Planning a trip to China? If your home plan doesn&#;t offer international roaming, you&#;ll need another solution.
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Here, we&#;ll cover everything you need to know about buying a SIM card in China. This includes how and where to buy one, and the options available.
We&#;ll also show you a smart way to pay for it, with the Wise card. It&#;s ideal for low cost spending and cash withdrawals in 150+ countries, including China.
Yes, anyone can buy a SIM card in China, and there are lots of different places to get them - we&#;ll run through these next. However, there are a couple of important things you need to know.
Firstly, your will need to be unlocked. Otherwise, no China mobile SIM card will work in it, whether you buy a prepaid SIM before leaving the US or buy one when landing in China.
You may also need to check with your mobile service provider that your will work with the 3G and 4G networks in China.
Lastly, you may need to provide your passport (or a photocopy of it) in order to buy or activate a Chinese SIM card. This is because the Chinese government requires real-name registration for anyone activating a SIM card.
You have a few different options for getting your hands on a SIM card for use in China. Let&#;s take a look:
You&#;ll find many options for prepaid SIM packages which work in China or across Asia, although many tend to be data-only.
Places to start your search include sites like Amazon, Simify or 3G Solutions. The latter is a local Chinese provider, which can deliver the SIM card to your hotel concierge or to the airport for a small shipping charge.¹ This means it&#;ll be ready for you on arrival in the country.
There are lots of places to pick up a SIM card in China. This includes:
If you&#;re staying in China for a while, it could be worth signing up for a plan with a Chinese cellular provider.
There are three major providers in China. These are China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile.
Of these, the best option for tourists, expats and foreigners is likely to be China Unicom. The network is compatible with more foreign phones, and it has packages designed just for travelers.
Here are just a few of the data plan options available to buy online (for delivery to mainland China) with China Unicom SIM card plans:²
- 10GB data - 20 CNY a month, $80 upfront
- 20GB data - 40 CNY a month, $100 upfront
- 30GB data - 60 CNY a month, $120 upfront.
You can also add an optional calls package to your plan if you wish.
When buying a prepaid China UN prepaid 3G or 4G SIM card, you&#;ll need to complete the registration process before you can place your order.
Don&#;t worry though - this is pretty simple. All you need to do is upload a copy of your passport, Chinese visa and entry stamp page before payment.²
Another option for using your in China is to buy an eSIM.
If you&#;ve not heard of this before, an eSIM is a relatively new concept. It&#;s a virtual SIM card inside your , that you can connect to any operator offering eSIM services. Essentially, it lets you use a new SIM in your without having to physically buy and insert a new SIM card.
In order to use an eSIM in China, you&#;ll need to check that your supports this technology.
If so, one of the best places to go for an eSIM is Airalo. It offers a choice of packages ranging from 1GB of data for 7 days, right through to 10 GB for 30 days. Prices range from just $5 through to $28.³
This can be one of the easiest ways to get your working in China. You can do everything online (or on the Airalo app), including buying, installing and activating your new eSIM.
Another option is Holafly. For $19, you&#;ll get 5 days of unlimited data and a VPN for unrestricted browsing. Packages go all the way up to $99 for unlimited data for 90 days, which is ideal if you&#;re planning an extended stay in China.&#;
Now we come to the all-important issue of cost. How much can you expect to pay for a SIM card in China?
Ultimately, it depends which option you go for. An eSIM card is probably the cheapest and easiest option for short trips, with options available from just $5 from the likes of Airalo. Although of course, this is only feasible if your is compatible with eSIM cards.
Prepaid SIM cards may cost a little more, especially if you need to pay both an upfront fee and a charge to top up with data. The most expensive option is likely to be a SIM card purchased at the airport, or one delivered to your hotel. However, you may consider it worth it for the convenience.
While you get your SIM card sorted, it&#;s also worth thinking about how you&#;ll cover your costs when in China.
The Wise card is the ideal choice for low-cost international spending, as it offers the following features:
The Wise card is available for a one-time fee of just $9 when you open a Wise Account. This account also lets you send money to and from China with low and transparent fees. And of course, you can use it to pay for your new SIM card.
Wise is a money service business, offering a multi-currency account, international money transfer services and a debit card.
Get a Wise Account today
Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing: Only Pay for What You Use for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information.
