Do
you remember the grungy dens that were public payphones? Before the
days of mobile phones, I’d have to push my way past McDonalds wrappers
so I could call Mum to let her know I was going to be late for dinner.
My uni friends talked of all sorts of scams to get free phone calls - from playing DTMF tones from your Walkman to tricky key sequences. Looking back, these payphones gave us a kind of freedom we never knew we had.

Phones
come in many shapes and forms these days. I am fascinated by the
seemingly complex array of guff in the telephony space. All you need is
a handset and a way of connecting that handset to the PSTN. In addition, a phone system must increase your options for the future. Teams Phone
has potential, especially if you are looking at Microsoft Teams as
being the central place for all work. Microsoft offer a few options for
connecting Teams to the PSTN: Calling Plans (not available for Aus
numbers), Carrier Connect and Direct Routing. In my simple world,
Carrier Connect is easier to setup (not necessarily faster) and manage.
Direct Routing requires some PowerShell
but gives you more flexibility and choice (eg to choose your own
carrier). All require Teams Phone licensing (about $11 retail or $4.40
charity per person per month).

We’ve
gone the Direct Routing path for ourselves and our clients, mainly so
we can start with basic Teams Phone functions (call queues, auto
attendants, etc). and move to more complex PBX and Call Centre functions
later (we use 3CX for
this, but there are plenty of others). If old skool handsets are your
thing, then a solution like 3CX gives you a greater range to choose
from, along with advanced call / skill based routing, call recording,
detailed reporting, and web based chat (sites built on WordPress, Drupal
and others are supported).

Getting
stuck in time can be fun - for a while. And then the horror sets in.
Like Marty McFly at the Diner trying to call the Doc to find a way home.
No answer. Choosing the right path in your Teams Phone journey will
get you Back to the Future!

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