Looking for a Phone System

[itskdog]

I seem to be the only one here on LGfL's VoIP system (predates my time here, not worked at any other school yet so can't speak to anything else). If you're already with them for broadband, it's at least worth being aware of the option.

 

Wavenet (formerly AdEPT, formerly Atomwide) manage it all for you with a custom web UI over the Cisco UC backend, no need to know all the complex PBX jargon. Anything you can't do in the web UI you can just log a ticket for. More complex configuration jobs they might charge ~£50 for, but basic settings like resetting a voicemail PIN, renaming/renumbering extensions, setting speed dials/BLF buttons, allowing/denying outbound calls, you can do yourself.

 

The phones (with a variety available, from basic plain ones suitable for classrooms, to proper desk phones for offices with BLFs and speed dials) just plug into a dedicated PoE switch that goes to its own port on the firewall (we've put one on each rack as all our patch cables on each floor go to the same location), and they'll manage the switches & DHCP/TFTP settings themselves. Voicemail and extensions can be accessed remotely from the auto attendant (but you can block certain extensions from being accessed remotely to stop the kids messing around during break time), and the existing MIS integration used for creating USO accounts also lets the school office call parents with one click on their PC.

[timbo343]

2 hours ago, ITGuyNW said:

For those on a 3CX system, what are your typical costs per year? 

 

Have a look here: https://www.3cx.com/ordering/pricing/

 

We bought a 64 Simultaneous Call (SC) license but with +300 exts we see about 10 SC at any one time. Fortunately Clarion have been great and put us on a 48SC license because we have ~37 external SIP lines and the SC license needs to be more than the external SIPs.

[mrbios]

3CX are the go-to for most. Affordable, easy to manage etc.

 

I keep meaning to look at moving to it, but it's not high on my list as my current system works perfectly fine and costs me nothing... Running FreePBX currently.. You can spin up FreePBX within minutes, connect your SIP trunk and register phones and be off and running in no time for £0.

[MatthewL]

3CX no brainer.

[Davit2005]

18 hours ago, hailst0rm said:

I have found the phone system offered by Microsoft Teams to be fairly good. It is nice to have something that is integrated with Teams.

 

I'm not aware of integration with the MIS.

 

We use Poly handsets and they have been pretty reliable. Less so with Yealink phones.

Don't mention Yealink teams phones, lol. We went from a VOIP system to Teams, the YeaLink phones have been a disaster. Foobarred and buggy updates. I have 3cx at home with Yealink handsets and they are faultless.

[RobFuller]

We use Microsoft Teams voice extensively. My main gripe is that, when answering calls from a call queue using the desktop app, there’s often a noticeable delay—about 5 seconds—before the transfer appears on screen. This doesn’t seem to affect Teams phones, so your experience may vary.

 

Avoid Yealink Teams phones. We had ongoing issues and ended up replacing them with HP Poly CCX 350s, which have been rock solid.

For senior staff and power users, we use AudioCodes C455HD—the larger touchscreen is a big plus.

 

We use Salamander to sync parent contacts into our system. When a parent calls, their name, their child(ren)’s name(s), and year group are displayed. If you’re using the Teams desktop app, you can also configure it to open a URL and pass the caller’s number (e.g., for integration with Arbor). We don’t use this feature, but it’s available if needed.

 

You no longer need to assign everyone a separate extension number just to enable outbound calling, which is great for teachers.

Common area phones do require a separate license. For rugged locations (like sheds or the swimming pool), we use standard SIP phones.

 

I'm looking to renew our SBC provider this year. Currently with VoiceFlex via Focus Group/Southwest Comms, but I’m interested in hearing about other companies—mainly to see if we can get a better deal.

[mullet_man]

On 19/09/2025 at 11:33, DWilson1997 said:

3CX with EdTechPro portal integration for MIS data. 

 

We have this, both are great.

[Andrew_C]

On 20/09/2025 at 07:26, Davit2005 said:

Don't mention Yealink teams phones, 

Not my circus etc...

 

The lag on them (or the system) is HORRIBLE.

[Cat_Jam148]

3CX is great, is a bit more pricey than it used to be. Also don't expect any support on their forums.

 

I got banned the other day asking for a rough timeline on a feature we're interested in. Looking at reddit, I'm not the first....seems their founder doesn't take kindly to questions or criticism.

 

If we were doing our system from the ground up, I'd probably look more closely at FreePBX.

Edited September 23, 2025 by Cat_Jam148

[2ilent8cho]

Currently have onsite Asterisk based PBX called Issabella which is a fork of Elastix, ran Elastix and the Issabella for 16 years and its been rock solid serving 10 schools in our Trust. Really liked the look of this EduTech MIS integration product, but it requires 3CX (or Yeastar).

 

So started a trial of 3CX, am I missing somthing? It's an awful product, and Reddit is just full of people saying run a mile from it since v20. Biggest frustration for me which had me swearing was why can I not just add an extention and set a password? Why do I have to assign it an email address, and then have it email a password. More than half of our 300+ extensions don't have a user, they are department phones or non user assigned. I don't want to have to go creating hundreds of needless mailboxes. 

