IP PBX

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What Does IP PBX Mean?

IP PBX is a Private Branch eXchange (PBX) system that uses Internet protocols for parts of its networking. Often, a PBX is applied to an enterprise, where IP connections are built into the company’s intranet and where parts of that structure connect to the public switched telephone network for external communications.

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IP PBX is also known as IP-Enabled PBX.

Techopedia Explains IP PBX

PBX systems started to become very common in offices beginning in the 1990s. The idea was that, instead of adding manual telephone lines to an office building or other location, companies could add phone lines by creating digital switches within a digital structure that would include links to the traditional landline system outside of the office.

Over time, PBX systems became connected to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) elements. New IP PBX systems often include helpful tools for video conferencing and combining voice and data services. Some of these include mobile telecommunication setups, as well as public telephone setups. Using strategies like Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking, these telecom systems offer companies a broad infrastructure and sometimes help consolidate billing or streamline business processes.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.