And there you go - all the essentials you need to know about buying a SIM card for China travel. We&#;ve covered the options available, from prepaid SIMs and plans right through to eSIMs.
It&#;s completely up to you whether you get organized and buy your SIM in advance, or wait until you arrive. But to avoid any delays, where you may not be able to use your , it could be a good idea to order your prepaid SIM before you arrive on Chinese soil.
And while you&#;re planning your trip, make sure to check out the Wise card. It&#;s a super convenient, low-cost way to spend in China, and for ATM withdrawals too.
Learn more about Wise
It all depends on what you&#;re looking for, as you&#;ll need to look at data, calls, price and duration when comparing China SIM card options. It&#;s also important to check whether Chinese SIMs will work in your .
A China SIM card will not work back home in the US, as the network won&#;t have coverage there. If you buy a prepaid SIM package, it&#;s likely to only cover certain regions (i.e. Asia).
So unfortunately, if you have data left on your China SIM card, you won&#;t be able to continue using it in the US when you return from your trip.
Sources used for this article:
Sources checked on 18-Jul-.
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
Updated by Jay Brant on February 26,
The VoIP System is the primary management solution for business communications today. The system can be located on-premise, hosted in the cloud, or you can use a hybrid solution. You can manage it yourself or subscribe to a service. And it can handle much more than just calls: video conferencing, intercoms, paging speakers, and more.
We understand how confusing it can be to shop for business technology: all the acronyms and strange words and multiple names for the same thing. This buyer&#;s guide helps you through the process of shopping for VoIP systems using non-technical language, empowering you to choose the correct solution for your business.
A VoIP system is the control center of modern telephony. Traditional calls run over wires and associated equipment. With VoIP, calls run over internet technology: Voice Over IP (Internet Protocol). In essence, a VoIP system is a set of hardware, software, and computer languages that replicate and expand on the functions of traditional telephony.
The new Yeastar P-Series PBX System is a cost-effective VoIP solution for SMBs with an elite price to performance ratio.
VoIP supports all the classic features you need like caller ID, call forwarding, and voicemail &#; plus a greatly expanded range of features, improved audio quality, mobile integration, and much more. It&#;s the difference between your old home and your smartphone.
VoIP doesn&#;t just mean calls on a desktop . The VoIP system can act as a hub for numerous communications devices, including intercoms, paging speakers, fax machines, and more. The VoIP system can include other communications experiences like video conferencing or workplace chat.
VoIP systems come in two basic varieties:
An on-premise VoIP system is owned and operated by your company. It can be a dedicated appliance or a server that runs the system software. A cloud VoIP system, on the other hand, is a service you subscribe to. The system is owned and operated by the company to which you&#;re subscribing. It&#;s the difference between watching a movie on a Blu-Ray you own vs streaming a movie on Netflix. Some companies use a hybrid VoIP system, which incorporates elements of both on-premise and cloud systems.
Both varieties often come as part of a larger communications ecosystem with other technologies like video conferencing, workplace chat, and so on. When the communications technologies are integrated into a single system, it&#;s called unified communications. Microsoft Teams, to take a popular example, is a unified communications service.
A VoIP system doesn&#;t only handle calls in the office. Modern VoIP systems offer mobile integration, so you can be reached at the same number on your office or on your smartphone. The same principle applies to split campuses or businesses with multiple locations: everyone can be on the same secure system.
One of the primary sources of confusion around VoIP systems comes from all the names. When you&#;re talking about on-premise systems, it&#;s not too bad. They&#;ll almost always be called VoIP systems, VoIP PBXs, IP systems, or IP PBXs.
&#;Cloud systems,&#; however, are very confusing. You might see them called hosted VoIP systems, virtual PBXs, business VoIP services, business systems ,or pretty much any combination of these. They might come packaged with other communications technologies as part of a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) bundle. Unfortunately, there are many more names than these that all refer to the same thing. Know this: if it&#;s VoIP and you subscribe to it, it&#;s a cloud system.
On-premise VoIP systems are called such because you own and operate them on location. They come in two basic varieties: physical and software.
Grandstream UCM is an on-premise VoIP system that supports 150 concurrent calls, p Full HD video conferencing, digital whiteboarding and more.
