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With the roll out of the National Broadband Network continuing many Small Business Owners will be wondering how they connect their current Phone Systems to the NBN and keep their phone numbers.
There will be several options to connect multiple lines to the NBN. (remembering they wont really be lines any more, they will be like ISDN and be called channels as there wont be physical lines).
If you have an existing Phone System you will need to contact your supplier and establish if the system is IP or VoIP compatible. They should be able to advise you over the phone but if the original Phone System supplier is not available then a site visit may be required to assess your system.
If it is immediately compatible you may need to pay licensing fees to have the system opened up to suit IP telephony.
If the Phone System is not IP compatible, then the supplier will establish with you if the Phone System can accept adapters to the input Ports, that will allow it to connect over the NBN. Adapters will connect to your Phone System and allow you to run calls over what is essentially a VoIP connection.
If Option 1 and 2 are not feasible then the Small Business Owner will need to consider buying a new phone system and Hosted Voice NBN Phone systems are the the most suitable and typically the most affordable solutions.
In short the answer is yes! The numbers will need to be ported off the Telstra copper and onto the NBN Phone service providers platform. The good news is that you only really need to move your advertised numbers. If you have a Inbound 1300/800 number all the better as no number portability will be needed. Porting can take up to 4 weeks so careful timing is needed to ensure you are not with out service for any extended period. Most carriers are charging around $100 per number for porting so there is no real point in porting all of your numbers unless absolutely vital you do so.
The other advantage with moving your numbers will mean portability. If you need to the Phone System … eg to another suburb at the end of your lease, you wont need to arrange to get numbers diverted or redirected…the numbers will come with you to the new premises. You can even take a NBN Phone handset with you to another country and make calls (as long as you have a decent internet connection) as if you were still in the office.
Heres a Video on the NBN for Business which provides more detail.
If you need more info on the NBN roll out CLICK here.
