What is a Hosted PBX system?
A Hosted PBX (HPBX) system delivers PBX functionality as a service over a private managed broadband connection. Rather than purchasing or leasing PBX equipment to utilize on-site, now you can simply contract for hosted services and reap the benefits of advanced calling features and hassle-free management of your phone system.

• Eliminates the need for a PBX and telco lines
• All PBX "intelligence" is delivered out of a redundant central voice platform (giving a unified environment for multi-office settings)
• Calls are routed over a private, managed network to the LightEdge platform
• Hosted PBX is a converged service - voice and data traffic is managed dynamically across the same connection
• Dynamic bandwidth allocation means that you aren't limited to the number of available lines like a traditional telco-based system

How does it work?
Voice traffic is passed over your company’s data line,dynamically sharing the bandwidth with data traffic. Since the bandwidth is shared between voice and data traffic, you no longer have to pay for separate voice and a data lines. A router is set up on your site and configured with Quality of Service (QoS) so that the voice traffic always has a higher priority than the data traffic. This eliminates voice quality issues that could otherwise occur if there is a high volume of data being passed over the line. Your company uses IP desk phones that connect into your corporate LAN, and a router that handles the voice and data traffic that flows to our data center. Our BroadWorks system routes the calls and provides the advanced services. BroadWorks is the leading platform in the world for hosted business services, so you can be assured you’re getting the best platform available.

HPBX is a scalable service that allows you to easily manage how your calls are routed using an intuitive web-based interface. In addition, your phones are no longer directly tied to physical telephone lines, so groups of workers can be defined logically in software instead of by a physical connection.

The voice platform is hosted in a fully redundant, carrier-grade data center. LightEdge performs all of the operational work - running and monitoring the system, handling upgrades, increasing capacity, managing dial plans, etc. - that you would otherwise perform on your premise-based equipment. You leave behind the complexity of dealing with a voice switch, the expense of purchasing a PBX or Key System, and the worry of keeping up with the latest technology. We handle all of that while you get access to the newest and most advanced features available on the market.

Our system can reroute your calls to alternate numbers such as a cell phone using "find-me, follow-me" functionality such as simultaneous or sequential ring. Employees can manage their preferences when they are on the road by logging into a web portal. They can also integrate other phones (such as home phones and cell phones) to receive calls from their office number. Hosted PBX is a seamless way to appear at the office, when you could be anywhere in the world.

How reliable is a hosted voice service?
Due to the inherent resilience and reliability of our platform, LightEdge Hosted PBX voice service includes guaranteed performance and availability levels in our service agreement. Our service operates in a carrier-grade environment that is as reliable as your current telco carrier. The BroadWorks platform uses a “clustered” architecture and backup power sources so that call processing will hop from one server to another upon failure. This is one of the great benefits compared to a premise-based system like a PBX, which would have a huge impact on your business if it failed.

What happens if your network servers fail?
We have fully redundant servers and backup power sources in our network, each component naturally fails to the redundant component without interruption. This is one of the great benefits compared to a premise-based system like a PBX, which would not be functional if you lost power.

What if the IP network fails? My LAN goes down routinely.
Prior to implementing Hosted PBX, we will perform a LAN assessment to determine how "VoIP-ready" your network is. If we find deficiencies, we will make you aware of them and either your company or LightEdge can make the appropriate upgrades. Outside of your office, the IP infrastructure is actually more resilient than legacy phone lines. Traffic can be re-routed if a link becomes unavailable. For example, if there’s an incident where someone cuts the cable outside your office, your local phones will be out of service, but since incoming calls get routed back into our network, your calls can be seamlessly routed to alternate numbers and your customers will never know.

Will the service be slow? Your data center is in another town.
No, LightEdge Hosted PBX voice packets are routed over a private MPSL connection to minimize networks hops and ensure packet routing. Quality of Service (QoS) measures are put in place over the connection to ensure that voice traffic is given the highest priority in the dynamically allocated transport.

If I lose power will my phones go down?
Most IP phones are POE (Power over Ethernet) meaning that the power for the device is drawn over the network. If you have backup power to the LAN then your phones will continue to work.

