IP PBX (Internet Protocol - Private Branch eXchange) Phone System Overview

An IP PBX phone system streamlines the way a business communicates internally as well as externally in two primary ways. First, an IP PBX is telephone switching equipment residing within the organization rather than the telephone company. Second, calls are transmitted via a data network instead of the traditional PSTN (public switched telephone network) and configuration is done using a PC browser. This means that all connections and extensions are controlled and administered by the organization without having to depend on — or pay for — PBX vendor service.

Transitioning from a legacy PBX to an IP PBX business phone system is a straightforward process that can be handled in stages or all at once. An organization may decide to convert completely from a traditional platform to an IP platform in one episode to maximize the economy of toll-free calling, may expand the network to connect to a branch office or home office to accommodate growth or move an endpoint or node from one location to another. With an IP PBX system, adding, moving, and changing users and sites is smooth and hassle-free. Because the new telephone system is now based on a data network, it is extremely flexible and scalable and is very economical to operate and maintain both in the short and long terms. It also enables the integration of call management applications with telephony, providing a revolutionary improvement in the analysis of calling patterns and deployment of telephony resources.

Epoch Communication believes in an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary approach to IP telephony. Many organizations may not require a complete overhaul of their PBX systems, and can operate both traditional and new IP based systems side by side. Epoch Communication products allow organizations to move over to IP PBX in stages and during the process to exploit the new merged voice-data network by installing applications that make operational and economic sense. Step-by-step migration ensures that needless costs are avoided and only productive application modules are integrated at each stage. Examples include: call routing and queuing; directed marketing messages; store service response; interactive voice response (IVR); connections to backend databases; and call management and other enterprise applications.

Q: What is an IP-PBX?

A: An IP-PBX is a customer premises business phone system that manages telephones throughout the enterprise and acts as a gateway to both voice and data networks. An IP-PBX allows you to place calls using a network instead of standard telephone infrastructure. Telephones can be connected to the IP-PBX via the network and calls can be routed via the network instead of the standard public switched telephone network.

Q: What is IP telephony?

A: IP Telephony or Internet Protocol Telephony is the transmission of voice signals over the Internet, wide area network (WAN), or local area network (LAN). IP Telephony uses voice-over-IP to break down voice transmissions into packets of data and transmitting them across a network.

IP Business Phone Systems Overview

Each day, technology is taking strides towards making it easier to communicate, no matter how far apart the two end points may be. Companies are using revolutionary new ways to communicate internally and with clients and customers. The business phone system, which is the backbone of a firm’s telecommunications network, is assuming a new shape.

Internet Protocol, or IP, telephony is the latest, cost-reducing replacement for legacy Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) phone systems. An IP business phone system is essentially a software-based program that resides and runs on PCs and servers on a network. An IP phone system integrates with computer applications resulting in hybrid call management assets that greatly improve call handling and messaging, enabling superior customer service. Examples include integrated voice mail and e-mail, a graphical user interface for telephony functions, enhanced call center features, and many more.

IP business phone systems can significantly reduce telephone charges, particularly by eliminating long distance calls. For companies with remote offices and mobile workers, this is clearly a valuable benefit. In addition, overall communications infrastructure management is simplified with an IP business phone system, because voice communications run on an existing data network, For example, adding new IP telephone endpoints to a network does not require installing new phone cables. All that is required is to configure the new workstations or IP endpoints for voice calling..moves and changes are just as easy. With an IP business phone system, voice and data communications can be converged so that there is a minimum of extra load on infrastructure management.

Customers are the ultimate beneficiaries of conversion to an IP business phone system. With superior call handling, customer satisfaction soars.

Keeping pace with the rapidly advancing technology in the world of telecommunications is not only desirable, but indeed, a necessity for progressive companies. With IP phone systems replacing traditional phone systems, business operations can boost their revenues, increase productivity and enhance customer satisfaction.

Still have questions? Find the answers in our IP-PBX Telephony Systems FAQ.

Q: What is Voice-over-IP?

A: Voice-over-Internet-Protocol or Voice-over-IP or VoIP allows one to send a voice transmission via a network instead of the standard telephone infrastructure. Calls can be routed via the Internet, wide area network (WAN), or local area network (LAN).

Q: What are the advantages of an IP-PBX system?

