Nokia slates PBX costs
'Free' PBX internal calls cost about €1 per minute, claims handset maker
Industry experts have poured scorn on Nokia's claims that if firms rip out their landlines and use mobiles instead, they will save money.
At last week's Nokia Mobile Internet Conference 2003 in Nice, the company suggested that analysis of the hidden cost of 'free' PBX internal calls would show that they cost about €1 per minute.
By removing dual fixed and mobile infrastructure, which can involve expensive internal calls, companies could make savings of up to 25 per cent, according to Nokia.
"What we're saying to IT managers is to analyse the cost of your PBX and stop thinking of it as part of the building," said Mikko Seppalainen, head of mobile business voice at Nokia.
However, industry watchers were sceptical. Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at EuroLAN Research, said that some savings could be made.
But he added: "Carriers such as BT are offering exceptional deals and I can't see how mobile-to-mobile could be cheaper than fixed-to-fixed."
Brian Johnson, Now Distribution's managing director, said: "Nobody in their right mind is looking at going mobile-only, apart from maybe the last leg. Voice over IP is where the services are," he said.