Background
AastraLink Pro 160 is a newer phone system, it came out in May 2008. Aastra however has been around since the 80s, making it a safe bet for long term support. The system is based off the open-source Asterisk platform, but with a simplified configuration interface and some beneficial new features. We’re using the 1.21 software which is based on the Asterisk 1.4 release.

Hardware
The AastraLink Pro 160 hardware is quite impressive for the price. Its enclosed in a metal case with hardware included for desk, wall, or rack mounting. The system has 6 PSTN phone line ports, two analog extension ports, a LAN port, WAN port (currently unused), audio in jack for music on hold, audio out for paging, and relay connectors for door controls. On the front is an ample 1GB flash drive for voicemail storage. The AastraLink Pro 160 only supports Aastra IP phones as primary extensions - an extension can however have a secondary handset of any make, so you can use a softphone on the road.

General Features
The AastraLink Pro 160 has the standard feature set I’d expect of a modern PBX. The system has one auto-attendant with day/night mode routing - though I’d like to see multiple. The system supports intercom, handset paging by group, and overhead paging. Standard call routing like transfers, park, etc are all there. I was even happily surprised to find not just 3 way conferencing but impromptu conference rooms of greater capacity.

Voicemail
The voicemail is quite impressive - there’s more ways to access voicemail on the AastraLink Pro 160 than any small business phone system I’ve seen. The traditional method of listening from your desk phone or calling in from cell works as expected. One of the more advanced methods is “visual voicemail” where you can see the inbox from your phone’s screen and play/save/delete from the screen - this is best from the 6755i and 6757i as they have large screens. Voicemail can also be accessed from the user web portal or voicemail to email.

VoIP
Also impressive for the price is the VoIP capabilities - it supports SIP phone lines, multisite dialing (calling between offices), and teleworker (remote IP phones). These features work well but are a bit basic in implementation - there’s no least cost routing to pick local or VoIP line automatically based on cost and the VoIP lines have a different dial prefix (8 for VoIP, 9 for PSTN) - other systems more smoothly integrate VoIP and PSTN. Site to site calling is dialed by the prefix 7, the site code, and the destination extension - so 72218 would dial extension 218 at site 2. Other systems like the Allworx do this easier - just dial the destination extension.

Call Routing
One of the major jobs of a phone system is call routing. The AastraLink Pro 160 has an okay but not great set of options. The standards are there plus find-me-follow me and direct inward dial on SIP lines. What’s lacking is making a group cascade - say first two rings go do Tom and Valerie, but the next two rings you add in Bob and Susan - and integrating cell phones into a ring group isn’t possible. What’s most surprising is extension call routing can’t be changed by day/night mode, the only thing that changes is the autoattendant greeting. Call queueing and round robin ACD aren’t available, though I wouldn’t consider them must have features for a system of this capacity and price point. Bottom line is many small businesses will be okay with the capabilities but some will find it lacking.

Capacity
One of the main limitations to the AastraLink Pro 160 is the CPU - while the system has a hard-coded cap of 50 extensions, the CPU will only support 12 host routed sessions. That means 12 simultaneous SIP trunks, multi-site calls, conference calls, voicemail access, or auto-attendant use. Heavy phone use offices of a moderate size will overwhelm the system, but for small offices or large offices with light use it will be fine.

User Web Interface
Each user has access to a web portal to control their own settings. Users can enable/disable do-not-disturb, forwarding and find-me-follow-me, see their call list, manage voicemail, modify the directory, and even change phone button configuration on their extension. The interface is quite easy to use and is a boon as it reduces dependance on technical staff for common changes.

Issues
My biggest knocks on the AastraLink Pro 160 are refinement issues due to its newness - I found two bugs in my first day of testing, along with a few typos. All were reported to Aastra support - one resolved, the other is being addressed by development. The installation manual is fairly through but I couldn’t help sometimes not understanding the implications of some features or and even found some items missing from the manual - for example does “lock service admin” disable that account, prevent changes, or something else entirely? My biggest hope is they introduce inline support into the web interface.

The teleworker support (having remote IP phones) isn’t the easiest setup I’ve seen. It wants specific model uPNP routers on both ends, or manual port forwarding - most systems just require that on the PBX end.

Bottom Line
Overall I like the AastraLink Pro 160, though its definitely not a fit for every small business. If it works for your business needs its certainly a great value - its by no means as capable as an Allworx 6x, but at just $999 some businesses won’t mind.

