Vendors will say that 70 percent of their phone systems are IP but they aren't always telling the whole truth, says Paul Scanlan, managing director at IPL Communications.
Companies that buy a new PBX for an environment of TDM and IP handsets can later find that the PBX cannot take advantage of all the IP features. This is because some PBXs in the IP category are built on TDM technology and have limited, optional support for IP.
Scanlan claims a hybrid approach around an IP PBX is still more cost effective than rolling out an IP-only system.
"A lot of the software is available on both systems so the end user is getting full feature sets on hybrid and IP systems. The price of systems has come down quite dramatically and a lot of that advantage that IP had has been diluted by some pretty powerful hybrid systems," he says.
"You can start TDM and as your business develops you can attach IP. To the end user they don't care."
IPL Communications sells IP-only PBXs and hybrid systems; most vendors market both. It also sells analogue TDM systems to price-conscious customers. "They just want a box on the wall with a few handsets and they want it nice and cheap," Scanlan says.
He estimates that 60 percent of PBXs sold by the distributor were IP with TDM inputs, a quarter were TDM-only and 15 percent IP-only.
But the major carriers still dissuade their SMB customers from IP solutions, Touzeau says. He says Telstra still talks down IP telephony for supposedly offering lower voice quality. ISPs can run IP phone systems with the same redundancy and uptime as a TDM network, Touzeau says.
The carriers' trash talk has an effect on perceived legitimacy. Touzeau says many SMBs say that until IP telephony is available through Telstra or Optus, it won't be widely accepted as a medium.
"When the carriers release their products you'll open up a much more competitive environment where people will be more comfortable running their traffic over the internet," Touzeau says.
Next: IP only, thanks
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