The Citel Blog.: Retain Your Investment in Digital and Centrex Handsets

Retain Your Investment in Digital and Centrex Handsets

Avaya recently released Avaya IP Office Release 7.0. This latest offering allows the use of Norstar / BCM phones on their premise based IP PBX offering. This is believed to be the first time a protocol specific TDM handset of one make has been able work with a premise based IP PBX of another make. Historically, a hybrid PBX was restricted to the manufacturer’s TDM phones, for example, a Avaya digital handset working with an Avaya IP PBX through the use of digital cards being added to the Hybrid PBX. Of course, with the industry changes and the acquisition of certain Nortel technology by Avaya over the past 12 months this change had been much anticipated. Having said that, this connectivity has to be done either by 8 port base cards in the main unit, or 16 or 30 port expansion units. The expansion units are then connected with a proprietary cable and interface, and tend to be co-located with the IP Office.

For that kind of connectivity for other protocols and most remote locations you require a device such as Citel’s Portico TVA (Telephone VoIP Adapter). This device allows traditional digital PBX (telephone handsets e.g. Nortel Meridian & BCM or Siemens Optiset/Optipoint, etc., to be connected to a VoIP network, using, for example, SIP (Session initiation protocol). By using Citel’s VoIP migration device, you preserve your investment in an installed base of telephone handsets and remove the need to install ethernet infrastructure. In a remote office scenario, the handsets are disconnected from the local PBX (which can then be removed), connected to the Portico TVA and then routed via the Internet to the IP PBX at the home office. As far as the switch is concerned the remote phones are SIP end points and act as extensions off of the host switch.

If you want to promote your VoIP offering but your customers want to retain their investment in their digital or Centrex phone, check out the Portico TVA. You will save your customer a lot of money and be able to move them to the benefits of IP telephony and the possibilities of Unified Communications that much quicker.

Posted by Ian Gomm at September 23, 2011