Multiple Branch Offices
With VoIP, expanding your business phone system to multiple branch office sites is easy. Integrated IP Gateways allow you to traffic calls between offices over the Internet and save on long distance charges. Dialing branch offices is as easy as calling an extension down the hall. Make certain that your IP-PBX has an administration tool that simplifies the process of configuring IP gateways between remote systems.
Toll Bypass
IP-PBXs enable businesses to reduce the cost of long distance calling by routing calls inexpensively over IP networks. If you have overseas facilities, using an IP-PBX could reduce your business's costs significantly.
Remote Office
Even if your business has a single remote office, an IP-PBX can give you the flexibility to pick an affordable solution. Purchasing a solution that allows for a small or large number of IP trunks might be right for you.
Work From Home
Epoch Communication's sophisticated IP-PBX software extends easily and seamlessly to your telecommuters, contractors, and consultants and makes them part of the corporate phone system.

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Smart Phone System Features

Auto Attendant: “Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support...” Give your business a professional look and feel.Auto-Attendant is as easy to use as it is powerful. With simple clicks of the mouse you can manage call flow, build scheduled responses, forward calls off-site, and more. Your business may have several numbers for different departments. With Smart Phone System’s multiple Auto-Attendants, you can direct calls to a different call menu based on the inbound number.

Unlimited Extensions

Create unlimited extensions with just a few clicks of the mouse! Each extension can be customized differently with dozens of options such as:

Personal inbound number (DID)
Outbound CallerID
Privacy settings
Spell-by-name directory
Voicemail settings


Remote Extensions

Cell phones or analog home phones can now seamlessly participate in your queues. This means that callers will never know if the answering is on an IP phone in your office, or on a mobile phone in another part of the world!


Phone Supports

Smart Phone System is the most flexible phone system on the market today, supporting all analog phones and numerous IP phones such as Aastra, Polycom, grandStream and Cisco. PBX supports MWI (message waiting indicator) on all IP Phones and utilizes stutter-tone on analog phones to indicate voicemail waiting. Analog phones support multiple call appearances via call-waiting flash-hook.


Voicemail-to-Email: Have your voicemails come attached as .wav files directly in your inbox. No POP3, IMAP, or Exchange configuration required!
Add/Edit Extensions

Adding or editing extensions is as easy as a few mouse clicks. Administer your phone system easily and quickly from any web browser.


Ring Groups

system allows you to build some extensions as groups to perform special role to answer the call.


Call Queues
Each queue comes with a variety of options:
    •    Personalized audio announcements give your queue that professional sound.
    •    "Hold Time" announcement frequency customization.
    •    User/agent priorities for more effective call routing.
    •    Hold time limits so callers do not remain in your queue for extended periods of time.
    •    Caller limits for keeping queue call volume to a manageable level.
    •    Length of time after fielding a call before the same agent is called again.

Music-on-Hold (Unlimited)

Music On Hold (MOH) is as simple as uploading MP3 files using the web-based administration panel. Smart Phone System come with playlists, giving you the ability to play different audio tracks for calls coming into different departments or queues. Use MOH creatively to highlight promotions to new customers, up sell current customers, or calm angry customers calling your support team.

Time-Based Routing

Want to play different messages to callers at different times of the day? Or perhaps you want an entirely different Call Menu on weekends and holidays (new!), with different options for your callers to choose from. Use Smart Phone System’s intuitive Time-Based Routing to create and apply schedules that will make your phone system work for you — even when you have gone home for the day!

Conference Call Room

Conference bridges were once thought to be unaffordable. Now, Each bridge supports an unlimited number of internal participants and as many external participants as you have phone lines.


System Alerts

Proactively manage your phone system by setting up automated critical system alerts.

Call Reporting

View real-time call logs for all extensions, or build custom call reports with powerful search filters.

Q: How to get best voice quality for IP telephony solutions ?

A: Greenfield environments are more optimal for pure IP solutions because the newly installed LAN/WAN infrastructure can be initially designed with voice-grade Quality of Service (QoS) and a single cabling system can be installed for all communications needs. Pure IP solutions are not cost optimized for deployment in many environments though, as these solutions usually require gateways, additional servers, and careful network engineering to ensure proper operation, adding substantial cost to the overall solution.

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