What Is PBX?
PBX is an acronym for "private branch exchange." In simple terms this refers to any switchboard system that allows users to reach each other by phone without going through the general telephone system. When you pick up your phone and dial a colleague's extension without getting an outside line first you are using a PBX.
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What is PBX?
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Private branch exchanges began as internal telephone systems run by hand by telephone operators. Today they are often run by computers and take up far less space than they once did.
The PBX and the Switchboard
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To an outsider a PBX and a switchboard often look like the same thing, especially in their older forms which might involve telephone operators connecting calls by hand. In reality the PBX is the "internal" part of the telephone system while the switchboard is the part that connects the PBX to the outside world.
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History
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PBXs were originally designed to save businesses money on their internal communications by allowing co-workers to connect directly to each other, bypassing the telephone system. This was especially important in earlier generations when even local telephone calls were billed by the minute.
Advantages of a PBX
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Since PBXs both connect employees to one another and, through the switchboard, to the outside world, they offer companies significant cost savings. In particular, a PBX allows every employee to have her own phone number without requiring a separate phone line to be installed for each person.
Key Systems
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If a telephone system requires users to select a specific outside line it is called a "key system." If you have to pick up the phone, check which line is available and select one not in use, your company has a key system. If you pick up the phone and press, for example, "9" for an outside line you are using a PBX.
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