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A PBX, in contrast to a key system, employs an organizational numbering plan for its stations. at no additional cost. These systems are not comparable in size, robustness or flexibility to commercial-grade PBXs, but still provide many features.



Using the cloud has transformed many aspects of your business – hosted phone systems can also have a major impact. The earliest systems were known as wiring plans and simply consisted of telephone sets, keys, lamps, and wiring.



International calling Take your business worldwide, sign up for our Talk to the World plan with a low monthly fee per account. From the 1960s a simulated PBX known as Centrex provided similar features from the central telephone exchange.



In a world dominated by smartphones and tablets, businesses often forget to pay close attention to the phone systems they choose, thinking their mobiles will be able to cope. All you pay is a low monthly service fee plus toll free usage at the same low discounted per-minute rate. You can set up a hunt group within specific departments such as Sales, Support, and Accounting to ring all phones at once, or ring extensions in a specific order until the call is answered.

Initially, PBX systems offered the primary advantage of cost savings for internal phone calls: handling the circuit switching locally reduced charges for telephone service via central-office lines. As PBX systems gained popularity, they began to feature services not available in the public network, such as hunt groups, call forwarding, and extension dialing. You can set up a hunt group within specific departments such as Sales, Support, and Accounting to ring all phones at once, or ring extensions in a specific order until the call is answered. Whether you use a hosted system or your own on-site VoIP installation, assess your requirements and the robustness of the VoIP platform you're using to ensure it meets your precise needs. Learn more

Control your costs Get phone service with unlimited nationwide calling and predictable billing every month. Learn more

Key telephone systems are primarily defined by arrangements with individual line selection buttons for each available telephone line. Learn more Business Digital Voice Get over 30 features to help keep your business running more efficiently than ever over a secure VoIP network. Since introduction, updates and new offerings have moved feature sets in both directions. Give your customers a no-cost way to reach you, from anywhere in the U.S. Learn more Toll-free calling Get a new toll free number for your business and we'll waive the setup fee and the first 2 month's service fee. The reality is that just as you spend time carefully considering other key services for your business, choosing the right phones should also be an issue you explore thoroughly.

Hunt Groups A hunt group is a great way for a business to distribute incoming calls. With a key telephone system, a station user could control the connections directly using line buttons, which indicated the status of lines with built-in lamps.

Historically, the expense of full-fledged PBX systems has put them out of reach of small businesses and individuals. Modern number-analysis systems permit users to dial internal and external telephone numbers without special codes to distinguish the intended destination.

Features could be added or modified simply using software, allowing easy customization of these systems. Some PBX functions, such as follow-me calling, appeared in a hosted service before they became available in hardware PBX equipment. Sometimes known as hosted VoIP these systems deliver what is called Unified Communications, which Gartner defines as products (equipment, software and services) that "facilitate the interactive use of multiple enterprise communications methods."

The first hosted PBX services were feature-rich compared to most premises-based systems of the time. The stations were easier to maintain than the previous electromechanical key systems, as they used efficient LEDs instead of incandescent light bulbs for line status indication.

Thanks to the success of Skype, VoIP has become incredibly popular as a technology able to potentially slash call costs. A key telephone system was originally distinguished from a private branch exchange (PBX) in that it did not require an operator or attendant at the switchboard to establish connections between the central office trunks and stations, or between stations. Get Verizon reliability Stay connected to your customers  with our business phone service over Verizon's 99.9% reliable network.

A hunt group is a great way for a business to distribute incoming calls. Stay productive Get popular calling features, including call forwarding and voice mail, to keep your business moving. However, since the 1990s many small, consumer-grade and consumer-size PBXs have become available. It offers low international rates to more than 250 countries around the world, with 6-second billing after the first 18-seconds. It is possible to get hosted PBX services that include feature sets from minimal functionality to advanced feature combinations.

International calling Take your business worldwide, sign up for our Talk to the World plan with a low monthly fee per account. Technologically, private branch exchanges share lineage with central office telephone systems, and in larger or more complex systems, may rival a central office system in capacity and features. Usage charges apply. It offers low international rates to more than 250 countries around the world, with 6-second billing after the first 18-seconds. In addition, a dial plan determines whether additional digit sequences must be prefixed when dialing to obtain access to a central-office trunk. Unlimited nationwide calling Talk to people anywhere in the U.S.

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