What would be a setup for an SMB site that has say 5 POT’s lines that are in an Equivalency group (Rollovers/Hunting).
I am aware of the Virtual PRI for larger sites…but at what point should I get one I do not know yet.
Could I just order say 3 DID’s and do a Call Forward On Busy to the next DID, then the next? which would be 6 inbound?
Seems like it would be some much more simple if we could have the ability to just pick and choose the amount of channels from the control panel based on the clients needs.
With voip, you technically only need one DID. If you buy more this is only for clarity reasons, like a number for customer support, etc.
Only one number is needed. With this single DID you can have multiple inbound and outbound calls at the same time.
Internally you will have many phones with extensions. When someone calls, you can create a ring group, or call hunting internally from phone to phone.
I worked for a business that had only like 5 phones. We had an IVR, group ring, dispatches, etc. This is very easy to do.
So if you do not want IVR, fine, simply create a ring group or call hunting. This will work. You do not need more than one DID, and will be able to have multiple calls at the same time. Even a single phone can have many incoming calls at the same time. This all depends what your phone can do.
POT or SIP phones?
Also, for the phones, you can use your old POT phones with an adapter device. But from experience, you will want (should prefer) to go directly with SIP phones. (There are just too many reasons for that.) Yeah, somewhat higher price to start with, but you save on the long run. (The adapter devices will work about 5-7 years then they die. You need another one.)
To note, I am Nortel guru from Tek-Tips so I know about everything you said, but the channels are not enough.
My dashboard under DID Billing/DID/Edit states “2 simultaneous calls”.
That’s why I wonder if I need the Virtual PRI or is there an easier method.
POT’s and PRI are alike with Rollovers/Hunting, one uses physical copper pair and one digital uses channels, SIP Trunk are cable able of same, but 2 is channels is not enough for a business.
At a cost of $20 per month, that works out to 2,000 minutes of calls. But that is without overlap. You would need one Virtual PRI for each simultaneous call. So (for example) if you had ten end users and the peak number of users on the phone at any given time was five you would need five trunks. $100 per month or the same price as 10,000 minutes. voip.ms offers “burstable” trunks for about $1 per day. If you need a sixth trunk less than 21 days per month you could reserve one burstable trunk along with your five regular Virtual PRIs. (Based on published prices.)
Depending on calling patterns (perhaps the peak usage is 5 simultaneous calls on Monday and Friday and 4 simultaneous calls on Tuesday through Thursday) the number of Virtual PRIs could be adjusted accordingly.
Virtual PRIs are a good way of businesses that have high call volumes to save money. With lower call volumes they may be better off paying per minute.
It is because you pay for a fixed plan of 4,25$, 3500 minutes per month.
Switch to pay as you go (0.85$) and there will be no limitations. If you need more than 25 simultaneous calls (if I remember right), simply contact tech support. It will be cheaper than any traditional POTS anyways.
I have had my account for 12 years, it was once a Residential account but now I have a Re-Seller account, but there is no info to tell me that, just the fact that I see more and do more….billing etc.
I see my mistake though…I have one UK DID, it is a Residential Plan, I was probably viewing it and not the others which are Per Min/No Restrictions
So now I am at:
jl66 stating that “You would need one Virtual PRI for each simultaneous call”, 5 Trunks (each being a VPRI, so I trunk per each VPRI? and that only 5 simultaneous calls is $100 plan?)
aleclerc stating “You can have 25 simultaneous calls” on just one DID plan.
VMS Dashboard stating “Simultaneous Calls - No restrictions”, now that seems like what I want but what’s the catch? Why would I need a VPRI if it costs 20 a month for 5 simultaneous calls when I can have no restrictions?
Then there is Inbound vs Outbound somewhere in the mix maybe?.
Like others, I come from the land of the ice and snow where traditional PRI is a Trunk with “channels” (simultaneous users are 23) so for some reason I am not grasping the conversion, I am reading into it wrong somehow.
I do not have clients that would use more than 23 simultaneous users and none are a call centre, they are the typical ratio of users to lines at something like 12/5.
Thanks to both of you for the assistance as I continue to support those who love their Nortel Norstar’s and BCM’s.
So my memory was not too bad, but not quite exact . If you have any questions, ask the tech support, as this is the default that is given. They can adjust that to your specific needs.
$20 for one simultaneous call. $100 for 5 simultaneous calls. “No restrictions” is better, but there is a per minute cost that becomes a restriction if the business has a high enough call volume.
The first phone system I managed was POTS only … we eventually added a PRI for toll free inbound / long distance. No local inbound, other than people calling the toll free numbers. Local outbound billed at a per minute rate but most of our calls were long distance.
Jump ahead to my current employer with 1000 employees using four PRIs, a 10/1 ratio. We probably could have survived on less PRIs but the company never wants a caller to reach a busy signal. Only accepted when direct dialing an individual employee’s extension (and those calls go to coverage or voicemail). We watched capacity on a daily basis to make sure we were not getting close to blocking any call, inbound or outbound.
Equipment changes and phone service changes. Now SIP rules the world. We have merged operations of remote sites and purchased SIP lines at a 8/1 ratio (2500 employees using 300 SIP channels). Note the 12/5 ratio you mention is 2.4/1.
The local phone company only allows phone numbers from the local central office on a PRI. I have DIDs on the company SIP circuits from over 20 different communities.
It does take a minute to get away from old school 23 line PRI mindset (or how many POTS line do I need at a particular remote site) and consider flexible or “unlimited” capacity.
The “unlimited” aspect of the standard DIDs from voip.ms is appealing. The only reason to “do the math” would be if the call volume (minutes per month) was high enough that paying $20 per channel would be cheaper than the flexible number of minutes. A small business may never hit that level of use. A larger company may.
So looking at your 12/5 ratio company - are there more than 10,000 minutes per month every month? If so they would be paying more money for the penny per minute “unlimited” service. Less than 10,000 minutes most months? The unlimited is saving them money.
BTW: I’m still supporting a CS1000 while migrating to CUCM.
I am glad I posted because when I called sales I could not grasp what they were saying and it prevented me from taking action to resell on top off being overly too busy with other stuff, so seeing it this way helps the old injured brain.
. If you have any questions, ask the tech support, as this is the default that is given. They can adjust that to your specific needs.