a technology for wired Ethernet LANs that permits the electrical current necessary for the operation of each device to be carried by the data cables rather than by power cords. PoE reduces the number of wires that need to be strung to install your network, which results in greater installation flexibility, simplified maintenance, less downtime and less cost than traditional wiring. If you plan on using PoE, you will need an IP phone that supports it.
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Eighth step : Establish what codec and protocol your IP PBX/service provider supports. The majority of today’s IP phones support all of the major voice codec’s and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), however this isn’t the case for all phones – and you don’t want to get stuck with an IP phone that is incompatible with your voice service or phone system.
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Ninth step : Determine your budget. Today’s market is flooded with hundreds of IP phones, and prices range anywhere from $50 to more than $500 each. But while price is a major factor for many businesses when choosing an IP phone, it should not be the only one. Sure, selecting the least expensive IP phone might save you in up-front costs, but if it is not capable of achieving exactly what your business needs, you’re likely going to pay much more over the life of your service.
Additional Information
If you’d like to find out more about IP phones and how they can enhance your business, give us a call today
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Eric Swanstrom is a Sales and Account Manager at Fastblue Communications. Fastblue is a Premier Managed Cloud, Telecom, and Internet Security Provider.
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