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Phones for Department

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Posted by: spd722

My department is looking into a new phone system. One way we are thinking of going is VoIP. VoIP would be for the internal system of the station, but we would still access verizon to make an outside call. The system works off a switch through our existing network so no new wiring needs to be added and has a ton of Capabilities, which we do not have now. Has anyone have any experience with this with their department?


Posted by: ogzee28

There is a guy in my town that has a famous quote.

"I know lots of things." I will get you his info. Oh, wait.....you already know that guy.

Later C90


Ogzee28


Posted by: SOT

I have a lot of experience with VoIP and it's not quite the service you want it to be.
If you have copper lines (phone lines in the station) you wouldn't need VoIP at all. Your Key system/PBX should handle station to station (phone to phone) dialing and provide internal dialtone. VoIP is only good for reducing cost when doing outdialing to the world. If you are still using Verizon for your local and long distance calls, then you have the worst of both worlds.

Now let's talk about police services and VoIP. The DOR/DLS and a whole bunch of state agencies use VoIP and have huge set ups for it. Does it work, yeah...does it work to the point I would stake my life on it? absolutely not. The last institutions in the state that should be using VoIP are emergency services (police, fire, EMS)

All you need is a decent PBX, some decent phone, and some tie lines (maybe a t-1) to the outside world.


Quote:
Originally Posted by spd722
My department is looking into a new phone system. One way we are thinking of going is VoIP. VoIP would be for the internal system of the station, but we would still access verizon to make an outside call. The system works off a switch through our existing network so no new wiring needs to be added and has a ton of Capabilities, which we do not have now. Has anyone have any experience with this with their department?



Posted by: spd722

Quote:
Originally Posted by ogzee28
There is a guy in my town that has a famous quote.

"I know lots of things." I will get you his info. Oh, wait.....you already know that guy.

Later C90


Ogzee28
I heard about him, he does know lots of things, Great Guy! Just remember not to talk with anyone, you might get into trouble


Back to topic. We are currently replacing our Merlin system and are looking for new companies. Currently we have no voice mail. Caller Id. Call transfer, call forwarding, only thing we really have is touch tone, and a hold button . Looking for a simple system were a dispatcher will be able to function in an efficient manner. Thanks


Posted by: ogzee28

OK, did something new happen or is this about the email?

Doesn't matter I'll see you later in the week.

You have a good time at Lake George?

Later C90

Ogzee28


Posted by: zackhenderson@charter.net

Quote:
Originally Posted by spd722
My department is looking into a new phone system. One way we are thinking of going is VoIP. VoIP would be for the internal system of the station, but we would still access verizon to make an outside call. The system works off a switch through our existing network so no new wiring needs to be added and has a ton of Capabilities, which we do not have now. Has anyone have any experience with this with their department?
VoIP is very helpful if you are hoping to reduce the costs for external calls, but pointless if you are still planning to use the POTS (Plain-Old-Telephone-System) for external calls. You'd probably be better off replacing your PBX with one that will grow and meet your needs in the future. I'm assuming you're from a smaller department, so you might also want to look at a system like the ones from Mitel that also serve as a computer network. Some good manufactuers to look at include: Cisco, Nortel, Mitel, Avaya, and Siemens. You should also take a look at eBay, just to see what they have availible, and check out a seller named Randy, I believe his company is called BTX Exchange, but I'm not 100% sure. He sells phone systems that are fully functional and up to date with many features for very good prices. If you just need a simple PBX, check www.ablecomm.com, they also have very good deals and personalized service. I don't hail from the beautiful state of Massachusetts, but my city just moved to a Cisco phone system for all of the city government (City Hall, Police, Fire, Emergency Services, Water, Streets, Library, etc.), and it networks well with the computers and with other cities in the area. It works quite well for them, but do keep looking and keep your mind open for finding a phone system that works for your department.

To answer one of your questions, VoIP works, but you should be able to use it from any phone or phone system without having to change your entire system.

Best of luck!


Posted by: CJIS

Nortel may be worth looking into. Cisco I would shy away from for phones.




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