[TechMonkey]

Never had that with 3CX, we have quite a few no user extensions.  You only need an email if you want voicemail sent some where or someone being able to login as that extension.

Just tried creating a new extension, just in case it had changed, and the minimum info needed is the extension number, which is auto filled anyway, and first OR last name.

 

For me 3CX hits that perfect point of enough features and complication to do what we need without massive cost or the need for some complicate license structure.  I moved the org from another cloud based system that was horrific and the whole team are so much happier and better equipped now on 3CX.

 

Reddit has a love hate with 3CX, partners/suppliers seem to be 50/50 on if they like it or not depending on their soft skills.  3CX is known for playing a bit rough with its partners, chucking them off the partner programme for being less than complimentary.  In the last couple of years there was a massive change, from v18 to v20 and all instances were forced to upgrade, this was of course the worst thing since sliced bread and lots of complaints as it wasn't just a click upgrade.  Then when some instances ignored the deadline they then got shirty when parts stopped working after the deadline.  Recently someone has claimed that any new customers will have to meet user limits for each simultaneous level, meaning it may no longer be cost effective for high user, low call situations, like schools.  Last I saw this hasn't been confirmed or formally published, with some saying it is a guideline for proper sizing.

[2ilent8cho]

2 minutes ago, TechMonkey said:

Never had that with 3CX, we have quite a few no user extensions.  You only need an email if you want voicemail sent some where or someone being able to login as that extension.

Just tried creating a new extension, just in case it had changed, and the minimum info needed is the extension number, which is auto filled anyway, and first OR last name.

 

 

How do you set the extention password then?

[TechMonkey]

What do you mean by extension password? What are you trying to achieve?

[2ilent8cho]

5 minutes ago, TechMonkey said:

What do you mean by extension password? What are you trying to achieve?

 

The password to enter into the telephones SIP server settings, currently when configuring a VoIP handset we enter the  SIP Server, username/ext and password. 

[TechMonkey]

So, you go to the IP Phone tab, choose the type of phone, enter the MAC address and it it provisions the phone for you.

Configuring IP Phones with 3CX | Admin Guide

Edited October 16, 2025 by TechMonkey

[Davit2005]

3cx makes adding phones a breeze as long as they are supported. You might have to add dhcp options on the dhcp scope though.

 

https://www.3cx.com/sip-phones/dhcp-option-66/

Edited October 16, 2025 by Davit2005

[1TF0rward]

On 19/09/2025 at 14:07, gszech said:

UniFi Talk

How do you find it for management/cost compared to other solutions? Do you use Unifi phones or other brand?

[gszech]

8 minutes ago, 1TF0rward said:

How do you find it for management/cost compared to other solutions? Do you use Unifi phones or other brand?

UniFi Phones and UniFi hosting.

Primary schools ended up using one phone line which currently costs £7.99.

For secondary schools this depends on how many DDIs do you need in the school. Each DDI = £7.99 In our case we ended up with 9 lines which costs us £71.91 per month. 

[Rob_D]

6 minutes ago, gszech said:

Each DDI = £7.99 In

Is that per month?

[gszech]

8 minutes ago, Rob_D said:

Is that per month?

Yes

[MatthewL]

You can get numbers from Andrews & Arnold for £1.44 a month!! Just pay call costs.

[mavhc]

DDIs don't cost the provider anything, if they're charging you for them they're ripping you off

 

Gamma SIP, £8 per channel with 99% free calls, no charge for anything else, so just £8 per simultaneous call you want to make

[Steven_Cleaver]

As others have said 3CX is best I have used and most cost effective I have used rolled this out at school I was previously at was coming in less than half of what other systems were coming at that the school was looking at before the Business Manager pulled us in for same functionality was pretty easy to rollout and manage, also used 3CX in a couple of business organisations and been really good from user perspective as well on Service Desks etc.

[gszech]

Let me explain my previous post a bit more as there is a bit of confusion about the DDIs.

 

UniFi Talk operates on a clear, per-number basis. The cost is £7.99 per month for each Talk number, and every number includes 3,000 pooled minutes. If you purchase multiple lines (e.g., two), your minute pool scales to 6,000 minutes.

There is no limit on the number of simultaneous calls - your only restriction is the total monthly minute usage, which can be increased or removed at any time.

Each Talk number can be assigned as a dedicated Direct Dial-In (DDI) to an individual user or routed to a specific group for both incoming or outgoing calls.

 

You need UniFi Dream Machine for the Talk to work. For secondary my recommendations go to Dream Machine Pro Max, for the primary schools Pro model is fine. 

You can also use Official UniFi Hosting which now supports Talk phones. The price is £29.00 per month to host up to 1000 devices (network or phones)

 

Our previous secondary school phone system (including SIP trunks, DDI rental, and maintenance) was over £2,291. We now pay £79.91 monthly (about £958.92 annually) for nine dedicated lines, which was necessary to provide unique numbers for key departments like Cover, Attendance, and HR, IT. 

 

The largest savings are for primary schools where they just pay £7.99 per month.

[Rob_D]

Nice. That broadly tracks with the sort of prices we're seeing for other cloud-hosted services like Gamma Horizon.