I am a small business just getting started and want to begin operations with a Vonage based telephone system. I have attempted to read these forums and do other research with hardware providers and all I am getting is mixed and conflicting answers. I am not a telephone expert and at this initial stage of the business startup cycle I do not have a lot of money to throw at consultants and thought I would be able to find a system that I could get installed relatively cheaply and which wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to run. So I thought I would come to the source and get info here from the real experts. Here is a summary of my situation:
..Start up involving a home office (Chicago) and 2 branch offices (NY & MI) with expectation to be in most major cities across the country. The initial set-up envisioned is to have four lines (+fax line) at the home office and 2 lines (+fax line) at each of the branches. I would like to start with the home office as I am just now moving in and do not have a phone system, and would like to use it to get familiar with its working. Then move to hook up branch offices.
Given the situation, my questions are all over the board, do I need special phones or do the phones react solely to the dial tone? Are there prepackaged solutions off the shelf that I can purchase? What can you expect as charges to have someone professionally install the complete system? Would it be best to buy a system and have someone install it or purchase the complete solution, hardware, software and installation together? Or some combination thereof?
Any help, offers or just learning of experiences others have faced and their reactions to them in this same situation.
Well for the home office he will need 3 Vonage Routers i suppose. Since they only have 2 phone ports and he wants 4 lines + 1 fax. After that I would reccomend an ISP that has at least 2mb/s upstream. Verizon FiOS if available in your area or a business class cable connection.
All you need to do for the home office is:
1) Purchase a 4 Line Telephone. They even come in cordless. 2) Purchase 3 Vonage Adapters (Or have Vonage send them to you) 3) Plug in routers and activate them. You can get advise on how to connect them on this forum. 4) connect all 4 of the outbound telephone ports on the first two adapters to your 4 line telephone. 5) Connect the phone port on the 3rd router to your fax. 6) Enjoy the savings!
One limitation will be roll-over numbers. You can't get automatic roll over numbers and I can't think of a way to simulate roll-over numbers using Vonage.
(Rollover would ring line 1, if busy to go line 2....)
KDWycha Vonage Forum Evangelist
Joined: Jan 19, 2005 Posts: 605
Location: Tampa, Florida USA (813)
One limitation will be roll-over numbers. You can't get automatic roll over numbers and I can't think of a way to simulate roll-over numbers using Vonage.
(Rollover would ring line 1, if busy to go line 2....)
He could use SimulRing feature.
say his business number is 813-671-0000 he can enable simularing on that line...then disable voicemail on all the other lines except 813-671-0000.
You can add up to 5 numbers for simulring. So he can add line 2 to that simulring.
then 813-671-0001 which is the second number will simulring line 3
813-671-0002 is line 3...which would simulring line 4
813-671-0003 is line 4..
Im not sure if that would work since I have never tried it but im sure it would
One limitation will be roll-over numbers. You can't get automatic roll over numbers and I can't think of a way to simulate roll-over numbers using Vonage.
(Rollover would ring line 1, if busy to go line 2....)
That's what I was thinking. The OP's business may be different, but most businesses wouldn't want 4 different telephone numbers. Maybe ring lists offer an answer.
One limitation will be roll-over numbers. You can't get automatic roll over numbers and I can't think of a way to simulate roll-over numbers using Vonage.
(Rollover would ring line 1, if busy to go line 2....)
That's what I was thinking. The OP's business may be different, but most businesses wouldn't want 4 different telephone numbers. Maybe ring lists offer an answer.
That would sort of work, you could ring list all for number with each other so that all 4 numbers would ring each time a call came in. Not optimal, but it would work.
Seems to me that Vonage is a small business solution, not a 4 line multirollover line business solution.
I was thinking more in terms of sequential dialing, with one virtual number. My concern is that if one of the lines is busy, it might roll over to voice mail instead of ringing the next number in the list.
_________________ Steve Gray Orlando, FL
KDWycha Vonage Forum Evangelist
Joined: Jan 19, 2005 Posts: 605
Location: Tampa, Florida USA (813)
One limitation will be roll-over numbers. You can't get automatic roll over numbers and I can't think of a way to simulate roll-over numbers using Vonage.
(Rollover would ring line 1, if busy to go line 2....)
That's what I was thinking. The OP's business may be different, but most businesses wouldn't want 4 different telephone numbers. Maybe ring lists offer an answer.
That would sort of work, you could ring list all for number with each other so that all 4 numbers would ring each time a call came in. Not optimal, but it would work.
Seems to me that Vonage is a small business solution, not a 4 line multirollover line business solution.
If I was running a business and needed 4 business lines I would order 1 line through the local teleco and set that up as line 1 with it forwarding on busy to the second line which would be Vonage. And then continue the ringdown from there to the other Vonage lines.
I would also get the Verizon FiOS 30/5 package avaiable in my area.
The reason I would go with 1 pots line is the security if FiOS or Vonage were to have issues. At least I would have a backup.
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