What is the Centrex VoIP Service

 

In buying a VoIP telephone service, you need to understand that telephone numbers and “exchange lines” are not the same thing.

 

Geographical Telephone Numbers

These are national telephone numbers such as 01206 700 007 and they are the number(s) that you publish to your customers and suppliers to call you.  Many organisations have just one number which is associated with many lines.  You do not need to have different numbers to make outgoing calls. 

 

The cost of the service includes numbers within your choice of geographical telephone area.  It does not have to be the same area code as your existing one.  Or you may use your existing telephone number(s).  There is a charge for transferring these numbers

 

Exchange Lines

In VoIP, there isn’t a physical phone line back to a telephone exchange.  In the VoIP world, lines mean the number of external calls that can take place simultaneously.  Having two lines allows you to have two calls on the go at once.  They could both be incoming, both outgoing, or one of each. 

 

You buy our VoIP service in Centrex Packages.

 

A Centrex Package consists of

 

·          One geographical telephone number

·          Two “exchange” lines

·          10 extensions

 

You buy as many Centrex Packages as you need to make up your own personalised configuration.  The minimum is one and there is no maximum.

 

Example 1: if you need 5 exchange lines and 25 extensions, you would need to buy 3 Centrex Packages which would give you 6 exchange lines and 30 extensions.

 

Example 2:If you needed 35 extensions, you would need to buy 4 Centrex Packages.

 

Example 3: If you needed 3 geographical telephone numbers then you would need 3 Centrex Packages.

Facilities

 

The Centrex VoIP Service from Bewcastle Consulting has all these facilities:

 

·          Hunt groups	·          Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
·          Call hold, transfer and forward	·          Voice mail
·          Direct dial-in (DDI)	·          Conference rooms
·          Call recording	·          Music on hold
·          Voice messages to callers	·          Phone book

 

It comes with a web browser interface for management, usage reports and statistics

Configuration

 

The Centrex service may be customised to your specific requirements and usage. 

Typical business usage models of the Centrex VoIP service include:

 

·          The Centralised (Receptionist) model

·          The Distributed model

·          The Multi-site model

·          The Call-out model

·          The Tele-worker model

 

For some ideas on how businesses deploy the Centrex VoIP service in different kinds of ways, please ask for our leaflet Business usage of the Centrex Service.

 

What will it cost me?

 

Each Centrex Package has a one-time charge and a monthly recurring charge as follows

 

No. of Centrex Packages purchased	One-time set-up charge per Centrex Package	Monthly recurring charge per Centrex Package
1 to 9	£4.99	£7.00
10 +	£3.00	£6.00

 

You may buy additional Centrex Packages at any time to support your company’s growth.

 

In addition, you must purchase one of our service packages (see Service Charges .

 

Transfer of existing telephone numbers from BT to our VoIP service is charged at £20 per number (maximum £100 for 5 or more numbers).  Prices from other Telco’s vary.

 

You must use a special VoIP telephone (or an ordinary analogue telephone with a VoIP adapter) with the Centrex service.  You may purchase VoIP telephones and VoIP adaptors from us.  Please contact us for further information.

 

You will need a broadband line to support the service.  You will need to obtain this from your preferred broadband provider.

 

Call charges

 

All calls between your VoIP extensions (whether they are local or remote) are free. 

 

Calls to other business VoIP users are free.

 

Calls to non-VoIP numbers are cheaper than BT’s standard call rates.

 

Incoming calls to 0800 numbers are charged at 3p per minute.

 

Please ask for our leaflet Call charges explained for call charges to non-VoIP numbers

 

Services Charges

 

Bewcastle Consulting offers the following services to configure and administer your Centrex VoIP telephone service.

 

Full Administration Contract

We configure the system and administer it for you from our remote control panel on an ongoing basis, making changes and additions as you require.  In addition you have free of charge access to our support desk.  This service is charged at from £250 per annum and is payable annually in advance.

 

Set-up only

We configure the system for you and train your administrator in how to undertake administration of the system.  There is a one-time charge of £150 for this service.  Calls to our support desk are chargeable in addition.

 

Administrator Training

You may wish to train an administrator even if you opt to take the Full Administration Contract.  If so, this is separately charged at £100.