This example is based on the head office of a petrochemical company, which consists of a small campus of office/industrial buildings containing 350 phones. The organization has modest growth, with personnel count estimated to increase by 2% per year (total phone set count is allotted in year 1). The organization is a legacy Centrex user that wants to take advantage of IP-PBX features and network convergence. They have realized that to implement IP telephony technology they must replace their existing LAN equipment with new Ethernet switches that support QoS and either in-line power or with the addition of powered patch-panels. Because the cost of the LAN upgrade would occur with either an IP-PBX or IP-Centrex, it is not considered in the financial comparison (suffice it to say that such an upgrade would be on the order of $150 to $300 per network port).
Figure 1 illustrates the basic components that make up the IP-Centrex infrastructure from the provider to the customer's premises.
The estimated costs, over 5 years, of the IP-Centrex and IP-PBX solutions for this single-site operation are shown in Table 1. Where an item is assumed to be paid on a one-time (capital expenditure) basis, the boxes for years 2-5 have been left blank.
We have assumed that the monthly rental for an IP telephone, or console, is one-twentieth of the purchase cost for that set. That figure seems to be in line with telco practices in the past, but in a competitive environment and at a time of low interest rates, telephone rentals may be considerably less expensive. Based on our estimates, the net present cost of IP-Centrex in this situation would be about 35% more than that for an IP-PBX.
Definitions for Tables 6.1-6.3
Line installation: The provider's fee for setting up a logical connection (register) from the IP phone set to the IP telephony switch located in the CO. This is typically a software configuration; the customer would physically place the phone, connect it to the internal LAN, and ensure communications ability to the IP call processors in the CO.
Line rental: The monthly cost of a logical port on the CO located IP call processor.
Feature installation: The one-time cost of having the provider install a package of features for a single user. These features include such items as call hold, call forwarding, and conference calling.
Phones: The cost of buying or renting a particular level of IP phone from the provider, not including physical installation.
Attendant console: The cost of buying or renting a (typically) PC-based softphone that provides attendant console features.
Feature rental: The monthly rental cost of a package of telphony features, including unified messaging.
Administrator interface: The monthly cost for system administrators (employees of the customer) to access the system configuration interface (ideally Web-based) of the IP call processors, or associated CO-based IP-Centrex system, allowing them to carry out "soft" MACs.
Administrator/support: The yearly cost of a trained individual (employee of the customer) who supports the IP-Centrex system or in-house IP-PBX system.
Broadband installation and rental: The monthly cost charged by the carrier for providing a broadband connection (including CPE routedswitch) from the CO to the customer premises for IP Centrex. Note that Tables 1 and 2 provide broadband costing on a per-user basis.
Broadband interconnect: The carrier's fee for interconnecting two or more physical locations (from a single customer) using IP-Centrex. This is essentially the WAN, which carries VoIP traffic between facilities. Long-distance VoIP calls can also be carried over the carriers' network infrastructure to a terminating location, where they are converted (via a gateway) back to the regular PSTN.
PSTN gateway: A device that provides the interface between an IP telephony system and the PSTN. Usually takes the form of a modular router or dedicated hardware device that attaches to the LAN and is controlled by the IP call processor(s) in an in-house IP-PBX system.
PSTN access: The quantity and monthly cost of CO trunks to access the PSTN. These trunks are usually connected to the PSTN gateways and in most cases are B channels on multiple PRI-ISDN links.
System installation: The one-time cost of installing an IP telephony system, including IP-PBX (call processor), gateways, phones, and unified messaging. This cost is typically between 15% and 20% of the overall capital cost of the system.
System maintenance: The yearly cost of contract maintenance (on-site break/fix) for an in-house IP-PBX system, both hardware and software. This cost is typically between 12% and 20% (recurring yearly) of the overall capital cost of the system and includes the cost of software upgrades (new releases).
Quantity (Qty): The number of units for the specific item. In the case of administrator/support this could be a fraction of an individual such as 3.5, where 3.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) resources are required (that is to say, three support personnel would be dedicated full time, and a fourth person would only spend half of his or her time on system support).
Unit cost: The unit cost column denotes either the one-time capital cost or the recurring charge for the item (e.g., monthly for rented items and annually for personnel).
Phone maintenance: The average unit cost of maintenance for IP telephones in the event that a large IP-Centrex client wishes to purchase (outright) phone sets, as opposed to continuous rental.
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