Telephony Support Service (3CX VoIP)

About the Service

This Telephony Support Service (3CX VoIP) offers support for existing customers only of Lancashire County Council Education Digital Services Voice over IP (VoIP) based 3CX telephony systems.

This 3CX VoIP system provides internal phone extensions which can then be linked to your external phone lines and your current telephone number. The service uses a software-based PBX (Private Branch Exchange or internal telephone exchange), on a virtual server which also reduces the costs associated with buying and operating a physical PBX. This support service is for existing subscribers only. Please see our Digital Telephony (8X8 VoIP) service for our current offering.

Prepare your School for the PSTN and ISDN Switch-Off in 2027!

Following the announcement of the PSTN / ISDN switch-off in 2027, we have launched a new fully featured Digital Telephony (8X8 VoIP) service which includes cloud based telephony, compatibility with our broadband network and features to allow staff to make and receive calls direct from within Microsoft Teams.

By 31 January 2027, UK phone lines will move from the old PSTN (public switched telephone network) to IP-based digital telephony using a fibre network. In simpler terms, your school's phone system and telephony devices will rely on a fibre broadband connection. Our new Digital Telephony (8X8 VoIP) service offers a solution tailored for the needs of schools and multi-academy trusts (MAT) and provides an option for our Broadband and Online Services subscribers to meet this requirement, no longer needing separate phone lines.

If your school uses our 3CX VoIP service, our support for your VoIP telephony will provide:

support for continued operation of your PBX software
patching and upgrading of PBX software and handset firmware
changes to the configuration of the PBX
support in the use of the PBX

What are the benefits?

The benefits of your Telephony Support Service (3CX VoIP) are:

VoIP technology enables the school to have any number of internal telephone extensions and potentially to reduce the number of external lines, reducing costs and improving internal communication
The VoIP phones plug into network data points (the same type of socket PCs plug into), minimizing future expansion costs. Using PoE+ (Power over Ethernet) switches also removes the need for power cables and adapters for the telephone handsets, freeing power sockets for use by other devices or the need to have additional electrical sockets installed for the handsets
Avoids the cost of purchase, ongoing support and refresh of a dedicated hardware PBX and proprietary equipment
Integrates with schools existing Remote Data Backup (RBUSS), avoiding costly downtime or reconfiguration costs
The software PBX is easily configurable to support your school's telephony requirements and to migrate or expand as schools needs change
Lancashire County Council Education Digital Services will ensure your telephone system operates effectively and will provide upgrades and support usage

What's Included?

VoIP Telephony (3CX) Service Options

Feature	Description
Call redirection and call barring	based on incoming telephone number calls can be routed or blocked
Auto attendant	also known as IVR (Integrated Voice Attendant), or DR (Digital Receptionist) Allows callers to select from a range of number options e.g. "To Report a Child Absence, Press 1"
Pick-up groups	answer any ringing phone in group from your handset
Hunt groups	searches for available extensions in specific order
Extension watching	Often useful for secretaries/PAs to check if the headteacher is available to take calls also known as 'busy lamp field'
Do not disturb	Allows a user to make their telephone unavailable for incoming calls, redirecting incoming calls to voicemail
Voicemail	Voicemails can be setup for each extension/user and configured to send an email attachment to a specific recipient
Conference calls	Calls can be created or merged to allows multiple participants
Direct Dial-In numbers	This feature is available if your school purchase a Direct Dial-In (DDI) number or block of numbers from your telephony provider. It gives specific staff a direct number, avoiding callers having to go through the reception or menu system. This can be useful during school holidays if school staff are in school working without office staff
Paging function	Allows a broadcast to be transmitted out of every telephone loudspeaker without anyone answering it
Night Service	The Night Service routes calls to different locations based on the time of day when a call is received. During business hours, calls can route to an office phone and after-hours calls could go to a voice-mail system

Service Features

Feature	Description
Telephony (3CX VoIP) Support Service	Simple amendments such as redirecting voice attendants to different groups, changing names on phones, changing email addresses and inbound / outbound routing Lancashire County Council Education Digital Services 3CX User Guide reductions in performance Upgrading device firmware and system software (as necessary and decided by Lancashire County Council Education Digital Services). Maintenance will, where possible, be conducted within normal business hours. Where feasible, we will avoid normal school hours and busy periods configuration of hardware to replace faulty VoIP Telephony equipment (please see exclusions below) Advice by Lancashire County Council Education Digital Services engineers on suitable replacement equipment before purchase