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COMMS NEWS Spring 2008

Welcome to the Spring edition of Comms News. We have certainly seen some unprecedented volatility in the global stock markets since the beginning of the year which is creating a lot of uncertainty in the business world. Regardless of what is happening in these unsettling times, companies still want to keep their communication solutions up to date and ensure that they are taking advantage of the latest technologies. We continue to offer these solutions and associated cost savings for hundreds of satisfied customers which can only help in these trying times when a company needs to stand out amongst the crowd to get the business. Please make contact if there is any information we can provide for assessing if your communications are up to scratch.

For the moment I hope you find some useful information amongst this month’s newsletter.

Yours truly,

Mark Wilson
Managing Director

BT Withdraw TCD – Act of God

BT has withdrawn their TCD (Temporary Call Diversion) or Act of God service meaning they will no longer divert calls other than when there is a fault on the line. If it is important to have resilience options in place in case of floods, power cuts etc. then you should subscribe to ‘Site Assurance’. This will direct all incoming calls to a single pre-arranged number under any circumstances. The diversion can typically be put in place within thirty minutes. The cost is £2.50 per channel per month plus the cost of the diverted calls.

Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC)

Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is set to transform the telecommunications industry over the next five years as 20 million of us subscribe to the communications technology by 2010, according to research from Analysys.
Using FMC for voice communications developed into an influential trend during 2005 and this is set to increase as the UK's mobile operators and landline telecoms firms compete to retain control of a technology which combines the two fields.

Fixed-mobile convergence allows subscribers to use one handset and telephone number to make calls via their landline when in range, but then to be able to roam using the wider mobile network. Such a telephony solution would benefit small business users in a number of ways.

• One phone number allows for flexibility and mobility while working, as a user can be reached by fellow staff and customers as simply as if they were in the office.

• One phone book and voicemail service means customer details and interactions are always on hand.

• One phone bill means communications costs are simplified and more convenient.

• Reduced costs as calls made in the office are routed via a broadband connection.

Although this technology is still in its early stages, the potential convenience and financial benefits for both businesses and operators mean that having one handset both when at base and roaming looks set to become the norm.

Why Businesses Lease Finance

Business customers are faced with three choices when buying equipment. Do they pay using their own cash, with a loan or should they lease?

The Key benefits of Leasing:

Minimal Down Payment – Most businesses earn revenue over time, but have to pay for equipment up-front, in one go. Why pay out in one lump sum when with leasing you can pay a small amount every month/quarter? Businesses prefer to pay as they use!

Cash – Cash is king and it makes sense to use it for expansion or critical business needs. Leasing for office technology preserves precious cash.

Tax Advantages – Leasing is 100% tax allowable and can effectively be self-financing.

Preserving Credit Lines – We offer leasing from just £500 upwards. Preserve your precious existing bank lines and optimise your use of commercial credit sources.

Technology Upgrades – Leasing allows you to take advantage of technology improvements. With our lease finance you can upgrade your equipment regularly at a reasonable cost without having to worry about disposing of your depreciated older technology.

Flexible Payment Terms – Businesses can choose the payment period ranging from 1 to 5 years, depending on the equipment and your preference.

Leasing ultimately enables you to equip your business today at an affordable fixed monthly or quarterly cost leaving working capital free to develop your business tomorrow.

SIP – The New ISDN

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is spilt in to three different yet over lapping technologies; Voice, Text and Video. The G3 mobile network is built on SIP protocols. You may have heard of presence, as in best method of contacting some one, either by voice, text or e-mail, this is also based on SIP, this is an enterprise application which will rapidly move into the SME market. Companies such as Microsoft have been actively using SIP as a protocol for a range of applications such as unified communications server.

For voice you can use SIP Trunks or SIP Clients; a SIP Trunk connects to telephone system and a SIP Client is for use by a single SIP Phone.

A SIP Trunk is the equivalent of an ISDN channel, depending on your telephony equipment you can mix and match the amount of SIP Trunks and ISDN Trunks. Unlike ISDN you can port existing UK numbers (great if you are moving to a different BT exchange area) and can add as many numbers as you want.

SIP trunks either require a SIP enabled telephone system (e.g. Siemens OpenOffice or HiPath 3000 fitted with HG1500 card) or you can use a SIP Gateway connected to spare ISDN2 or ISDN30 ports. You also require a suitable dedicated quality broadband service. A SIP Phone for a home worker can usually function adequately on an existing broadband service.

SIP trunks or clients cost £6 each per month.

Phone Conversation Recording

If you take business over the phone or provide advice then you may find it expedient to introduce conversation recording to avoid disagreements as to what was said.

The simplest form of recording is line side where a device is connected directly to the lines to record all conversations in and out. Recording is usually direct to a dedicated PC.

A four channel ISDN2 recorder starts at £2000 and an eight channel ISDN30 recorder at £3750.

Siemens Half Price Upgrade

Existing users of Siemens Hicom OfficePro or HiPath 3750 systems can take advantage of special Siemens pricing on upgrading to a HiPath 3800 system. The upgrade pack includes ISDN30, voicemail, IP card and analogue and digital extension cards and provides a £10,000 saving compared to normal list prices.

Call us for details and a quote.

Customer News

Spectrum Interactive, leading operator of Internet desks, WiFi hotspots and payphones, now has a Siemens HiPath 3800 with CallView call centre software.

Commercial property company Ferrari Dewe has installed the Nortel BCM50 with a LAN CTE client to create dialling out from Outlook on the PC. Also two remote workers are connected via IP Phones.

Consulting Actuaries Barnett Waddingham LLP have upgraded their Cheltenham office to a Siemens HiPath 3800 to provide increased capacity, voicemail with e-mail integration and system management over their WAN.

DATASHARP TELECOM (Chiltern)
Linton House, The Rowans,
Gerrards Cross, Bucks SL9 8SE
Tel: 0845 270 0807
Fax: 0845 270 0809
Email: info@ds-telecom.co.uk
Web: www.ds-telecom.co.uk

'Datasharp are very professional with a great knowledge of their products and services.'

- Bob French

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