One of the most overlooked items when designing a phone system are paging and intercom devices.
While most phones support paging and intercom functionality, this doesn't help when you need to page people in areas where there are no phone devices, this can be a lobby, hallway, break room, warehouse, etc. It is actually pretty rare that an installation cannot benefit from some paging speakers somewhere.
Types of Paging and Intercom Devices
There are numerous types of devices that can be considered in any given installation and we will break those down into several categories.
Paging Speakers
Paging speakers come in a variety of form factors including box speakers that can be mounted on a wall to ceiling speakers that can be suspended in a drop ceiling. This essentially act like a phone in that you call it's extension, the device answers, and whatever you say into your phone is then broadcast through the speaker. These are great in break rooms, cubicle farms, and other open areas.
There also completely weatherproof outdoor speakers that are perfect for large outdoor areas like loading docks, car lots, parking areas, and warehouses. These have great audio and are loud enough for almost any situation.
Intercoms
Intercoms differ from paging speakers in that they support two-way communication and are essentially a phone with limited functionality. Pushing the button on the intercom will dialed a pre-set extension and they can be called like a regular phone and will auto-answer.
Intercoms are great as doorbells in many situations and most of them even have the ability to trigger a relay to open a locked door. Intercoms are available in different models with and without cameras, some have dial pads, and there are indoor and outdoor models to choose from.
Notification Devices
There are two types of notification devices, ones that just create an action, like pressing a button to ring a phone (useful for front desks or emergency buttons), and visual notification devices that will trigger a strobe light when a call in ringing (useful in loud environments where you may not hear a phone ring, or in an area where a ringing phone would be a distraction).
Setting up Paging and Intercom Devices
Setting up CyberData paging and intercom devices is pretty simple as they generally are setup exactly like any other phone, but may have a few extra settings depending on the type of device. In the following video, we go through the process of setting up a paging speaker.
Summary
We hope this has introduced you to the world of paging and intercom devices and we suggest you go through CyberData's website top learn about the different product that are available.