Wireless PBX | Telecommunications

Wireless PBX
Wireless PBX (wireless office) telephone systems are used in a business environment to provide similar features as a private branch exchange (PBX) with the ability of mobility throughout the office area. The wireless office commonly begins with a specialized wireless private branch exchange (WPBX) that has been adapted for wireless. While more complex than a home cordless telephone, it is not typically as complex as a complete cellular telephone system.

The WPBX telephone radio coverage area is usually within one or more company buildings or on a campus. The more popular WPBX systems use unlicensed frequencies with a protocol available only to the manufacturer of the WPBX. Ordinarily, WPBX telephones cannot be used outside the established campus.

These private WPBX systems use small wall mounted antennas, and like cellular, the space is divided to provide adequate capacity for the expected usage. WPBX telephones, like the one shown in Figure 1, have become commonplace in many hospitals and warehouse environments where the staff is primarily walking around to do their job.


Figure 1: Wireless Office Telephone System
Recent hybrids have been developed whereby the telephone handset has two technologies built into the operation of the phone. When the telephone is inside the WPBX coverage area (preferred) it acts as a private phone; when outside the WPBX coverage area, the phone has the ability to send and receive calls on the public cellular system, incurring airtime charges as any other cellular user.