A New Era in Paging Systems

The first memory that may come to mind when you hear “paging system” is the crackling and muffled voices you heard during public addresses at school. This was the wired paging system of the past. We are now in a new era of paging – IP Paging. These systems use an IP (Internet Protocol) network to transmit audio signals to the IP speakers eliminating aging and faulty wires. The reasons to upgrade now are many.

Major Differences

While wired paging systems have a decades-long record of fulfilling a need, they are now outmoded by the feature-rich IP paging system which not only boasts a much crisper and clearer sound, it is also extremely easy and affordable to maintain. IP paging is scalable, flexible in design, and is supported by a large network of experts.

Old wired systems have years of splices and daisy chains; therefore, problems are more difficult to locate, diagnose and repair. Their sound quality has greatly dissipated over the years, and it isn’t likely that adding more 18-2 wire splices will do any good to recapture that quality.

The Features of IP Paging Systems Are Numerous

They can be serviced by a variety of technicians and have a lower cost of operation. IP paging is flexible and scalable. Its capability of zone changing is quite different than that of the old wired systems. IP paging uses a host unit and satellite speakers with wireless connectivity reaching up to 300 feet. The possible configurations, customizations, and add-ons are vast, easy, and affordable. Zoning, adding on, and volume control can all be handled at a central platform. Because of this, rapid changes can be made. A large facility can go from an all-page system to multiple zones per floor in a week. The wired systems would take substantially longer due to the need to add, rearrange, and maneuver multiple wires within tight spaces beyond ceilings, walls, and other structures.

Technical Assistance Differences

Because wired systems are outdated and immensely tweaked, technicians are more likely to decline repair requests. If they do accept, it’s not improbable that they will cut corners to avoid the detailed and time-consuming work to repair them to last; therefore, the wired system will continue to disappoint and frustrate users everywhere. IP paging systems’ troubleshooting and repairs can often be handled by IT support making a few simple adjustments at the console, eliminating the need to hire costly, ineffective technicians.

Comparing the Costs – Wired vs. IP

IP paging hardware has higher initial costs, but the upkeep is much less expensive. Finding technicians to support old wired systems is increasingly difficult which makes the maintenance of the systems more expensive than that of IP paging. Issues that may arise with IP paging systems are easy to diagnose as there are fewer cables involved. Cables can be connected to testing equipment that can easily determine the issue. This not only cuts down labor costs, but it also provides a much better product. Adversely, a wired system has much broader boundaries to explore proving to be much more difficult and costly to troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair. And repairs to the wired system often result in an even poorer quality product than prior to the repair.