What Is a PBX Phone System? Here is a simple breakdown. Click on the links to learn more.

1. PBX stands for private branch exchange. It is a private telephone network that businesses, institutions, or other organizations use to communicate within their organization. Learn more.

2. PBX supports many features that can help your business function more efficiently such as automated attendants, extension dialling, call conferencing, and voicemail to email. Learn more.

3. You can have an on-site, hosted, or cloud PBX system. Learn about the differences.

4. You can get a PBX phone system installed by a telecommunications provider like Network Telecom. Find out more.

A PBX phone system is a private telephone network

PBX Phone System: Additional Information

1. PBX Stands for Private Branch Exchange

A PBX phone system is a private telephone network that businesses, institutions, or other organizations use to communicate within their organization. It allows you to communicate internally with callers from within your company and externally with outside callers.

Unlike a traditional residential landline telephone in your home that runs on a single telephone line, a PBX phone system allows you to have multiple internal extensions that use one or more outside lines. Due to this, a PBX system can give you free desk-to-desk calling through unique extension numbers. This means that you don’t have to install and pay for multiple telephone lines.

A PBX phone system allows you to have multiple extensions

2. PBX Supports Many Features that Can Help Your Business Function More Efficiently

Here is a list of some of the most common features that a PBX system gives you:

Free Extension Calling:

As mentioned above, a PBX system gives you the ability to make free calls among extensions in your organization. Extensions also allow your entire business to share one single outside number. So if a customer wants to get in touch with a certain person in your service department, they can simply call your company’s number and be connected to the right person. There is no need for your business to have a separate number for each department or employee.

Automated Assistant:

An automated assistant can answer your business’s incoming calls and depending on the caller’s input (voice command or button press), they can direct the call to the appropriate department or personnel. This feature means that you don’t need to hire someone to answer incoming calls.

Calling Queues:

PBX phone systems give you the ability to have calling queues which can help improve your customer experience. A calling queue is able to let your callers know how long they will need to wait before they get to talk to someone. Waiting on the phone isn’t fun, but having an idea about how long that wait will be can better prepare you and take away the unknown which is much more frustrating.

Calling queues let your callers know how long they will be on hold

Conference Calling:

With a PBX system, you can set up and hold conference calls quickly, allowing you to easily meet with others in your organization over the phone.

Voicemail Sent to Email:

If you install an internet-based PBX (IP PBX) system, then you can configure it to send your voicemails to email. It can convert the audio to a digital text format that you can easily check and read in your email program, thus improving efficiency.

Call Recording:

A PBX phone system can be a great training tool for your customer service employees. You can record calls and use the recordings for training purposes. Your recordings could also be a great asset if you need to defer liability when responding to litigation.

Call recording can help you train your customer service employees

3. You Can Have an On-Site, Hosted, or Cloud PBX system.

There are 3 main types of PBX phone systems.

On-Site (On-Premise):

On-site PBX can either be a traditional analog or landline phone system or it can be a phone system that uses the internet to make calls. An on-site system uses hardware that is housed at your business or organization’s premises in a computer room or perhaps a phone closet. You own the hardware and are responsible for maintaining it. The calls can either go through a traditional phone company using Gateway cards or over the Internet (VoIP) using SIP trunking.

Hosted:

A Hosted PBX is an internet phone system in which the provider houses the PBX hardware at their location and looks after all of the technology necessary to run the phone system. The telephones at the business will be plugged into a router and this router will connect them to the provider. All calls, signalling, and features are handled through an IP_PBX server which is located at the provider’s location.

The provider usually charges a monthly fee that includes a phone minutes package and other agreed-upon features. Sometimes calls are charged by the minute.

Cloud:

The terms Hosted PBX and Cloud PBX are sometimes used interchangeably, however, there are slight differences. A cloud PBX is based on cloud computing technology, so your calls are transferred over the Internet rather than through a computer or hardware device at your service provider’s location.

The following chart will give you a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

Learn the difference between analog and digital signals

4. You Can Get a PBX Phone System Installed by a Telecommunications Provider Like Network Telecom

If you are looking to purchase a new PBX phone system, contact the telecommunication specialists at Network Telecom. We have been selling, installing, and servicing every type of phone system for over 40 years.

We can even help with training your employees on the features of your new phone system so that you can use it as efficiently as possible.

If your phone system is not working as it should, our trained technicians are available to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We carry a huge selection of parts in order to quickly solve any component issues you are experiencing. If you are having a telecommunication or networking issue, we can resolve it quickly and professionally.

In addition to our accredited and certified technical expertise, we offer:

• Consultative Sales
• Cloud Services
• Ongoing Support
• Voice Mail Systems
• System Design + Consulting
• System Admin + User Training
• PA Systems
• VoIP Specialist
• Network Cabling