Telephone System

[Jonathan Hutchins]

On Thursday 18 December 2003 05:05 pm, Greg Kedrovsky wrote:

> Do Asterisk and PBX require special "PBX" phones? Or will a regular phone
> function on these systems?

A "PBX" is just any system where you can dial an internal number.  There are a 
range of them, from basic four-or-five line office systems all the way up to 
a full campus phone system with thousands of lines.  Basically it means that 
you've set up your own phone company, and your regular phone line becomes 
your link to the other "exchanges" or phone systems.

There are a lot of different brands of PBX equipment, and they can either be 
digital, analog, or mixed.  You have to have analog for faxes, so if you want 
the "switch", the heart of the PBX, to manage a FAX line it has to handle 
analog.  Lucent (AT&T) did the "Merlin" system in the 80's - distinctively 
square design, meant for lower-end systems.  These things are pricey - 
digital phones run in the $200 range, but they have all the function buttons 
on them.  Systems that can handle analog "terminals" use numeric codes to 
handle special functions, and I think they're more flexible, but I have no 
idea what they cost.  I think we're talking a couple thousand at least for a 
configurable multi-line switch.

You will want to get something that you can get parts and support for.  That 
can be a big issue - I know of one place where they had to replace the whole 
system because nobody could be found who could maintain the discount brand 
they'd bought.  This might be something that ends up being less expensive to 
buy locally than to import, just because of that need for a line of support.

The cordless phone system is obviously something developed for just such a 
niche as yours - priced within reason, and most of the features you need.