The goal is to deliver a fully working voice over IP system with all of the features of a high-end, production system in a very inexpensive package that can be connected to your existing network, connected to the local phone network, and connected to your existing phone switch. This is used to get you familiar with the operation of a voice over IP system.

You get the following components:

1. 1 Mitel 3300 MXe controller: licensed for 64 IP phones, equipped with 6 LS trunk ports for connection to the local phone network, 4 ONS ports for connection to analog devices (faxes, analog phones, or modems), 1 paging port for connection to a paging system, 1 music-on-hold port. This controller comes with all 700-plus call control features of the standard, production Mitel call control system and Q-SIG for seamlessly connecting it to an existing PBX.
   
2. 8 Mitel 5312 IP phones: middle-of-the-road phones with speakerphones, two-port Ethernet switches (so you can attach them to an existing PC to share a single drop connection), two-line LCD displays, 12 programmable buttons for line appearances or special functions.
   
3. 1 two-port T-1 module, with 1 licensed T-1 port: connection to a PRI to the local phone network, or (more probably) integration with your existing PBX.
   
4. 8 IP phone licenses and 8 voicemail boxes, with access to Mitel’s full-function high-end voicemail system built into the 3300 MXe controller.
   
5. The Mitel management application: allows you to manage the controller remotely through a browser.
   
6. 1 Teleworker application: for up to 5 remote IP phones, which allows you to remote some or all of the 8 IP phones to the controller over the Internet.
   
7. An 8-phone audio conferencing system.
   
8. 4 hours of MXN remote installation and configuration support: we use our own starter system to provide this support.
   

This package comes with a one-year hardware warranty that covers repair of any failed component. When it is placed in use supporting your organization you’ll want to get formal Mitel support. But for the time being, the hardware warranty and MXN technical support will be sufficient.

You will need to provide powered network connections for the IP phones. Use POE switches or purchase $40 POE injectors from us. Separate injectors are especially apt if you’re planning to put an IP phone at the end of an Internet connection in your home or in a small remote office.

This starter system costs $6,100, with the four hours of on-line installation and configuration assistance, or $4,950 without the T-1 module. This is a very reasonable price for what’s really a high-end voice over IP system, and an excellent way to dip your toes into the world of IP telephony.

What can you do with our package now?

• Experiment and learn how to manage a voice on IP system.
  
• Test how well your existing data network supports voice over IP.
  
• Establish remote office phones and work-at-home phones over the Internet.
  
• Tie this system to your existing PBX to create a hybrid system that can be used to transition from conventional to IP telephony.
  

In short, you get everything you need to create a new system for testing and evaluation, prototyping, familiarization, or providing service to a small number of remote locations.

Where can we go from here?

This is not a runt voice over IP system that is abandoned when you make the strategic move to voice over IP. It can be upgraded with software (no additional hardware or installation needed) to support as many as 1,400 IP phones, and combined with other controllers to serve as many as 64,000 IP phones. It contains all of the 700-plus call control features of a high-end, production Mitel voice over IP system. The 3300 controller will support the attachment of as many as sixteen PRI or T-1 connections, suitable for the support of thousands of users. The voicemail system can be expanded to support as many as 700 voicemail users, or attach an external voicemail system that can support tens of thousands of users. Add other Mitel phones or third-party SIP phones to your heart’s content, and support many of them remotely over the Internet. You can add ACD, call accounting, remote access, videoconferencing and collaboration, and conferencing applications when you need them. When it becomes a production system you can cover it and all of its enhancements and additions with MXN’s Mitel support program for a low cost.