A physical on-premise system, often called an IP PBX, is a dedicated appliance with the system software preinstalled, guaranteeing compatibility between hardware and software, as well as professional performance because the appliance&#;s specs were chosen to run the system. It connects to the network via a standard Ethernet cable rather than using traditional cabling, streamlining your infrastructure. Think of an IP PBX as a server for your phones. It often has ports for bringing legacy equipment like analog phones, fax machines, or paging speakers into your VoIP system. We cover incorporating legacy equipment in detail below.
We sell on-premise VoIP systems from the leading manufacturers, including:
A software on-premise system is run on your own servers. Many companies now choose to use servers in the cloud, which is not the same thing as a cloud system. The difference between a software on-premise system and a cloud system is that you run the software yourself, even if your servers are in the cloud. A well-known example of a software IP PBX is 3CX.
For clear breakdowns of what on-premise system supports what feature, check out our VoIP Systems Comparison Charts.
Control. With on-premise systems, you own and operate the equipment yourself, so you can optimize the system to your business&#;s needs. You&#;re not reliant on another company who might change their service offerings or pricing schedules.
Long-term savings. On-premise systems typically have higher up-front costs because you have to purchase the equipment. In the long run, however, because you&#;re not paying for a monthly subscription, you will likely save money.
System efficiency. With cloud systems, you pay by the user regardless of how often they use their . However, not all users will be on the at the same time. In fact, a business often requires only about one-third as many lines as users. For example, a company with 30 employees might only need 10 lines, although how many lines are needed varies from company to company. In many everyday scenarios, then, it makes financial sense to have a system that supports 10 lines that can be used by everyone. In other words, you aren&#;t paying subscription fees for 20 excess lines &#; and you save a lot of money.
Up front costs. As we said above, on-premise systems often cost more up front than cloud systems. While this can be offset by long-term savings, if you can&#;t afford the equipment to begin with, you can&#;t afford it.
Updating technology. A cloud company will typically update their technology more often than your business will because their whole business is VoIP. This is not as damaging for VoIP systems as it may be, for example, for smartphones, because the technology doesn&#;t change nearly so fast. Still, it can be a long-term consideration.
Features. While on-premise systems offer exceptional feature-sets, it might be the case that they don&#;t offer as many features as you can access with cloud services, in particular if you&#;re interested in unified communications features. On the other hand, maybe your business doesn&#;t require every bell and every whistle.
Administration. While the ability to optimize a system is great, for some companies managing their own system is a hassle, or maybe they don&#;t employ someone with the know-how to setup and administrate the system. Cloud systems remove the responsibility.
VoIP systems, on-premise and cloud, are managed through your network. Management portals are often web clients that you access by entering the IP address of the VoIP system, like a Wi-Fi router. There might be desktop apps or mobile apps for controlling the system on the go.
While not the most eye-catching feature, the management portal is an essential advantage of a VoIP system over a traditional system, because you can manage the system from anywhere you have a secure internet connection. You can control every device on the system from one location: provisioning, troubleshooting, updating, adding or subtracting users, changing menus, and more.
Cloud VoIP systems are subscription services for business telephony. Unlike on-premise systems, you don&#;t control a cloud VoIP system directly. Instead, you connect to a service provider who handles all the backend. There are many cloud VoIP service providers out there. Some well-known platforms are Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Nextiva, RingCentral, OnSIP, 8x8, GoTo, and Google Voice by Google Workspace.
Most cloud service providers offer unified communications features, so you can integrate calls, video conferencing, workplace chat, digital whiteboarding, and more into the same system. What features and applications you get depends on what service and what tier of that service you subscribe to.
We know: there are a lot of cloud service providers on the market today. Unsure of which hosted VoIP service is best for your business? Get it touch! We offer cloud service consultations with our highly experienced, unbiased experts.
Simplicity. The primary advantage of cloud solutions is simplicity. You don&#;t have to worry about managing or upgrading the system. The service provider takes care of all that.
Unified communications. While many on-premise systems now support applications like video conferencing or digital whiteboarding, cloud systems tend to take the lead when it comes to integrating new modes of communications and collaboration with your system.
Advanced features. Because they can leverage greater resources to improve their communications technology than any but the largest enterprises, cloud service providers can offer advanced features. One example is using AI to provide intelligent chat with customers or automatic voicemail transcription.
