What to know about business phones in Maricopa
ED3 is your electric provider, and a power cut takes the phones down
Electrical District No. 3, not APS, is the sole electric provider for the City of Maricopa. When power goes, the router, modem and any phone that needs power go with it, so the phone plan has to include a battery backup.
Source: ED3, History
Plan for a dead line as well as a dead outlet
ED3's outage page lists monsoon season and traffic accidents, among other causes. A VoIP phone system relies on both power and an internet line, so we put the router, switch and phone server on a battery backup and talk through a cellular or satellite failover for calls.
Source: ED3, Outage Center
Your internet provider may not be who you expect
Cox says it is now Spectrum in Maricopa, and its Maricopa internet page is for residential service. It doesn't confirm business coverage for a given address. VoIP depends on a steady line, so we confirm what is available at your address and which provider you'll buy from before we plan phones around it.
Phone cabling is still cabling, so ask about permits on larger jobs
The city's Building Safety page lists no low-voltage exemption and tells applicants to contact the office to find out whether a permit is needed. For a phone system installed inside a build-out, Development Services answers at 520-316-6920.
What a phone system install includes
Most new business phones are VoIP: calls travel over your internet line, and a cloud service handles the extensions and call routing. We handle the part that is in your building.
- A network drop at every desk, front counter and phone location.
- PoE desk phones, or cordless handsets with base stations around the building.
- A PoE switch and a firewall set up to put voice first.
- Setting up extensions, names, hours and voicemail with your VoIP provider.
- Labeling and testing every phone before we leave.
Call routing that fits how you work
An auto attendant answers and offers choices. A ring group rings several phones at once. After-hours rules send calls to voicemail or a cell phone. A restaurant often wants hours, location and a reservation line before it rings a person, and an office wants a front desk with transfer.
Desk phones, cordless and paging
Desk phones suit reception, offices and the host stand. Cordless handsets help in a shop or warehouse where people move. If you want to page the floor or kitchen, we can add a paging speaker, which can double as part of your commercial audio if you have it.
Keeping calls up in an outage
Customers notice a dead phone line first. We put the router, switch and phone equipment on a battery backup, and we set up call forwarding to a cell phone for when the line is down. A backup internet connection can keep desk phones working on a cellular or satellite link.
Analog lines for alarms, fax or elevators are different from VoIP. We list every line on site first, so none is dropped when you switch.
Phones for Maricopa's shops, offices and medical suites
The City's economic development page lists retail centers such as Maricopa Fiesta at Smith-Enke and John Wayne Parkway and Edison Pointe. Small shops and restaurants in centers like these usually want a few desk phones, a cordless handset and a clear after-hours message.
In shared buildings, the landlord may control the wiring closet and the internet handoff, so we find out who owns the cabling before the day of the install.
Often paired with
Phones run on structured cabling and the same network as business WiFi. If you can't lose calls, add backup internet. More of our work is on the Maricopa page.
