Hatzalah services around the world have always done their utmost to have the latest in technology—to have every available tool at their arsenal to ensure that they are on the cutting edge and doing everything possible to make sure that, chas veshahalom, in a time of need, they are able to give and do everything possible to keep the communities they serve safe.

Except for one particular area- the phone systems. While the phone systems have been upgraded over time, Hatzalah preferred the old fashioned, ‘big ugly expensive box in a closet” phone system from legacy companies like Panasonic.

But will that always be the case, or has newer technology and maturity of the new breed of telecommunications finally been able to change that?

“Let’s put it this way” said Moshe BT, CEO of MongoTel. “during hurricane sandy, phone lines were knocked out of service—and when legacy carriers were down, as were many VoIP carriers, there were those which had the redundancy required… in fact, ours was one of the few carriers whose clients had power and full phone service for the duration of the storm.”

“With the advances in technology, and with the legacy system market shrinking and internet based telephony really maturing, even the medical emergency field is beginning to cross over” he said. “We have some Hatzalah organizations running on our system, as well as insurance companies and a range of others, who use VOIP systems to manage businesses worldwide, who are really understanding why this technology is the way of the future.”

“Today, everything is different than it used to be” he continued. “Cameras have no film, and home phones are both plugged in and cordless with a base that needs power for the most part. While I personally would recommend that Hatzolah systems have a backup line that required no external power (like an old dial up phone or a cellphone based backup that would kick in as needed, There’s no reason that companies in general should still stick to the past, spending small fortunes for outdated technology, the future has arrived…”

(Studio B – YWN)