Scalability. It&#;s simpler to scale cloud systems, because you&#;re paying by user. If you need to expand, you just add another subscription. On-premise systems have hard caps on how many users, lines, and calls can be supported at once.
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Pricing stability. On-premise systems require large initial costs. Cloud services offer lower initial costs, which can be an advantage when planning your budget.
Want to know more about video conferencing? We go deep in our Video Conferencing Buyer&#;s Guide.
One-size fits all. Cloud companies typically offer a choice of three or so tiers distinguished by features. Google Voice by Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), for example, offers Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, and Enterprise tiers. What if the tiers don&#;t align with your needs and budget?
Out-sourced management. For some businesses, not having to worry about managing the details of their system is a boon. Other businesses, however, prefer to control the whole stack. If you&#;re one of the latter, you&#;ll want a premise-based solution.
On-going subscription costs. Cloud-based solutions require you to subscribe to their services, which means on-going payments.
Just like there are Android and iOS smartphones and Windows or macOS computers, there are different versions of VoIP systems. The most widely used is SIP (Session Initiation Protocol).
SIP is an open-standard communications protocol that performs operations like initiating and ending calls, adding endpoints to the call, and so on. To learn more about SIP, see our blog, &#;What Is a SIP ? An Easy to Understand Explainer.&#;
Yealink T33G provides an entry-level, open SIP option with Smart Noise Filtering. Yealink is an industry leader in making SIP phones that work with a huge range of VoIP systems.
Because it&#;s an open standard, you have an extensive range of choice for both systems and endpoints, like how USB and Bluetooth work with all sorts of devices. You&#;re not locked into a single brand&#;s VoIP ecosystem. You can use any open SIP endpoint with any open SIP system, although not all features may be supported across every system as different vendors expand upon the basic SIP code. One feature to look for is auto-provisioning, which means the automatically configures itself with the VoIP system.
SIP systems can be free and open source, like FreeSWITCH and Asterisk, or not. Open-source VoIP systems can save you a lot of money but require technical expertise. You won&#;t have support beyond the system&#;s documentation, online forums, and related communities. Put short, we don&#;t recommend open-source systems unless you&#;re absolutely sure that your business can handle them.
To explain SIP trunks, we need to take a step back. The VoIP ecosystem is based on traditional telephony, in which a business or similar discrete location would have a private system for itself. The device that controls that private system is called a PBX (Private Branch Exchange), which is where IP PBX get its name. The PBX needs to connect to the larger network to make calls outside its private system. You&#;ll notice the word &#;branch&#; in PBX; the system uses tree terms as analogies for its different parts. The branch connects to a service provider via a trunk, which would be a group of physical lines. The service provider connects you to the public network.
In the same way, a SIP trunk connects your VoIP system to an Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP). Instead of requiring expensive, dedicated lines, you connect to the ITSP via a standard internet connection. The ITSP enables outbound and inbound calls over the public network.
SIP trunks are thus a convenient and cost-effective method for connecting your VoIP system to the public network. For a more complete explanation, see our blog, &#;SIP Trunking Explained Clearly.&#;
VoIP systems offer all the features of traditional telephony and much more. We&#;re going to cover some features that our customers ask about regularly:
Yes. Just like a smartphone does, a VoIP will display the caller ID when that information is available.
VoIP systems can make life much simpler for contact centers with features like auto-attendants, IVRs, call queues and ring groups.
Yes. Many VoIP systems support auto-attendants or IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menus. You know when you call a business and you navigate to the extension you want by pressing numbers? That&#;s an auto-attendant. When you call and navigate by speaking? That&#;s an IVR. They streamline inbound calls. Pro tip: Check how many layers of menus the system supports.
Most of them do, yes. Call queues organize inbound calls when every call agent is busy, so the calls are directed to open agents automatically. Ring groups organize which extensions receive inbound calls, making sure they are directed to the appropriate agents. Most VoIP systems support these features, but you&#;ll want to double check. They might be listed under call center features.
Yes. You can place or join a conference call with a VoIP , just like a traditional . In fact, some VoIP phones support conference calls with five or more parties, depending on the manufacturer and your system. If you want to know about VoIP conference phones, we cover them later.