The GN1900 is clearly well designed and built, though definitely minimalist compared to their higher end units. I found the unit extremely comfortable to wear - its exceptionally lightweight, you can easily forget you have it on. The headset features noise cancellation, the feedback I received was the GN1900 clearly sounded better compared to another common budget headset.

The GN1900 uses the QD (quick disconnect) plug, most modern phones feature a dedicated RJ9 headset jack, my preference is the GN1200 direct connect cable to connect the headset to the phone. The GN1200 is a thumb-sized adapter which is compatible with nearly all modern desk phones - no more need for separate amplifier boxes.

I’m not sure if the packaging is intentionally green but I was pleased it was packed in a properly sized unbleached corrugated box, just enough bubble wrap to surround the headset, and one page of documentation. The GN1900 wasn’t designed for retail shelves, rather they sell through distribution in 24 packs to phone vendors - your local phone guy is the best way to get a few. Expect to pay ~$100 for a monaural headset with direct connect cable, a binaural headset is available for a bit more.

VoIP quality services like VisualWare VoIP test are great, but only helpful for consistently bad connections. In many cases the quality can fluctuate which requires consistent monitoring to diagnose.

VoIP Spear is an amazing tool as it requires no client-side software installation and runs quality tests every 5 minutes from a west coast, central, and east coast server. The results can be displayed in a table or easy to understand charts.

So far VoIP Spear helped us isolate an inconsistent ISP connection. When we tested with VisualWare we got great scores because it was only sometimes problematic. Having VoIP Spear run tests every 5 minutes gave us results we could take to the ISP.

VoIP Spear has a free account option for a single endpoint, as well as affordable packages for multiple endpoints.

VoIP Spear example result

What you may not know is many PRI services like Qwest OneFlex is they use IP voice (VoIP) to deliver service - then use a converter to make it PRI compatible. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but PRI converters and PRI cards for your phone system cost money - and its money you don’t need to spend.

You may be wondering if this is VoIP like Vonage or MagicJack but that’s completely different. Consumer VoIP services go across the public internet with no controls over voice quality. Business VoIP services go across private carrier networks with strict controls over voice quality.

With an Allworx 6x phone system we can connect directly to the native IP voice service without PRI converters or PRI cards. This is a huge advantage for a business looking at purchasing a new phone system - eliminating the need for a PRI card will save on average $1000-2000. This benefits monthly cost as well - depending on location we’ve been able to get SIP/T1 service for under $400/mo, far less than Dynamic Integrated PRI services.

Few small business phone systems have offered high quality cordless handsets at a reasonable price. Furthermore cordless handsets have often suffered with lower call quality, interference, and poor battery life.

This is why the introduction of the Talkswitch TS-850i a big breakthrough for the market. The 850i uses the DECT6 protocol which delivers great sound quality and avoids interference. Plus the handsets deliver 8 hours of talk time and 240 hours of standby - plenty for even the busiest day at work.

While this phone is brand new, I’m happy to say that I’m not getting my information from the press releases - I’ve been a beta tester for a few months.

The Package
The 850i is a three part system - base station, handset, and charging cradle for $299. The base station generally gets installed with the phone system or in a central location for best range. Each base can support up to 8 handsets, so most small businesses will need just one or two bases - but the system scales to five bases (40 handsets). Additional handsets with charging cradles are $149.

The Physical Handset
One of the nice things about the 850i is its comfortable to hold. Many cordless phones have followed the cell phone “thinner is better” approach only to lead to handsets that are uncomfortable to hold over a long period. The 850i has a good size and curved backside which I’ve found very comfortable to hold. The handset can stand upright on its own, making it easy to grab when it rings. I know this may sound trivial, but trust me, you’ll come to appreciate it after time with other handsets.

Handset battery life is 8 hours of talk time, 240 hours of standby - I end up charging the handset once or twice a week. A pleasant surprise is the 850i uses standard NiMH AA rechargeable batteries instead of proprietary battery packs - replacement batteries are available at nearly any electronics store.

The 850i also includes a belt clip and has a 2.5mm (cell phone style) headset jack - making it ideal for handsfree use. The speakerphone function is surprisingly high quality - I’ve had no problem carrying on long conversations over speakerphone.

Features
The 850i is designed specifically for the Talkswitch phone system, making it is nicely integrated with the phone system features. Common features like call transfer, hold, and 3 way conference are all just a button press away. Voicemail alerts show up both on screen and via a flashing light on top of the handset.

