The NBN will change forever how your business communicates with the outside world. Typically Australian businesses communicate with their customers through copper wires (twisted pairs known as PSTN or ISDN) but the NBN will change this forever because the method of communication is changing – the Internet becomes the vehicle for getting your calls to and from the exchange. The technology used to transport your calls is know as VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and has been around for some years. VOIP turns your conversation into digital packets and the NBN brings these digital packets to your customers’ phones. ADSL speeds and reliability meant that VOIP had a chequered past but with the advent of high speed Internet services via the NBN, VOIP is now the preferred technology.

PABX phone systems that have been sold in the last 6 years are all VOIP compatible and for this that are older, usually a minor modification will convert the unit to work with VOIP.

Crucially, your existing business numbers (know as your Advertised Numbers) will be converted to a VOIP technology known as SIP numbers, so it is business as usual as far as your customers are concerned. SIP trunks communicate with your phone hardware via a username and password system, not unlike your email accounts.

Should you have phone hardware that is neither VOIP compatible or capable of being modified by a phone technician, there is a third way – installing an adapter between the Internet connection and the PABX hardware – this adaptor is known as an ATA adapter.

Should you want to future proof your phone system and do away with PABX hardware completely, there is a fourth solution – a cloud based PBX. With a cloud based solution your desk phones are connected directly to the Internet and the routing of calls / voicemail / hold music is controlled from your portal in the cloud. This is a great solution for forward thinking businesses that want to reduce capital expenditure, reduce maintenance costs while also being able to add new phone lines or users within 48 hours.

A Cloud PBX also means your colleagues can work from anywhere in the world but still make and receive calls on their desk number – very convenient for telecommuters, field personnel or businesses with hot desks or multiple sites.

In short, there are many ways to work with the NBN – give Comsource a call, and your dedicated Account Manager will walk you through which solution is best for your business needs.

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