Many VoIP systems support voicemail to . What this means is that the system will send the voicemail to your as an .mp3 or other audio file. Some systems now automatically transcribe your voicemail and the text to you with the audio file. Either option gives you a quick way to check your messages and an easy to search archive of your voicemails.
Sometimes. Some systems require additional licenses to enable certain features. For example, the system might require a license to enable call center functionality or to integrate your hotel&#;s system with a PMS (Property Management Software) system.
As we covered above, cloud systems offer features by tier, which isn&#;t quite the same thing as a license, but is something you need to answer: What tier covers all the features you need?
Yes. VoIP requires a stable network connection, which can be a physical Ethernet connection or a wireless Wi-Fi or cellular connection. There are two primary issues with using VoIP over Wi-Fi to watch out for: stability and security.
Yealink T57W is a wireless desktop VoIP with native Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support and Acoustic Shield noise reduction.
Ethernet provides a stabler connection than Wi-Fi, which is why it is preferred for real-time communication applications that require a lot of bandwidth, like video conferencing. A VoIP call doesn&#;t require nearly as much bandwidth as a video call, even with HD audio quality. But a VoIP call is a real-time application, so network buffering and other issues can be damaging. In other words, there&#;s a greater chance of disruption with Wi-Fi. However, if your wireless network is stable, there&#;s no reason not to use Wi-Fi.
The other issue with Wi-Fi is security. Make sure your office or home network is protected by a strong password and trustworthy encryption like WPA3. As so many experts emphasize, be careful when using public Wi-Fi. You don&#;t want to compromise your business communications security by using a dodgy public wireless network.
Because VoIP is essentially software and because you can run software on almost any device these days, your options for what device to use for business communications has been greatly expanded compared with traditional options. We cover here the following devices:
Poly VVX 350 offers HD Voice, Acoustic Fence, and Acoustic Clarity for incredible sound quality. It has two USB ports for using a USB headset and Wi-Fi or Bluetooth adapter.
The most familiar device for VoIP communications is the VoIP . A Desktop VoIP or IP is the most popular choice for VoIP in the office. Desktop phones have a keypad and handset interface like any traditional , with some models using a touchscreen interface like a tablet or smartphone rather than a keypad with physical buttons. Many workers prefer a VoIP due to familiarity: if it ain&#;t broke, don&#;t fix it.
While it looks traditional, it supports features beyond a traditional . There are a great many features we could list. For example, you can associate a single with multiple users who can sign in and out, carrying over their contacts, settings and so on. You can have a contact list running in the hundreds accessible at any time. You can move a to anywhere you have an internet connection and it will still be associated with the same user. These are just a few of the features.
Most VoIP phones offer HD audio, covering more of the audio spectrum than a traditional . HD audio means voices sound fuller, increasing comprehension. For hands-free communications, you can use a headset. Some phones support plug-and-play USB Headsets. Some phones support wireless Bluetooth Headsets, either using built-in Bluetooth or via a USB Bluetooth dongle.
Grandstream GRP supports zero-touch provisioning when used with a Grandstream VoIP System. It supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth natively and has an integrated sidecar for 8 extra quick action keys.
A VoIP needs to be provisioned for the VoIP system. Provisioning allows the system to recognize a specific , so it will send all traffic to the correct endpoint. A can be provisioned manually or automatically. Auto-provisioning means the system recognizes the once it is connected to the network. Manual provisioning requires the entering of information to properly register the with the system.
With a VoIP , you can use either Ethernet or Wi-Fi. When used via Ethernet, almost all VoIP phones support PoE (Power Over Ethernet), which means you can power the via the same Ethernet cable that connects it to the network by using a PoE switch or PoE injector, no power supply needed.
Using the via Wi-Fi means you can place the wherever is most convenient. Many home office and small business workers who use VoIP phones like Wi-Fi because they don&#;t need to worry about running Ethernet cable. As with Bluetooth, some phones support Wi-Fi natively and others have a USB port for using a Wi-Fi dongle.
Yes, but let us explain: a VoIP requires a VoIP system to work. You cannot take a VoIP , connect it to a jack or your Wi-Fi router and expect it to just work. It won&#;t. However, when you securely connect the VoIP to your business&#;s VoIP system, it will work just as well as if you were in the office. Just remember: to use a VoIP at home, it must be connected to a VoIP system.
