Home Phone System
Home phone system ( Home PBX) doesn’t get popular actually. The reason might be:
- PBX costs
- Home size
- Cable running
- Too technical
Does your home need a Phone System or PBX?
In fact, it depends on how big your home is. It’s absolutely unneccessary if living one or two bedroom apartment. However, you have to consider it if you live in a big house, townhouse or whole floor aparment.
Sometime you have to speak loudly to let other family member hear what you say. If so, your home might not be quiet. it will get an option if you can speak gently in a big home via a Phone PBX.
Most useful Function if equiped with Home Phone System or Home PBX
Put an extension in every room or place at your home. You can:
- Intercom: speak each other quietly
- Paging: Notify everyone in home
- Alert Call: Remind you to wake up or an upcoming appoint
- Remote extensions: outside extension even in different city or country.
- Family Call conference: Hold a family conference via phone.
- Message: leave a message to extension
- Voicemail or Fax to email: Home PBX can transfer your voicemail or a fax to exntension’s email.
How to deploy a Phone System or PBX?
It also depends on the budget you. Of course, you can deploy an enterprise-class PBX in your home. You also could build a budget PBX, just cost 200-300 dollars
Regular Option:
The simple way is to hire a technician to deploy a prefossional PBX if your budget is not so tight.
Usually the costs will be thousands or ten thousands dollar and depend on the home’s size and structure.
Valued option:
If you are looking for a budget solution on home PBX. Below ideas might be useful, but at first, you should be handy on computer.
Hardware:
- PBX server: an old PC, Raspberry Pi or Orange Pi
- IP-phone: you can buy some retired office IP phone from ebay. Cisco SPA series IP phone just $15-30 including shipping
- SIP Softphone on Smart Phone: You can install SIP softphone on your smart phone either Android or iPhone.
- VoIP gateway: you can connect to PBX server by old analog phone via cheap VOIP gateway, but many functions are not supported. One VoIP gateway can connect one or two analog phone. $20-30 per unit from ebay.
- Ethernet cabling: If your rooms have no Ethernet port, you can use powerline instead of running ethernet cable. Around 30-40 per pair
Software for Home Phone System:
- Issabel: recommended if having a x86 PC with 64-bit CPU and 1GB memory.
- FreePBX: support x86 and ARM CPU
- FusionPBX: support x86 and ARM CPU
Time and Enthusiasm
Time, persistence and enthusiasm are important, but it’s definitely worth because you can enjoy a thounsand or tens thounsands “Enterprise-Class” PBX at your home.
