Polycom Conference Phones
New SIP Enabled Polycom SoundPoint IP Phones
IP or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the term used when a call is made over the internet instead of the normal telephone network. The benefit for making a telephone call over IP is that the cost can be much lower, especially if the call is long distance. With IP calls becomming increasingly popular Polycom have decided to bring out a range of SoundPoint IP phones.
Who are Polycom?
Polycom was established in December 1990 and set out to produce business solutions for voice and data communications. Over the years Polycom have been one of the market leaders in audio and even video conferencing equipment. Many people will have seen the Polycom Soundstation star shaped conference phone (above) in business office meeting rooms.
Polycom SoundPoint IP Range
Using their expertise in audio and telecoms Polycom have produced a dynamic range of IP Phones. All of these phones come under the umbrella of the Polycom SoundPoint IP range, with models ranging from the entry level IP301, to the very advanced Polycom SoundPoint IP650. This gives you a fantastic choice of products so you can choose the model that best suits your needs.
There are many different features between the IP phones such as number of different line keys, and the size of the LCD screen. For example the Polycom IP320 has two line keys and a small screen, with the Polycom IP601 having a much bigger screen and six line keys.
The Polycom SoundPoint IP550 and the IP650 both support HD voice as well. This is a technology that enables two communicating telephones that have HD voice, to send a wider range of high and low pitched sounds down the line. This increases clarity helping to distinguish between sounds that are similar, for example the letters M or N in a postcode.
How do the Polycom IP Phones Work?
The Polycom SoundPoint IP phones use session initiation protocol (SIP for short), to establish connections over an IP network. In simple terms SIP protocal is basically an industry standard that enables technology connected to the internet to talk to each other. You plug the SoundPoint IP phone into a broadband line, and Use SIP to connect to the outside world.
To enable the SoundPoint IP phones to work there also has to be a paid service in place, this is the company who the IP calls will be made with. Similar to a normal telephone line when you pay BT for the line rental and the calls being made. With an IP service you pay for the line rental with BT for example, but the cost of the call is with your IP service provider. Polycom even have a list of compatible SIP providers that have been tested with the SoundPoint phones.
You can even connect the Polycom SoundPoint IP phone to an office telephone system with IP, just as long as it is SIP enabled. To be 100% sure of compatability just check with your telephone system provider.
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At my old job, we used to call that phone on top, the “bat phone.” It works great but it is tough to set up.