IP PBX Phone Systems

What Does IP PBX Mean?

IP PBX is short for "Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange". It's occasionally written as as IP-PBX, IP/PBX, or IPPBX.

A PBX allows a business to purchase fewer phone lines than they have phone numbers because the PBX splits the phone lines to service different extensions. An IP PBX replaces the expensive hardware switches and PBXs of yesteryear with a computerized system that switches between IP addresses. An office would need some kind of PBX or SIP solution in order to implement VoIP in an office.

IP PBX can refer to a cloud-based hosted PBX phone system or it can refer to an onsite IP PBX computer.

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Jive Communications - Smart PBX

Month-to-month. Full featured. Everything up front.
Unlimited Local and Long Distance Calling
 $ 19.95 free -NA-
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Nextiva Office

Unlimited calling. Top-rated call quality. Great support.
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Vocalocity - PBX Unlimited Extension

Unlimited local and long distance. Up front. No contract.
Business. USA, CAN.
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RingCentral VoIP
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RingCentral Office

Unified communications ready. Unlimited SMS, calls, fax.
No charge for setup.
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Virtual Office - Introductory Price Promotion

#1 Market Leader Award
Unlimited Calling (US and Canada)
Includes softphone & mobile app
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VoIP Dito
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VoIP Provider

A hosted IP PBX. Versatile and inexpensive.
Business. USA.
 $ 4.99 $6.80 -NA-
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Improcom
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Unlimited Business Calling Plan

Unlimited Calling and Faxing- Plans Start at $10.95. No contract- Most Reliable Service
 $ 19.95 free -NA-
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1: Any listed international rates reflect provider's rate for Mexico. Taxes and fees may apply. Listed prices do not reflect all pricing options available from providers.

Benefits of an IP PBX Phone System

With more digital and wireless features than traditional PBX systems, this type of IP phone system decreases costs with less equipment, software and maintenance. In addition, an IP PBX system is scalable and user-friendly for easy configuration.

Specific benefits of an IP PBX phone system:

  • Easy install and configuration: Compared to traditional phone systems that need a trained installer, an IP PBX system can be installed by anyone who knows how to install a software program.
  • User-friendly web configuration interface: An IP phone system has a web-based interface for easy maintenance and customization.
  • Significant cost savings: You can save substantially by using a VoIP service provider for long distance or international calls. Easily connect phone systems between offices/branches and make free phone calls.

How an IP PBX Phone System Works

An IP PBX system includes at least one VoIP-capable phone, an IP PBX server and occasionally a VoIP gateway. An IP PBX phone system server shares similarities to a proxy server because it has SIP clients, softphones, or hardware-based phones.

An IP PBX phone system can also support analog and digital circuits. IP PBX systems connect with a public switched telephone network (PSTN) through a VoIP gateway and create a unified communications phone system.

With a traditional PBX phone system, separate networks are required for voice and data exchanges. But with an IP PBX phone system, the data and voice networks are combined so that both VoIP and traditional phone communications are available on a single line.

This IP PBX system connects hardware phones to a computer network port and then software phones are directly installed on the computer. There is no installation or maintenance for a separate wiring network, thus increasing flexibility to add more users or extensions.

With the integrated IP phone system, individuals or businesses can keep original phone numbers. The IP PBX phone system will switch local calls over the IP network.

This way, users can easily upgrade to the IP PBX system without interfering with existing external communication infrastructures.

Users who do not have an existing traditional phone system will only need to install a computer network.

Why an IP PBX Phone System Is Good for Businesses

For businesses that want business VoIP solutions, IP PBX systems decrease substantial maintenance costs and subsequently increase flexibility for growth and productivity.

Because the functionalities of this type of phone system is computer based, it's inexpensive and simple to integrate business application. For instance, outbound calls can be placed directly from Outlook so that users do not need to type in the phone number.

In addition, for large enterprises, it is recommended that the equipment is owned and operated. Despite ongoing maintenance costs, this option is advantageous for large businesses that want the call control to stay in the internal corporate network.

Features of an IP PBX Phone System

  • Call forwarding and voicemail
  • Call conferencing
  • Call queueing
  • Auto attendant
  • Interactive voice response (IVR)
  • Long distance and international calls
  • TTS/ASR (text to speech/automatic speech recognition)

Users can also plug phones into an Ethernet port to manage calls with a web-based configuration interface.

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