All too often we receive phone calls from customers saying something like:
“I have just received a call from XXXX saying the NBN is coming to our area and when I asked ‘is my phone system NBN Compatible’ they said no and that I must therefore change it out! Is that true?”
It is our opinion that a number of phone systems are replaced unnecessarily due to misleading or incorrect information provided by Carriers, Telephone Companies and IT Groups. Whether this information is intentionally provided in a misleading manner is open to debate and is not the focus of this post.
Our intention for this post is to present some basic information about the types of voice services that can be connected to a Phone System prior to migrating to SIP. Once these have been established, provide additional information that may be of assistance to make a qualified business decision prior to replacing the entire system.
Is My Phone System NBN Compatible?
Contact us now to find out.
For the purpose of this post
- SIP Line, SIP Channel, SIP Trunk and SIP Service are the same.
- PSTN Line, PSTN Channel, PSTN Trunk and PSTN Service are the same.
- ISDNx Line, ISDNx Channel, ISDNx Trunk and ISDNx Service are the same.
a) Systems with 1-8 PSTN lines (Analogue Lines) – generally no phone system hardware change is required however a technician is generally required to attend site when NBN changeover occurs. Dependent on your choice of Carrier there will be specific devices that connect to the NBN and provide the EXACT same type of service that is currently installed. These devices come at a minor cost of approx $100-$150 per line and sometimes the new Router may have suitable connection ports inbuilt that will connect directly to your system.
Alternately, dependant on the age of your system, additional features you may require from your system and your present Communications Budget it may prove to be an opportune time to review your needs and update accordingly. Please remember to include your SIP requirement and both the Ericsson-LG iPecs eMG80 and Ericsson-LG iPecs UCP is a perfect system to review.
b) Should you have ISDN2 Services (Digital Lines), these services can be retained until September 2019. No immediate change is required however:
- Like PSTN, ISDN2 adaptors can be provided however they are typically more expensive and can prove a bit cumbersome to setup dependent on your carrier and features required on the SIP service.
- it is worth budgeting for a system replacement during late 2018/early 2019.
- Start requesting some indicative pricing for a NBN compatible Phone System, these phone systems will have the ability to directly connect to SIP Lines like the Ericsson-LG UCP & eMG80.
- Consideration must also be given to the quality of your existing internal data network and its ability to support Voice. A quality Communications Company can check this out or at least liaise with your existing IT Support Group to ensure the network is at the necessary level.
c) ISDN10, ISDN20, ISDN30, Siteline – These digital services are also being forced to change however there is discrepancy as to the mandated dates. You will need to watch out for letters from your EXISTING carrier advising you of the pending cut off dates.
If you have already been advised that you need to change your services we would strongly suggest you explore an alternate method of voice delivery other than standard NBN based services. If you have 10 or more voice services we suggest you install a dedicated voice service or shared symmetrical data service to ensure your voice quality. These services can start as low as 2Mbps/2Mbps (delivered over copper) and scale up from there to 100/100Mbps (delivered over fibre), Gbps services are now available by some Providers.
d) Some systems already have in built SIP capability within them such as the Ericsson-LG iPecs eMG80 and Ericsson-LG iPecs UCP ranges of systems. When the NBN is connected it is possible for the old Lines to be Migrated to SIP Services with little or no additional hardware required. These services can then be directly connected to the phone system over your data network. This process needs to closely managed by all parties as there is generally some unavoidable (minor) downtime on your Voice Services. Technicians will be required to modify your system and possibly your data network for this process to occur.
To find out more contact us now