|
Dimensioning a Telephone System |
|
|
Dimensioning a Telephone System

| When buying a
phone system, a key and primary concern is to absolutely ensure that the system is the
right size for your office.
Knowing your requirements in advance will best prepare you to make the right decisions in purchasing a system, and
help you negotiate with vendors and dealers. There are two main factors
that will
determine the size of the office phone system you need:
| Lines or Trunks - The number of lines or trunks your business needs indicates the total number of outside or external phone lines that are used by the company.
Extensions.
- Extensions
refer to every device within the company that needs to connect to the
phone system. Most of the extensions will be for telephones.
- Any other machines such as fax
machines, credit card terminals, modems, and any other equipment that
require a phone connection must also be connected through the phone
system.
Describing System Sizes:
The most common way of indicating predominantly smaller sized systems is through the combination of both lines and extensions. For example, what is described as a 6 x 16 system
accommodates up to 6 lines and 16 extensions. Alternatively most
digital hybrid or PABX systems are define in size in terms of "ports," where a
"port" refers to the maximum number of connections that can be made to
the system. Ports include outside lines and inside extensions, as well
as other phone system accessories such as voicemail or automated attendants.

| Buyers Guide Tip: Allowing for Growth | As well as recognising that a telephone system can handle your current business internal and external phone traffic,
it is crucial to be sure that it can also handle your future needs to ensure longevity and save you money. An ideal
system should be able to handle expansion in the most cost-effective
manner possible. Most systems will allow you to increase capacity by adding new cards
that increase the total number of ports available, while some smaller
systems are expandable by simply adding another cabinet identical to
the first one installed. For planning purposes, you should allow 5 to 10% for organic
growth, so when purchasing a system, inquire about how much it will cost to add at least 10% more
capacity. You can and should also look at capacity increases of 20% and 30% to
get an indication of the incremental costs involved as they will vary
with different systems.
Next Page: Basic Telephone System Features >>
|