Get Started With VOIP

Many of you are reluctant to start talking about VOIP, it’s new, it’s foreign and you maybe don’t understand how it all works.  It’s hard to get a solid price and you are not sure how to get started.

At Your Calgary IT Source we are looking to take the guesswork out of getting started with VOIP.

For one fixed price (starting @ $1049.00 plus GST) subject to the limitations that you can find on this page includes everything you need to get started with VOIP with the exception of the handsets and upgraded hardware that you may need depending on how we get your phone lines. Let me explain :

  • All services to implement your system including
  • procurement, initial configuration & setup of your PBX/Gateway
  • engineering and design services
  • phone handset programming
  • design of inbound and outbound call routing rules
  • onsite installation of handsets and the PBX / Gateway
  • user handset training
  • administrator back-end programming training (this training is basic only addressing logging in, navigation, and basic operations. There is a very detailed, well-written administration manual for the PBX which we will refer to for advanced operations)
  • lifetime email, ticket, and website FAQ support. For full disclosure what this means is that if you have a problem you will email us, open a ticket from our web site or browse/search our website based FAQs. If required we will contact you via return email or a ticket update with instructions on how to modify your installation or fix the problem you have. It will be your responsibility to make the changes to your system. Our SLA for email/ticket support is 24 hours meaning that we will respond to your ticket/email within 24 hours of receipt.
  • as an optional service we offer a full support program. With this optional service you may contact us by phone, email, or a ticket issued from our web site. We will respond within 4 business hours 90% of the time with either a very simple fix for you to implement or if you have given up prior permission and remote access is configured we will connect into your system and make the changes on your behalf.

The PBX that we are offering is the Grandstream UCM6202 Unified Communications PBX. This device supports up to 2 FXS ports (used to connect to a fax machine, POS terminal, or analog phone), 2 FXO ports used to connect to analog services from Shaw, Telus or others.

The PBX supports up to 500 registered SIP devices (handsets) and up to 50 concurrent VOIP calls, or up to 25 calls when encrypted. Standard call features including call park, call forward, call transfer, DND, ring/hunt groups, paging, intercom, multiple levels of attendants, detailed call queues, uploaded messages on hold, fax to email, call recording and voicemail to email functionality. We are confident that we are able to manage any call routing that you have in mind.

The only limitation we expect that you might run into would be a scenario where you have multiple analog lines from Shaw or Telus where either your lines are not eligible for conversion to VOIP (unlikely) or that you are on contract for your lines at a low cost and you don’t want to give them up. In this case you may have to upgrade the PBX to a larger model or we may be able to install a gateway device to manage these lines. In any case lets talk.

If the capital cost of your system is of concern we offer in conjunction with RCAP leasing (a division of RBC) two and three-year leases of the entire project. All of these leases have a purchase buy-out at the end of the lease for $10.00.

Please remember it costs nothing to talk. Give us a call and after a few minutes of conversation we will get you a 100% no-obligation proposal for your phone system.

We like to talk, we hope you do too.

Whats The Catch?

Unfortunately we cannot give you a fixed price for a VOIP system without some limitations. In order to qualify for this introductory price there are some configuration limitations.

  • The handsets and the PBX / Gateway must be installed in a single physical location. Multiple offices of course can be accommodated with a small price uplift depending upon the location.
  • Multiple operating companies do not qualify. If you are a two business office (insurance and registries for example) and you require different inbound or outbound call routing, different attendants, different schedules then you do not qualify. Our systems support exactly this but there will be an uplift for the additional programming.
  • Additional hardware for routers, switches, an upgraded PBX, POE injectors can be supplied and installed by Your Calgary IT Source and will be quoted at an additional cost.
  • Handsets are not included in the quoted prices. Handset prices vary from $100 to more than $400 each so the choice of the handset(s) will be added to the price. There is no additional cost for programming handsets even if different types of handsets are chosen. For example, in many instances we will have a large phone with many buttons for a reception location and then a small 4 button phone for many of the users. This reduces the overall cost of the system but provides the flexibility of choice.
  • The price is for service and installation in the metropolitan area of Calgary. We do not charge for travel time but only for travel expenses to remote locations. Travel expenses are billed at the current published rate for travel expenses by the Government of Alberta.
  • All handsets come with a 3m CAT6 patch cable and a power supply. Optionally depending on the model of handset chosen the handsets may be powered by POE. The customer is responsible for any extension cords, power bars, or other accommodations needed to power the handsets and the PBX / Gateway.

As a customer you have responsibilities as well with the system :

  • you will be required to run a SIP validation tool on your network and provide us with the printed results of the test, if your network does not meet the requirements of a SIP system then you will be required to make the changes to your network to ensure that your system is SIP compatible. We are fully able to provide these services to you at an additional cost.
  • you will be required to perform regular backups of your PBX / Gateway system and make those backups available to us if required to restore your system.
  • if you have implemented call recording and you wish to keep your recorded calls for a long term then you will also be required to manage the backups for your system
  • you must be able to reboot the PBX / Gateway when required, reboot or configure your network router if required and additionally reboot your handsets as required.

That’s really it. Not a long list is it?