Moving from landlines to VoIP

Moving from copper landlines to VoIP is mostly a planning exercise. Desk phones are the easy part. The lines that cause trouble are the ones nobody thinks about: fire alarm communicators, elevator emergency phones, security panels, fax machines and building systems. Start with a full inventory, deal with those special lines deliberately, and cut over on a plan that includes testing and a way back.

Step 1: Inventory every line

Get the current carrier bills and match every number to a physical line and a device. Walk the building to find lines that are not on the bill you expected. Typical finds include:

• Main and direct numbers for staff and departments
• Fax machines and multifunction printers
• Fire alarm panel communicators to the monitoring company
• Elevator emergency phones
• Intrusion alarm and access control panels
• Emergency phones in parking areas, refuge areas and pools
• Building automation, generator or utility meter dial-up lines
• Point-of-sale terminals and payment devices
• Door entry and gate intercoms
• Lines nobody can identify, which often turn out to be important

What to record for each line

A spreadsheet with one row per line keeps the project on track. Useful columns:

Step 2: Deal with life safety and special lines

Some lines carry life safety signals and are covered by codes, standards and their own inspection regimes. They should not simply be moved onto the office phone system.

Fire alarm monitoring

The communicator that sends alarms to the monitoring station must use a communication path that meets the applicable standards and is acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction. Options may include dedicated cellular or IP communicators designed for alarm monitoring. Changes should be made by the fire alarm contractor in coordination with the monitoring company, and verified afterwards. See how fire alarm monitoring works.

Elevator emergency phones

Elevator emergency communication requirements come from CSA B44 and provincial elevator regulations, and the phone must work during a power failure. Changes should be made with your elevator contractor, and may need to be confirmed by the provincial elevating devices authority. Dedicated cellular units built for elevators are a common solution. See elevator maintenance and inspections.

Security and other panels

Many older alarm and building panels used dial-up communication that does not travel reliably over VoIP. Check with each system's vendor; most offer IP or cellular modules.

Step 3: Prepare the network

VoIP depends on the data network. Before cutover:

• Confirm switches can power phones (PoE) and have enough ports
• Set up a voice VLAN and quality of service; see QoS for voice and video
• Check internet capacity and consider a backup connection
• Put network equipment on UPS sized for the phone load
• Test cabling where phones will go, especially in older areas

Step 4: Port numbers and plan cutover

1. Submit porting requests early. Number porting needs exact account details and takes time. Errors cause delays.
2. Configure and test in advance. Build the call flow, voicemail and auto attendant, and test with temporary numbers.
3. Register 9-1-1 addresses for every site and number, and confirm how remote users are handled.
4. Cut over at a quiet time, with staff on site to test inbound and outbound calls, voicemail and transfers right away.
5. Keep a fallback. Know how to forward calls if something fails, and do not cancel old services until everything is confirmed working.
6. Train users on the new phones and features before or on the day.

The connection to the carrier is often a SIP trunk; see SIP trunks explained.

Common mistakes

• Trusting the bill alone. Bills list numbers, not devices. Lines get moved, re-purposed or bundled, and the only reliable inventory comes from tracing lines in the building.
• Plugging alarm panels into a VoIP adapter. It may seem to work in a quick test, then fail to deliver signals reliably. Use the communication method the alarm vendor and monitoring company support.
• Cancelling too early. A line cancelled before porting completes can lose the number permanently, and a life safety line cancelled before its replacement is accepted leaves the building unprotected.
• Forgetting power. Copper phones worked in a power failure; VoIP phones do not unless switches and the internet connection are on backup power.
• Skipping 9-1-1 records. Every number, including softphones and remote users, needs its address set and checked.
• No owner for the project. The work touches IT, facilities, security and several contractors. Name one person to track every line to completion.

Step 5: Clean up

After cutover, cancel old lines that are no longer needed, check final bills, update building documentation and record where every remaining special line now goes. Old lines often keep billing for months after a move because nobody cancelled them.

Close the project with a short handover package for facilities and IT: the final line inventory showing where every number and special line now lives, the 9-1-1 address records, the carrier and vendor contacts for each replacement communicator, and the test and acceptance records for fire alarm and elevator lines. The next person to renovate, change carriers or answer an inspector's question will need exactly this information.

How ehZee can help

Through our VoIP design and build service we inventory existing lines, prepare the network, design and build the new system and manage cutover. For fire alarm and elevator lines we coordinate with the responsible contractors and monitoring companies rather than replacing their role.

Common questions