What happens if LightEdge loses power?
Our carrier-grade data centers are equipped with additional power options including: dual power grids, Uninterruptible Power Supplies, and diesel generators. Power failure from one source immediately triggers the UPS until power is switched from the alternate power grid or diesel generators.

What happens if the LightEdge facilities are impacted by a natural disaster (flood, fire, tornado)?
Our data centers have been designed for maximum resiliency; physical and virtual security, fire suppression systems, dual roof membranes, walls that can withstand 200 MPH winds. In addition, we have designed our network to remove single points of failure by spreading server platforms between data center locations so that if one is impacted service will continue by failing-over to a platform in another data center.

Is the voice quality as good as I’d get from my PBX?
Absolutely! In fact you can use your bandwidth more efficiently with a VoIP-based service which can provide the same voice quality as TDM calls using advanced compression algorithms that require less bandwidth.

VoIP can actually allow you to get HIGHER quality using Hi-Definition VoIP codecs (coder/decoder). The codec converts analog signals to a digital bitstream and then back to an analog signal. It provides twice the audio range as TDM phones.

How is LightEdge Hosted PBX different than Skype or Vonage?
Simply put, our service doesn’t run over the public internet. All of our VoIP services run over our private managed connections with Quality of Service (QoS). QoS means that we have the controls in place to prioritize your voice data packets and make sure they arrive sequentially and at just the right times. Vonage and Skype are best efforts based, which means when the Internet line is congested, voice packets may have trouble reaching your recipient at the right time. That leads to echo, jitter and lag time. The LightEdge business-grade service does not run over the public Internet, and is managed at all times to ensure crisp call quality.

Will call quality suffer if I’m running many programs on my PC?
VoIP runs over the same LAN in your office but is not bottlenecked in any way by your PC performance. In fact, your VoIP phone plugs in directly to your LAN port and then in turn your PC derives its network connection from the phone. So the IP phone has clear access to the network.
Skype and Messenger services run as applications on your PC so therefore their performance can be impaired if your computer is slow.

Will a conference call with many parties use all my bandwidth?
A hosted service bridges the calls together on our platform before it is sent to you. The only bandwidth you consume on the data line is for the calls that are coming in and out of your office location.

Will I still have control of Moves/Adds/Changes?
Absolutely, in fact you may find it much easier to make changes. Even though the equipment is located in our network, you have access to an intuitive web portal to make all the moves, adds, and changes for your employees. There’s no need to rewire or change punchdowns when someone changes offices. Employees can quickly move offices just by disconnecting their phone from one office and plugging it into another. The configuration of the phone will ensure that calls are completed correctly.

Does it work with multiple office locations?
With scattered PBX platforms, coordinating dial plans can be an operational nightmare. Hosted PBX is much simpler because all of the PBX “brains” are in our network core, so location doesn’t matter. Setting up a new site is really just a matter of adding the proper private connectivity and adding IP phones to the LAN. Phones at the separate sites will appear on the same network if a WAN connection is adding, meaning that calls are effectively placed over the same network. In this situation there is no toll costs between locations and calls to the remote site can be made with 4 digit dialing.

I don’t have an IT staff. How can I possibly manage a VoIP network?
Our VoIP service is a hosted and managed service. Upon installation we work with to make sure you LAN is set up properly and we have an experienced team of voice experts available to help if any issues crop up in the future. The hosted PBX platform is continually monitored, managed and upgraded by our staff. Your involvement only requires logging into the web portal to manage user settings and check call detail records (CDRs) from time to time.

What if I need to change services for specific employees?
Simply change the users settings with our intuitive online administrative portal. Your employees can actually control their own settings, so this kind of administration is not frequently necessary at the administrative level.

Are my calls secure? Can people listen in on them?
VoIP calls are certainly no less secure than traditional TDM (Time Division Multiplex) calls. VoIP calling has the added protection of being carried over a private, firewall protected network.

Will 911 calls work?
Yes. Consumer VoIP carriers (like Vonage) have struggled with this because users can plug in their VoIP phone adapter anywhere they have a broadband connection. That made it hard for the carrier to know where the caller was located. Our service is business-grade and ties the number with the location of your business, so the 911 operator knows where the call originates.