PSTN: The Traditional Telephone System

PSTN is the old telephone system. It is also known as the Plain Old Telephone System or POTS. This network carries voice calls for calls made from landlines or cell phones. PSTN refers to the global network of voice carrying telephone infrastructure. The commercialisation of telephones began around 1876. The demand for the service led to the growth of the PSTN and also deployment of tele-traffic engineering and the necessity to maintain Quality of Service (QoS).

The components that Public Switched Telephone Network include are telephone lines, fibre optic cables, switching centres, cellular networks, satellites and cable systems. While on the front, one simply dials a number and on the other end, one receives the call, the backend process is much more complicated than this. There are numerous steps working behind the call, which makes it possible and eventually successful.

Working of PSTN system

• Firstly, the telephone set converts the sound waves into electrical signals. Thereafter, transmission of these signals to a terminal takes place through a cable. The function of the terminal is to collect the electrical signals and transmit this to the central office (CO).
• The central office routes the calls through fibre optic cable in the form of electrical signals. The fibre optic cable carries the signals in the form of light pulses to their final destination. The purpose of tandem and central office is call routing. After reaching the right office, on the receiving end, the light pulses change back to electric signals.
• Next, the electrical signals are routed to a terminal. Thereafter, the terminal routes the call to the appropriate telephone number.
• Eventually, when it is for the user to receive the call, the telephone set converts the electrical signal back to sound waves which the receiver hears.

Comparing PSTN and VoIP

• Cost: In terms of cost, VoIP is way ahead of PSTN. While PSTN requires dedicated lines and hardware, VoIP requires minimal hardware apart from a telephone set or a mobile device.
• Productivity: VoIP usage in enterprises have shown an increase in productivity. Due to several features and higher speed, VoIP performs better than PSTN in this aspect.
• Security: While it appears that PSTN might offer better security than VoIP, it is partially correct. Though previously in initial stage VoIP did face security issues, in the present day, things are much better. There are encryptions, 2-factor authentication, several passwords and other methods to keep things secure.
• Maintenance: With numerous hardware, telephone lines and all other accessories, the maintenance of Public Switched Telephone Network is a costly affair. On the other hand, VoIP Technology is based on software and requires minimum maintenance.

To know more about PSTN and VoIP check here. 

The details of Unified Communications

The most appropriate definition of Unified Communication is “communications integrated to optimize business processes and increase user productivity.” UC brings together the means to integrate near to real-time unified messaging, collaboration and interactive systems. The scope for UC is vast. And therefore, its expansion makes way for incorporating collaboration and other interactive systems such as instant messages, voice response systems, scheduling workflow.

Components of UC

• Instant Messaging
• Unified Messaging
• Speech access and personal assistant
• Audio, video and web conferencing
• Call control and multimodal communications
• Presence: the feature of knowing where intended recipients are and whether they are available or not.
• Collaboration tools
• Mobility
• Business Process Integration (BPI)
• Software to enable BPI

Cloud UC

Combining the voice and unified messaging features, cloud UC brings together the best of both worlds. The features here include: instant messaging, presence, video and web conferencing, call recording and team collaboration. This, therefore, helps to improve the work efficiency of the employees. Usually, a third party service provider hosts the cloud-based unified communication service. These software-driven services have numerous features. Above all, this is customizable and helps to adapt according to the growth and changing needs of the business.

Some of the major benefits are as follows:

• Backup and Disaster recovery
• Detailed analytics
• Support system managed CRM integration
• Communication-enabled business processes

UC Provider 

Some Points which would help to select a proper UC Provider:

Scalability: Choose the provider who has the potential to accommodate your necessities in future also. As businesses expand and both clients and employee bases increase, scalability is one of the most important factors to keep in mind.

Backup: Backups are important as they will save the business when primary systems go down. Therefore look for a provider who offers a backup system.

Good Internet Connection: UC requires a high-speed internet connection. Hence make sure that the provider you select has the ability to keep up with the demands on implementing such a system along with a reasonable cost.

Service Package: Some providers offer customizable package services according to your requirements. Therefore select the one which suits you the best.

Equipment Compatibility: Many times it is necessary to upgrade old equipment to make it UC compatible. While one can do this on their own, there are service providers who provide this facility. So if you want expert help in this matter then select your service provider accordingly.