Control Unit or KSU:
(Key Service Unit):
In
small business phone systems the
control unit is commonly referred to as the "brain" or "phone box".
The size of the control unit determines the maximum configuration.
Most business phone systems have a number in the name such as "Meridian
Norstar 616" or "
Norstar 824 Meridian phone system or the
MICS
0x32". These numbers usually refer to the
maximum configuration of the system although not always. The "616"
would mean 6 incoming lines and 16 telephones (extensions). The
"824", 8 incoming lines and 24 telephones (extensions). The 824
Meridian phone system is expandable to 56 incoming lines and 56
telephones (extensions) by adding expansion modules. Note: All key
business phone systems have music on hold.
Co lines
These are the incoming phone lines from your local telephone
company.
Extensions-Stations
These are the actual phones. They are extensions of the phone
system. They look like telephones and work like telephones, But only
work with the control unit and will not work if they are plugged
into a regular telephone line from the telephone company. So, if you
ever move, Don't forget the control unit.
Voice Mail-Auto Attendant
Voice
mail systems with the auto attendant is like having a
receptionist 24 hours a day without paying labor costs. The auto
attendant is an answering service that answers incoming calls with a
company greeting, plays a list of options to a caller, and transfers
calls to the different departments, then to mail boxes if that
extension is not answered, or back to a main directory. The auto
attendant can be turned off during business hours and answered
manually. The person answering the call can transfer calls to the
different departments and mail boxes. The voice mail system is a
separate unit from the telephone system. It is wired into an
extension port on the telephone system and programmed to answer
after a determined amount of rings. Voice mail comes in
different sizes 2 ports, 4 ports 6 ports and up, it depends on the
amount of incoming traffic your company receives.
Ports:
The term port means circuit. For instance, a
2 "Port" voice mail system has 2
circuits to handle incoming call traffic. The number of ports on a
voice mail system is directly related to the number of users that
can be in voice mail at the same time. An example, the "Norstar
Startalk Flash" voice mail system has 2 ports and 24 mail
boxes and is expandable to
4 ports and 48 mailboxes. The term
"port" is used when describing a telephone system as it refers to
the combined number of lines and extensions, an example of this
would be the "Meridian
Norstar Modular ICS with XC
software ". This telephone system supports up to 272 total system
ports, i.e. 100 lines and 172 extensions.
Hunt Group, Rotary Lines
Meaning if line 1 is busy it will roll over to line 2 an on down to
your last line. Do not put the fax line in the hunt group, because
if all lines are busy the next caller will get the fax machine.
When ordering your CO lines from your local telephone company order
them in a hunt group, i.e. order 6 lines, put 5 in the hunt group
and designate 1 line for the fax machine.
Things to think about before purchasing an office phone system.
Many companies today have purchased telephone equipment just right
for their company size only to find out their phone system could not
keep up with their company's growth. Estimating your company's
future growth today may alleviate problems in your telephone system
later. These are questions you need to consider when purchasing a
new business phone system or refurbished phone system.
Questions to consider prior to purchasing a phone system:
1. What is the maximum number of phones I can have on my
business phone system?
2. What is the maximum number of phone lines (co lines) for my
phone system?
3. Can I add phone equipment to increase the number of phones
or phone lines?
4. Can I add features to my phone system such as voicemail?
Frequently asked question:
"Well, I need 4 phones so I
must need 4 lines, right?" NO!
Picking phone lines really depends on the number of calls you
receive in a day. How many phones lines will be used at the
same time? If you were running a sales office and had 4 phones
lines with 4 sales people and all lines were being used, new callers
would get a busy signal. You would most likely need 5 to 6
phone lines
·
When considering purchasing a new business phone system or
refurbished phone system the
Norstar phone system is one of the
best phone systems on the market today.
·
Nortel Networks the manufacturer of the
Norstar phone system has been
designing communication systems for over 50 years.
·
Norstar phones systems are designed
with usability and reliability in mind.
·
Nortel Networks Norstar phone systems
provide you with an expandable system that will support your
company's growing needs.
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