Conference phones are classic pieces of business technology. They capture multiple voices on one end of a conversation more clearly than a desk &#;s handset or speakerphone. A conference typically has 360° audio pickup with background noise reduction for professional audio quality.
Poly Trio C60 gives you crystal clear audio with NoiseBlockAI and 360° audio pickup out to 20 feet. It supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth natively and can act as a video conferencing and content sharing hub.
A VoIP Conference or IP conference , like the VoIP phones we covered above, brings the classic device into the modern office. You get improved audio performance that takes advantage of technological advancements, including features like Poly&#;s NoiseBlockAI, which intelligently mutes the microphone when no one on your end is speaking to eliminate distractions.
One important feature of many VoIP conference phones is that they can also act as a control interface for meetings. You can setup, join, manage and exit group calls right from the conference . Some offer unified communications integration, so you can, for example, use it for professional audio on a video conference.
Do you need a physical desk for VoIP? No. You can also use a computer application that replicates the functions of the desk . This is called a softphone: a software . The application will typically replicate a similar interface with dialpad, contact list and so on.
Because computers have poor audio quality compared with phones, you will likely use a headset with the softphone. Headsets offer professional, hands-free audio. They also give you privacy and block noise, which can be important in the office or at home. Often, with softphones, you&#;ll use a USB headset, which offers plug-and-play connectivity: plug it into your computer and go.
Most modern VoIP systems offer mobile VoIP apps for Android and iOS that allow you to keep your business extension, contacts list and so on wherever you go. Importantly, you retain the information security that defines business-class systems.
You can integrate your intercom and paging systems with your VoIP system. This applies to both analog and IP models. We cover below how to integrate analog devices into a VoIP system. Using VoIP for intercom and paging provides the same quality of life improvements that it offers for telephony, including improved audio quality, simplified administration, centralized management, streamlined infrastructure and more.
2N Indoor View is a stylish VoIP intercom that features a 7-inch touchscreen and modern, tablet-like interface. You can view HD video to see who&#;s calling.
We&#;re using &#;intercoms&#; to mean all those devices that are used for installed point-to-point communications, including door phones, entry phones, gate phones and even emergency phones. They often include access control, like how you can let someone into the apartment building when they use the entry . Using VoIP for intercoms has several major advantages over traditional analog intercoms, on top of what we listed above.
Here are some examples. You can have mobile integration, so, for example, the apartment intercom will route to your smartphone and you can let in a guest from your rather than the physical intercom. Manufacturers like 2N and Fanvil are pushing the envelope, offering intercoms with touchscreen displays, which are simple to use and can display ambient information like the weather. They might connect via Wi-Fi, so you get flexible placement options and simplified infrastructure. If you get a VoIP video intercom, you might get much higher quality video than with a traditional CCTV video, like the difference between an old home camera and a smartphone video.
Algo is an 8-inch ceiling paging speaker with native SIP support and a built-in microphone. It meets NFPA 72 intelligibility requirements.
Paging or PA (Public Address) systems are designed for public broadcasting of audio in situations like background music in a grocery store, announcements in a school, commentators at a racetrack or alarms in a factory. VoIP paging manufacturers like Algo, CyberData or Viking offer paging speakers of all varieties, including speaker horns, drop-in ceiling speakers and more, as well as amplifiers, paging adapters, clocks, strobe lights and more. IP paging systems are much more scalable than traditional PA systems, because they don&#;t require dedicated cabling, and you can use network-attached amplifiers, which are much more flexible to install than traditional paging amps.
You can integrate your paging system with your VoIP system, which offers numerous advantages. Here are few examples. Zone paging means you send broadcasts to one section, say the gymnasium, and not to another, say the cafeteria or classrooms. Traditional PA systems support zone paging, but it is difficult to set up and rather inflexible once set, because they&#;re based on physical devices and cabling. VoIP PA systems offer dynamic, software-based zone paging, where you can change the zones according to your current needs. Another quality-of-life improvement is that you&#;ll never have to worry about setting the time. IP systems use NTP (Network Time Protocol), which automatically keeps it up to date, including daylight saving time.
You can also bring existing analog intercoms and analog paging speakers into your VoIP system, as we&#;ll cover right now.
