What is META’s Hosted Voice Service?
META’s hosted VoIP unified communication system is an enterprise grade Cisco™ VoIP system that brings the latest in IP telephony technologies and ease of management to your school or business.
With a hosted Cisco™ unified communication system, you are free from the worries that plague a typical phone system. Using VoIP services, you can eliminate the majority of your current PRI/POTS line expenses. All servers required for your system will be housed at META’s data center, where they are maintained by trained professionals and monitored around the clock.
The Cisco™ VoIP product line includes basic handsets all the way through attendant consoles and Bluetooth enabled wireless video phones. Features also include Voicemail to Email, Visual Voicemail, Video and WebEx.
In addition, META offers a hosted IP Clock/PA system that ties in with the VoIP system to bring you a fully unified communications platform. We can integrate with most SIP based devices, so the possibilities are endless.
If selected as your VoIP solution provider, META will engineer your service according to your school’s/business’ individual needs and expectations including the following: Redundant Call Managers will be deployed, and Unity servers will be configured for voicemail. A local voice gateway will be installed in each building to handle failover, and POTS lines will be patched in to allow for outgoing calling to take place during an ISP outage. Configuration and management of all call routing and user settings will be implemented, as you desire, and maintained by META staff. In addition, at your request, we can train your staff to perform basic adds and changes. Your existing phone numbers will be ported with the exception of any POTS lines that are used for fire alarms and/or elevators. Installation service can be turn-key, or if you prefer, to reduce costs, your staff can be involved in placing/connecting and provisioning handsets.
An alternative cloud-hosted VoIP solution is also available, if desired. Please reach out to META’s VoIP team for more information about this solution.
Common Voice Over IP (VoIP) Technology
To help you understand META’s Hosted Voice over IP Service a little better, please look through the glossary of terms below:
VoIP – Voice Over IP – This type of phone system uses the same network that already exists in your building for internet access to provide phone services as well.
DID – Direct-Inward-Dial – This is a public accessible phone number that anybody can call to reach a specific phone. This is also referred to as a Personal Telephone Number.
PRI – Primary Rate Interface – This is a digital form of a phone line. In fact, it can represent a total of 23 simultaneous calls over a single circuit from your telephone company.
SIP Trunk – A SIP Trunk is a virtual phone line that uses a data circuit to deliver dial tone instead of an old phone line or even a PRI. SIP Trunks can scale to unlimited simultaneous calls.
Why Should I Choose META’s Hosted Voice Service?
Simplicity and Hands-Off Support
META will take care of your entire phone system so that it’s hands off to your school or business. Your technology department can reach META’s VoIP team for support any time via telephone, email, or helpdesk for requests.
Pricing Information
Pricing for META’s Hosted Voice Service is determined on a case-by-case basis. META will work with you to determine your specific needs, which will also include a site-survey. A discovery call with the META VoIP team is required to obtain the necessary information to provide a final formal quote.
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META offers both purchasing and leasing options.
The monthly recurring cost includes the following:
- Installation and configuration of Call Manager and all necessary hardware, including but not limited to phones, faxes, and voice gateways.
- Ongoing support and maintenance of all devices mentioned above and Call Manager for the duration of the contract.
The monthly recurring cost DOES NOT include the following:
- Cost of the initial site-survey.
- Any wiring needed from distribution closets to locations of the phones.
- Power over Ethernet switches needed to connect and power the phones.
Implementation Expectations
META understands your needs and expectations and has implemented the process below to make your VoIP project transition as seamless as possible.
- META will schedule a discovery call with your Technology Coordinator or project lead. A questionnaire will be requested, prior to the call, to assist with the basic survey needs. The discovery call is required to obtain the necessary information to provide a formal quote.
- META will prepare a formal quote for your school or business. This quote will indicate the installation cost, equipment/licensing cost, and monthly cost.
- Ethernet wiring must be in place from your wiring closets to the locations where the phones will be installed prior to META’s hosted VoIP solution installation. META can assist your school/business with networking contractors to complete the work, at the school’s/business’ expense.
- There must be sufficient PoE (Power over Ethernet) network switches in your wiring closets to connect and power the phones. META will include this in the formal quote, if required. Power adapters for phones can also be purchased if PoE network switches are not available.
- META will schedule an installation date, based on your availability, once wiring is in place. Installation times vary based on the project requirements.