Telephone Systems

IP telephony enables voice communication over internet protocol (IP) networks. It unites an organisation's many locations - including mobile workers - into a single converged network. It promises cost savings by combining voice and data on one network that can be centrally maintained, as well as by eliminating toll expenses for calls between locations.

IP telephony works by converting voice communications into data packets. Telephones are connected to data ports on the IP network. But the function of a telephone can easily be provided using a device that is already connected to the network - the PC.

Terms such as client-server telephony, telephony-enabled LAN, pure IP telephony, converged telephony, and LAN telephony all describe the same fundamental, distributed IP telephony architecture. Simply put, Solar supports both distributed (client-server) IP telephony and IP-enabled PBXs without forcing customers to compromise on either approach.

Instead of a separate, multi-line phone beside the PC at each desk, IP telephony allows software on the PC to serve as a "soft" phone. Software, unlike telephone hardware, is easily upgraded and enhanced, without work disruption, without equipment cost and without even visiting every desk.