How to install a professional phone line?

Business owners or chief technical officers willing to install a phone line for professional use should first think about a few considerations.

First, they should decide between traditional telephony, using the plain old telephone system lines, or internet telephony. VOIP is now a pretty reliable technology, allowing many advanced features, and cheaper calls. Then, they should think about how many collaborators in the premises will need to have a phone for their own use.

Finally, they should decide whether each of these phones within the company needs to have its own extension number. If the answer is no, then they will have to install a phone line for every collaborator in the company. If the answer is yes, then will like to install an enterprise telephony system, called PBX or IP PBX system, depending whether it’s working using traditional phone lines of the internet.

These private branch exchange systems allow correspondents within the same office to use the same phone network, and users only need to install one phone line. Telecom providers will usually install the phone line and all the required hardware, software and equipment for their clients at no cost.

However, businesses willing to keep more control on this installation may want to let their own IT departments, or independent professionals, to do this job for them.

Some knowledge of networks is required for the non-professional who would like to undertake this himself.

A typical PBX installation will require the purchasing, setting up and physical installation of a PBX server (which can be basically any properly configured computer with the right programmes), a gateway, a switch, many phone lines, and desk phones which can be IP phones.