The handset features a 170 entry phone book and call log of incoming, outgoing, and missed calls - allowing for easy redial.

Ideal Uses
So far our most interested customers have been medical offices but I see many uses. Retail stores and warehouses can both benefit from cordless handsets. One of the most interesting applications is in job trailers - the 850i base with a VoIP enabled Talkswitch can go outside a business’s main office and be placed anywhere with an internet connection. This means job trailers don’t need their own phone lines, making job setup and teardown easier. For contractors this makes communication easier, faster, and cheaper between the office and job sites.

Bottom Line
For businesses looking for more than just a basic cordless phone system, the Talkswitch offers a full phone system feature set along with any combination of desk and cordless handsets. This flexility and power makes the Talkswitch and 850i unique in the small business phone system industry. Given this and the excellent price point I’m certain the 850i will be a popular option.

What I’ve found is while many businesses want the new underlying features (VoIP lines, telecommuter support, cell phone integration, email integration) they often don’t want to learn the PBX model when they’ve spent years or decades with KSUs. The PBX model scales better and is the modern approach, so most modern phone systems follow it. But there’s nothing wrong with the KSU model for small businesses.

I’ve realized one of the great strengths of the Talkswitch and Allworx phone systems over many competitors is both support KSU and PBX modes. For example a recent business had old GE 4 line KSU style phones - the owner had used KSU phones for decades and wanted the new phones to work similarly. At the same time they wanted more - an autoattendant, voicemail to email, follow me routing to cell phones, and generally better voicemail notification. By putting in a Talkswitch with 9133i phones they kept their 4 line KSU model while gaining all the new abilities of a modern IP PBX.

The first irony is Verizon itself offers VoIP services, so one would figure VoIP wasn’t intrinsically bad. The issue is VoIP isn’t all the same, VoIP across the public internet (MagicJack, Packet8, Vonage) has given the technology a bad name. The fact is the internet was just never designed for voice traffic and many cheap providers cut corners.

Making VoIP work is all about control - ensuring the voice data gets through from one end to the other reliably and promptly. Comcast Business controls the voice traffic end to end over their private network, meaning it isn’t prone to the quality problems that plague other VoIP services. The way I look at it is Comcast Digital Voice is phone service (with unlimited long distance) over a digital circuit rather than the traditional analog copper circuit.

As for voice quality a study by Keynote found that Comcast phone actually had significantly better audio quality than PSTN phone service - and I’d agree with those findings. Traditional analog copper lines like those of Qwest and Verizon are low fidelity and can pick up noise from many sources. A digital delivery like Comcast is simply much clearer - like comparing CD (digital) to cassette (analog).

The other irony is the client spent over an hour waiting on hold to talk to Verizon business support - I’ve never spent more than a few minutes waiting to talk to Comcast Business support.

Given that Comcast Business lines with unlimited long distance costs about the same or less than a Qwest or Verizon line before long distance charges, its easy to see why they’re gaining market.

Comcast as of December 2008 upgraded service levels for many markets, Western Washington included. At no extra charge my service was upgraded to the new 12/2Mb tier (12 down, 2 up) service - about twice as fast as before. The service in testing actually performs better - about 15/2.4Mb. Service is now available up to an amazing 50/10Mb - far outpacing DSL. Even more important is regardless of day or time its been absolutely consistent.

I’ve also found that Comcast Business keeps a separate support team than residential service. I’ve called twice in the last year and got prompt and effective support. The only downside for the average small business is availability - Comcast doesn’t have coverage in many office buildings. But for those who have coverage, I’d recommend Comcast Business Internet highly.

Faith in Action was our first non-profit under the program, they’re a Sammamish based organization helping seniors live independently by providing volunteer support for transportation, keeping up their homes, etc.

When moving into their new office space they needed a small phone system, the Talkswitch 240vs was a perfect fit for just $695. Along with some used phones and discounted installation we got them up and running quickly and easily.

We’re looking for more “public good” non-profits to help. Though we can’t give away the equipment, we’ve offering some nicely discounted bundles to make the upgrade easier. To see if your organization qualifies please contact us.

A modern IP PBX (phone system) can help weather the storm, pardon the pun. For example one of our customers we remotely set their system to forward to the answering service to ensure they don’t miss calls while staff is out.

Other companies with remote IP phones are able to let staff stay home while still making and receiving calls as though they were in the office.

Usually we focus on the cost saving and ease of use advantages of IP Phone Systems, but on weeks like these - its easy to see they help with bad weather situations as well.