How to set up
Vonage® to work as a PBX

M
any users of Vonage® phone service ask me how they can have an Automated Attendant feature on their Vonage Network service with multiple voice mailboxes.

There are two basic methods. Subscribing to a virtual auto attendant service or buying the proper equipment that functions as an auto attendant.

A virtual service is hosted by a service provider such as iTeleCenter™ which includes unlimited calls and a Toll-Free main number that rings to your local number. You can program your custom virtual PBX menu to your own specifications.

Buying your own automated attendant equipment does not have to be expensive these days and it eliminates the ongoing monthly fees of a hosted service.

You do need to be careful with the equipment you select, as not all PBX's are compatible with VoIP. Vonage is VoIP, which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol.

One such PBX that has been tested with Vonage® is the VoicePro, a Small Business Telephone System which includes an Auto Attendant, VoiceMail with 99 mailboxes, and a PBX with up to 12 in-house extensions.

We tested the VoicePro on the Vonage Network and we have found no problems when using the Vonage® V-Portal™ Phone Adapter (Model VDV21-VD).

When using an in-house PBX such as the VoicePro you can program various extensions to transfer incoming calls to a cell phone or any other number. The VoicePro uses the standard hook-flash method supported by Vonage to perform the transfers.

In order to free up the line after transferring a caller on the Vonage Network, one needs to dial #90 before dialing the number. This makes Vonage work like Centrex, where the line can be freed up for more calls by hanging up after the transfer.

When programming an extension on the VoicePro to forward calls with Vonage, You cannot use the Centrex method since Vonage requires #90 and a # can't be included in the dialing sequence. This is true for many PBX types since # is used to indicate end of data. The solution is to use the regular 3-way calling method with the VoicePro and no need to include #90.

A live receptionist who answers an outside call with the VoicePro can transfer that call to another outside number via Vonage. They need to flash to Vonage. Not to the VoicePro. To force the flash to go to Vonage they need to press "flash" and then dial "52". Then they dial #90 (which Vonage needs as noted above) followed by the other number. Then they can just hang up without waiting for an answer. The two parties will be connected via the Vonage network and the line will be free for the VoicePro to answer additional incoming calls.