Planning an Office VoIP Rollout: Handsets, DECT and Headsets

Most VoIP rollouts overspend on the wrong desks and underspend on the rooms people actually complain about. The fix is to buy by role, not by a single model for everyone. Here is the plan we walk trade customers through — with the product we would put on each line.

Step 1: map roles to handset tiers

• Reception and heavy phone users: a colour-screen IP phone with BLF keys (busy-lamp fields) — seeing who is on a call is the feature receptions actually use. Add an expansion module where one person covers 20+ extensions.
• Standard desks: a mid-tier 2–4 line handset. Paying for video or WiFi on a desk with a network port is money better spent in the meeting room.
• Hot desks: fewer, cheaper handsets plus softphone apps — or skip the handset entirely and issue headsets.
• Warehouse, retail floor, engineers on site: cordless — the next step decides which kind.

Grandstream GRP2601P — the standard deskPoE, two lines, wall-mountable — the fleet workhorse for every ordinary desk.View product →

Step 2: DECT or WiFi cordless?

DECT runs on its own radio: it does not share the WiFi, roams cleanly between bases, and a single base covers ~50 m indoors — the default choice for warehouses and clinics. WiFi phones make sense where the WiFi is already excellent and you do not want another radio system — but audit access point coverage first, because a voice call finds every dead corner the laptops never noticed.

Grandstream WP825 — for the moversDrop-rated WiFi cordless that rides the WiFi you already audited.View product →

Step 3: the rooms — conference audio is a separate budget line

The single most-complained-about part of any phone system is the meeting room. A conference phone with a proper mic array covers a 6–8 person room; larger rooms need expansion mics. This is the line not to trim.

Yealink CP935W — the meeting roomWireless DECT conference phone with W70B base — no cable across the table.View product →

Step 4: headsets — wired for desks, DECT for movers

Wired headsets are cheaper, never need charging and are fine for fixed desks. Wireless (DECT) headsets earn their price for anyone who walks while talking — support teams, sales floors. Standardise on one or two models so spares and ear cushions are interchangeable.

Yealink UH48 — the headset standardTeams-ready wired headset — one model fleet-wide, interchangeable spares.View product →

Step 5: the boring parts that decide whether day one works

• PoE: handsets draw 3–6 W each — count them into the switch budget.
• Gateways & ATAs: keep faxes, door phones and legacy lines alive through an ATA instead of re-cabling.
• PBX: on-premise IP PBX for control, hosted for simplicity — either way, order handsets that are certified against it.

Grandstream HT812 — the legacy lines2-port ATA that keeps faxes and door phones alive without re-cabling.View product →

We stock Grandstream, Yealink, Fanvil, Snom and Poly at trade pricing. Send us your seat count and floor plan — we will return a per-role handset list with one line per SKU.