"Business" Phone Suggestions

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Feb 28, 2006 Posts: 1

I've recently switched our office to two Vonage Unlimited Business numbers, and one "basic" line which we use as our fax line. The fax line is perfect, and working like the old SBC line did. However, I have since ran into quite a few compatibility issues with our current phones.

We are using the AT&T 955's, and they have worked beautifully for what we need them for. We NEED the call privacy, Line-in-Use indicator, caller id panel, phone directory (currently 200 number, but I don't need that many really), and speakerphone; everything else is wasted on us. This phone isn't compatible with the new Vonage setup (which is setup in the POTS style... no switch or anything). I need a new set of phones which offer the same features AND that will be compatible down the road when we move office and setup a "real" phone network, with voicemail, on-hold-music, etc.

Please help me. I thought I had figured it out with the Aastra 9120, but apparantly, this doesn't offer the line privacy that we need. I am dealing with an extremely tight budget (<$100 per phone) and need something for immediate use when the second number is switched over to the Vonage account.

I'm losing my mind trying to figure this all out and am slowly losing my credibility with the owners. PLEASE!!!

You can contact me directly via email if you have any suggestions or simply post here (I'm assuming I will get an email saying there are new posts). My email is Agg2001@gmail[dot]com. (modified for spam purposes) Please help me... SOMEONE.

Posts: 1715 · Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:18 pm Post subject:

What's not working with the AT&T 955 phones? I know the build quality on those is sketchy at best, with them getting some rather poor reviews over on Amazon.com. On some of these wanna-be PBX phones, putting DSL filters on the outputs of the Vonage adapter seems to make things work. It's worth a shot, and DSL filters are far less expensive than new phones.

As far as phones for the future... when you get a PBX, line privacy won't be an issue. If you're looking for low-budget, look at Asterisk At Home. It's a computer-based PBX, which does require a little bit of technical knowledge, but it pretty much is ready to go out of the box...and the price (free) is a good start. You can then use most IP phones with the system, and can add analog adapters so you can use any analog phones you may have with the system as well. Out of the box, it comes with voice mail & music on hold already there.

Posts: 1715 · Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 8:22 am Post subject:

I was thinking about it...and the Aastra 9120 still might do what you need. It doesn't have guaranteed line privacy, BUT, the line in use indicators are very clear & reliable (never had it NOT show when a line is in use) AND if someone picks up while you're on the line, the screen says "Extension in Use" and a big red light (message waiting light which occupies the upper right corner of the phone) illuminates steadily until the situation is remedied. The Line in Use/Extension in Use indicators work regardless of what other phones are being used, so picking up my cordless phone will cause the in use indicators/messages to show. At the very least, they're a substantial increase in quality over what you've been using. I still think they're worth taking a look at, as they might be able to do everything you need without spending a fortune. $67 for a 2-line speakerphone isn't a bad deal, $64 if you don't mind them being white.

Manual for the 9120:
http://www.aastra.com/downloads/9120UG_E.pdf