NBN and SIP FAQ

What is SIP?

SIP is the newest and most advanced technology that the telecommunications industry has seen for some years. SIP enables phone calls to be made over your internet which has many advantages such as; Lower phone bills, and flexibility. This document is made to help you with any questions you have and give you an understanding of SIP and how it will benefit you.

If you have any more questions, feel free to call Plexus on 1300 302 276.

Advantages of SIP lines

* Lower Bills: With the old traditional phone lines you will usually pay for line rental and then free calls nationwide.

* Keep the same number: If you move offices or houses or even states you can keep the exact same phone number as before without having to get Telstra to move it to your new house.

* Mobility: With SIP you can move your SIP based phones anywhere in the world as long as it is connected to the internet then you can make and receive calls on your SIP phone.

* Features: SIP phones come with great features that come with your plan.

Disadvantages of SIP lines

* High Speed Internet: You require high speed internet to have SIP phones and SIP phone lines. Sometimes you may require more than one internet connection and sometimes this can outweigh the cost of the savings of having SIP lines. Below is the speeds you will need.

256/64 kb/s is barely adequate for one call at a time (with no other computer activity)

512/256 kb/s is very usable for residential usage

512/512 kb/s or more would suit a small office with maybe five to ten phones

* Internet break down: If your Internet connection goes down then your phone lines will also go down.

* If Quality of Service(QoS) is not honoured all the way through starting at the phone system, then IT company, then to your SIP and Internet Provider. If this QoS is not honoured through all of those involved, then it can cause issues with your calls dropping out and not having enough bandwidth for the calls to be sustained.

* Hacking: The phone system and your phone lines can easily be hacked if you don’t have the security settings set up correctly from the start by your IT guy.

What will happen to my fax and EFTPOS?

When you move over to SIP Lines your copper phone lines will be removed which means that you will not have PSTN lines anymore. With your fax and EFTPOS, you can have both work off the internet. With the Fax you can have it work Fax-to-Email and Email-to-Fax and with your EFTPOS you need to call your bank and ask them for a IP EFTPOS machine and they will send someone out to install that for you.

How do I get my phone system ready for NBN?

To get your phone system ready for the NBN you will have to talk to your phone company first to make sure that your phone system is NBN compatible and if it is the system will have to be upgraded to handle the NBN lines. If your current phone system is not NBN compatible, then you will have to upgrade the phone system to a NBN compatible phone system. If you have any more questions about this, please feel free to call us on 1300 302 276 and speak to our experience team.

When is the NBN coming to my area?

The NBN rollout dates vary across different areas. Check when the NBN is coming to your area.

What will happen to my alarm system when I move over to NBN/SIP?

Your alarm will have to upgraded to a GSM alarm system that has phone lines on the mobile network. The new alarm system will have fail overs with a few different sim cards in there just in case one goes down.

Is my router NBN compatible? If not what router do you recommend to buy and use?

The router we recommend at Plexus is either NETGEAR or BILLION they are both very good quality router and are easy to interface with. They are good for business routers or home routers. Your ISP (internet service provider) will also supply you with a router but if you are looking to change routers for the quality of them then these are the 2 that we highly recommend.

How do I make sure that my phone calls will not drop out?

If you want to make sure your phone calls don’t drop out you will need to talk to your phone system provider, IT manager, SIP Provider and your Internet Provider. For your calls not to drop out there needs to be certain things in place which all the people involved can organise. Quality of Service(QoS) needs to be honoured throughout the whole network starting at the phone system then going to the router then to the SIP and Internet provider.

Why can’t I press any options when I ring into a company and they have dialling options?

The reason you can’t dial any options when you ring a company and they have dialling options is because the phone system itself does not have the right setting set for that carrier to detect when you press any key on your phone. To fix this we will need to make sure with the carrier what the certain setting is and we will set it from the start.

What happens if my phone system gets hacked?

If your phone system gets hacked, we will have to go through all the settings in the phone system to make sure it won’t happen again and you will also need to contact your IT company and get them to set up certain security features on your router. This will be set up from the start to prevent hacking from the beginning.

Why can’t I make more than 2 calls at a time?

The reason you can’t make more than 2 calls at a time is because your SIP line doesn’t have enough channels open on it. To solve this issue, you need to talk to your SIP provider and get them to open up more than just those 2 channels, SIP lines can technically have unlimited amount of channels on 1 phone line but it all depends on how fast your internet connection is.

We are an international company can we have phones located overseas with the same main number?

Yes, that’s the beauty of SIP lines and SIP phones, you can go anywhere in the world as long as you have a good internet connection and you can connect your SIP phone into the internet you can make and take phone calls like you were still in Australia with the exact same phone number.

Can I keep my old PSTN or ISDN phone number when I move to SIP Trunks?

Yes, you can. When you move to SIP Trunks you can port your old phone numbers over to SIP. This process can take up to a couple weeks. So everything needs to be organised we can organise all this for you if need be.

What happens to my phone if the power goes out?

If the power goes out, you will lose your phones and internet. You can have an Uninterruptible Power Supply(UPS), that will keep your phones and internet and network equipment on for a little while longer till the power comes back on.

Learn more:

  • Microsoft Teams Solutions

    Microsoft Teams

  • Let's Talk Video Conferencing
  • Let's Talk Meeting Rooms
  • Customer Reviews

  • Icon

    4.8 35 reviews

    • Avatar Michael Stillman ★★★★★ 9 months ago
      I have dealt with Plexus for over 15 years & have found them extremely professional & have always delivered on time, & we have their VOIP phones in our office which are … More fantastic.
    • Avatar PKD Partners ★★★★★ 6 months ago
      Great service and highly recommended. Very professional and excellent communication throughout the whole process. The team has been very helpful and always available to assist us.
    • Avatar Whitney Beadman ★★★★★ 8 months ago
      I would highly recommend anyone reaching out to the team at Plexus for any business communication issues. The team are professional with super prompt reply and technicians. Big shout … More out to Faye for all her exceptional communication and Jack the technician. So incredibly happy to be assisted so promptly and have the issue resolved. Great work Plexus
  • View all Reviews