Telephones

Business telephones and conferencing systems for office and meeting room deployments

Despite the growth of softphone and collaboration platform use, physical desk phones and conferencing units remain the standard for customer-facing roles, reception desks, call centres and meeting rooms where reliability, audio quality and ease of use matter more than software flexibility. This category covers the hardware side of business voice communication.

What this category covers

Corded IP and SIP desk phones for office, reception and call centre use; DECT cordless phone systems for multi-handset office deployments; USB and Bluetooth desk phones for softphone and UC platform integration; conference phones for huddle rooms, medium meeting rooms and boardrooms; and video conferencing cameras and systems for hybrid meeting rooms.

Who this category is for

IT teams and facilities managers equipping new or refurbished offices with voice infrastructure; call centre and customer service teams specifying handsets at scale; and AV integrators configuring meeting rooms for hybrid work.

Sub-categories overview

Desk phones

Corded and DECT handsets for individual use, from basic single-line phones for common areas to multi-line executive phones with colour displays and programmable keys for heavy telephone users.

Audio and video conferencing

Speakerphones and conference phones for call-in meetings, plus video bars and camera-speaker systems for Teams, Zoom and other platform-integrated room setups.

How to choose telephone equipment

Match the protocol to the phone system

Analogue PBX systems use traditional PSTN handsets. Modern VoIP systems use SIP phones that register with the PBX or hosted UCaaS platform. Some platforms (Teams, Zoom Phone) have certified handset programs — using a certified phone simplifies provisioning and ensures full feature support including presence, transfer and visual voicemail.

Call centre vs office deployments

Call centre agents need headset-ready handsets, sometimes corded for noise control, with quick-dial, transfer and hold functions that agents use dozens of times per shift. Office workers need a reliable handset with directory access and voicemail. Executive and reception desks need multi-line capability and programmable keys.

What to check before buying

• SIP, analogue or USB — which protocol does the phone system use?
• Platform certification needed (Teams, Zoom Phone, Cisco)?
• Corded or DECT cordless for the location?
• Headset jack or USB for contact centre integration?
• PoE (Power over Ethernet) available at the desk, or power adapter needed?

Frequently asked questions

Do I still need desk phones if everyone uses Microsoft Teams?

For most knowledge workers, a softphone (Teams app) plus a headset replaces a desk phone adequately. Exceptions: reception desks where a physical handset is more reliable for rapid call handling; call centre agents who benefit from dedicated hardware; meeting rooms that need a conference phone or video system; and any role where phone use is heavy enough that screen real estate for a softphone window is a constraint.

What is the difference between SIP and IP phones?

IP phone is the general term for any phone that uses an internet protocol network. SIP phone specifies the signalling protocol (Session Initiation Protocol) used to set up calls. Most modern VoIP desk phones are SIP phones. Some vendor-specific platforms (Cisco, Avaya) use proprietary protocols alongside SIP. Check the phone system's supported protocols before ordering.

What is PoE and do I need it?

Power over Ethernet (PoE) delivers electrical power through the Ethernet cable, eliminating the need for a separate power adapter at each desk. Most IP desk phones support PoE and can also use a power adapter as a fallback. If the network switch supports PoE, phones can be deployed without running extra power cables to each desk. Confirm PoE availability or plan for power adapters in the bill of materials.

How many handsets can a DECT base station support?

Basic DECT bases support 1 to 4 handsets. Multi-cell DECT systems (Gigaset, Yealink, Snom) scale to dozens or hundreds of handsets across a building by linking base stations. For office deployments with more than 4 roaming handsets, a multi-cell system is necessary. Single-cell DECT suits small offices and warehouses with limited roaming range.

Can old analogue phones be used with a VoIP system?

With an Analogue Telephone Adaptor (ATA), analogue phones connect to VoIP systems. ATAs are inexpensive and useful for transitional deployments or for keeping existing handsets that work well. Call quality may be slightly lower than a native SIP phone. For new deployments, SIP phones are a better long-term investment than ATAs with legacy handsets.