For an expert deep-dive into the world of VoIP phones, check out the VoIP Phones Buyer&#;s Guide.
If you have existing analog or digital devices, do you have to replace them to migrate to VoIP? No. You can use a VoIP Gateway or ATA (Analog Adapter). Gateways and ATAs are functionally the same thing: they both translate analog or digital signals into VoIP traffic and back. For paging systems, there are SIP paging adapters, which bring analog speakers into the VoIP system. In addition, many on-premise VoIP systems have ports for connecting analog or digital devices.
Grandstream HT812 is a 2-port ATA with a built-in NAT router for enterprise-class security.
Let&#;s explain using a standard business as an example. A small office has 20 phones for its workers. To replace all of them would be a sizeable expense, so instead of replacing them, they connect the phones to ATAs, which connect the phones to their VoIP system. The phones are now VoIP endpoints.
The business has gained centralized management and streamlined infrastructure with the inherent cost savings for calls that VoIP offers. They also have future-proofed their system against the inevitable disappearance of the old public system. The phones won&#;t have every feature available to a native VoIP because as physical devices they don&#;t support them, but they will be functional phones managed through the VoIP system.
The same principle applies to intercoms, paging speakers, fax machines and other analog and digital devices.
Yes. Remote workers are increasingly common for modern businesses. Whether they work from the home office or coffee shops around the world, remote workers need to be integrated into a professional communications system. This extends to VoIP.
By using your VoIP system, remote workers are able to fully participate in workplace collaboration, provide a business-class experience for customers and more. They will have all their contacts, be able to view their coworkers&#; presence status and so on.
Most modern VoIP systems, on-premise and cloud, offer apps for Android and iOS smartphones. For computers, most offer apps or web clients, which will securely connect to the VoIP system.
The same concept of integrating remote workers applies to businesses with multiple locations or split campuses. For example, the marketing team might work downtown while the call center works in the suburbs, or home office might be in California with branch offices in Colorado, Kansas and Connecticut. A traditional system, which is based on dedicated, physical cables and devices, would treat these as separate locations. They would be on separate systems.
Due to the decentralized networking possibilities of internet, VoIP enables all the locations to be on the same system, as if everyone, wherever they are in the world, is in one office.
Microsoft Teams is so popular we thought it&#;d be a good idea to cover this question here. Here&#;s the answer: Yes, but not just any . We&#;ll explain.
Teams is a popular business collaboration platform that&#;s part of the Microsoft 365 suite, which also includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive and Outlook. Begun as a workplace chat application, Teams now has folded into it the system functionality previously performed by Skype for Business and Microsoft Lync.
Poly CCX 600 provides a native Microsoft Teams experience with 7-inch touchscreen, exceptional audio performance and integrated support for Bluetooth and USB headsets.
Microsoft has worked with leading manufacturers of VoIP devices to produce phones, headsets and video conferencing equipment that are certified to work with Microsoft Teams. Poly, Yealink and AudioCodes make Microsoft Teams Certified VoIP Phones. These phones automatically integrate with Teams. You simply sign into your account on the like the Teams computer and smartphone apps.
To qualify for certification, the phones need to meet certain requirements. Here are some of the requirements. They must have a dedicated Teams button, which launches the service so you can check messages, answer calls, join meetings and so on with just one touch. They must offer a high level of audio performance, so you&#;ll know your calls are of a professional standard. They must display your Teams calendar, contacts, voicemail and call history. They must have certain accessibility features and E911 support.
Yes. For more on using SIP phones with Microsoft Teams, check out our blog, &#;Can You Use SIP Phones with Microsoft Teams?&#;
Both Skype for Business and Microsoft Lync have been or are being phased out. All their functionality has been migrated to Teams. Microsoft has said that Skype for Business phones will be supported beyond , so you can continue to use them for years to come. While it&#;s unfortunate news if your business has invested in Skype for Business or Microsoft Lync technology, the reality is that you will at some point need to migrate.
Let&#;s summarize what we&#;ve covered. Here are ten advantages that migrating to a VoIP system can offer your business:
If you have any questions or for additional help, please contact us at 888.201. or us at . We offer expert remote tech support to help you deploy your VoIP system and achieve truly business-class communications.
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