Telecom Recycling
Avaya SDX INDeX - Buy and Sell? No - The Same, Sad Story…
I have a deep affection for INDeX, which recently went out of production. Suddenly, we are being asked to buy used systems, and I feel as if I am betraying an old friend when I have to gracefully decline.
This is yet another formerly buoyant used market that has gone very soft indeed. It was a system that seemed to have been designed and marketed by people who actually had an understanding of the telecommunications industry, rather than a far east electronics giant who saw telephony as another branch of consumer electronics.
It was packed with sensible features, few “show-stopping” black holes of programming stupidity, and was supported well by professionals who you could actually reach and knew what they were talking about.
“Fast Eddie Telecom”, or “Wayne Carr Communications” could not simply buy this kit and start selling from a lock-up to make a fast buck and feed a car and lap-dancing habit. No, sir. The distribution strategy was well thought out, and exclusive; a few carefully-chosen resellers, well-nurtured and carefully placed. And to sell this equipment, you needed to attend around six gruelling courses, and pass a stiff exam. Oh, and I don’t have space to telly you about the ease of slotting in an INDeX cassette into any slot in the chassis, or the elegant looking phones, etc, etc. It could cope with most applications thrown at it by customers.
So, fourteen years after it was launched, the system that was wonderfully equipped and professionally-supported is literally being binned. The market is awash with used, perfectly reliable systems. Goodness, I used to lose sales because it was too expensive. Now, it’s not worth a bean if you are selling. I shudder to think what users paid for their systems.
Once again, VOIP is the villain; the rise and rise of Cisco and Mitel have driven it out. Plus, towards the end, after ownership of the company changed, the slot-based licensing and keycode restrictive nonsense began to be implemented. Certain early cassettes could not be used with more recent processors. Charges for this, that and the other. Complexity for the sake of commercial gain. No longer the freedom of empty slots waiting to be filled.
So, would we buy your used SDX Avaya INDeX system? Well, we’d at least like to know about it, so if you are planning to get in touch, we’ll need to know the following:-
- Type of cassettes (AL 0-16, DSLC32, etc). The types are written on the spine, like books on a shelf.
- PCS number of the cassettes (basically, the revision number). Again, on the spine, nice and simple and clear.
- Any keycodes for the Windows Operating Console or Voice Mail
- Phones. DT3, DT5, TT3. Or the later 2030 or 2050. (Good news! there may actually be some value in the latter!)
So, we may just be able to find a new home for your system. But don’t wait up, or plan to buy a yacht.
A sad end for a perfectly serviceable and outstanding system. We feel almost dishonest…
Recycling - The Secret Life of Batteries. And Your UPS
Large telephone systems are typically protected by large banks of car-sized back-up batteries. Basically, these are chunkier versions of your dinky UPS that should keep your network afloat and equipment purring should green activists decide to dismantle the national grid.
Can I be honest with you? They are an utter pain, demanding utmost caution if still “live”. They are heavy, and not worth much, despite being packed with lead They demand good old “grunt and heave” manual handling, unlike equipment that can simply be disconnected and wheeled away.
However, having dealt with them since 1999, we have gained a large chunk of experience in handling them and disposing of them, as we have a relationship with the major UK reprocesser. Mainly, we’ve dealt with the lead-acid-gel type, but have also removed and recycled the far more hazardous and demanding wet-cell type. Lots of acid slopping around in clear cases to concentrate the mind…
And their “secret life”? As time goes on, the terminals can develop the most spectacular effects (illustrated) if not looked after. And their sides can begin to distort, changing the dead-straight sides into the curves of a pregnant guinea pig. Plastic cases go very brittle indeed, pieces flying off like shrapnel if damaged. Or adhere to shelves. Or each other.
There is no doubt that they are hazardous waste, and we document every move of them. Oh, and did I mention the need for insulated tools and gloves, special vehicle markings, spill kits, personal protective equipment, etc, etc. And lots of thought and care…Good news! It’s reckoned that over 90% of lead-acid batteries are recycled, so they are something of a recycling success story. Compare and contrast with the tonnes of nickel-cadmium domestic “AA” batteries simply tossed into domestic waste each year. One of the classic paradoxes of recycling; Joe Public can get away with doing naughty things with waste that most of us recycling professionals would be prosecuted over.Oh, and we’ve handled UPS equipment, too. So if you have these for removal and disposal/recycling, we can do it properly.Don’t try and lift them yourselves, by the way.
I’m sure, eventually, we’ll get to like this work…
Meridian Option Engineers
What, us? Well, not exactly.
We’ve always fought shy of actually installing equipment, rather than carefully taking it out.
However, we’ve had a close relationship with an experienced Nortel BT Meridian Option engineering specialist company virtually from our first days of trading, over nine years ago. And when we were approached some time back to install a used Nortel Meridian Option 11 as a “back-up/disaster recovery” system, we realised that we had the hardware, basic engineering, cabling, customer liason, and project management skills gained through taking things out, that could easily be converted to put things in. All we needed was someone from our friendly Option 11 engineering company to do the deep and mysterious programming bits. Voila! A team to put something in and make it work. Which we did. To the customer’s (and BT’s) satisfaction.
BT? Yes. Although we can install, modify, configure, and programme Option 11 systems, we have no desire to be a maintainer, the on-call “AA/RAC” of the telecomms world, with people standing by to fix faults to tight time scales. Irresponsible? Not really, just that age and wisdom have taught us what we are good at, and what we shouldn’t take on. And servicing 24/7 maintenance contracts is not what our business is set up to do, although we know companies that do it, and do it well. So, our customer wanted BT to maintain the system we put in. They had to check it over as part of a Maintenance Acceptance Test. Which it passed, with compliments from the inspector.
So, for the customer, this installation, and his subsequent ones, turned into perfect “win-win” situations; we installed used Option 11 equipment at a fraction of the new cost. He then got BT to maintain, ensuring the continuity of service of the system. This is akin to an independent Mercedes dealer supplying a used, depreciated, well-maintained model, then covering it with a comprehensive factory warranty. In short, an utter bargain, with no shortcomings.
We quite like “beating the system” on behalf of customers. We came in at around one quarter of the equivalent price from “the official suppliers”.
So, if we can do the same for your organisation, be that on a Nortel Meridian Option 11, 61, or 81,please let us know. We’re beginning to enjoy putting things in for a change…
Do We Recycle Home Landline Telephones? Yes! But…
We get asked by private individuals, “How can I recycle my old phone” quite often these days.
This is heartening, as it shows that folks are more aware of waste and the need to dispose of things appropriately. Bravo!
“Would we like to buy it?” No. They are not worth anything. They can’t be refurbished profitably, or sold on eBay. The differential between a new and a refurbished used one is too small. Next question. Sorry.
“Of course, then can be shipped to developing countries for re-use“. Another urban myth. Mobiles, yes, landlines, no. Or maybe we are missing a vital opportunity here, despite having worked in this market since 1999. Simply, they are not worth handling and shipping.
“The parts can be reused”. Sorry, “no” once again. They are mightily difficult to dismantle, an “electronic pomegranate”, all skin and no fruit, time-consuming and bitty. Of course, line and curly cords plug in and out easily, and could be reused, but these are the major “consumable” on the device, and wear out first. so are normally unusable. Next?
“Can’t you sell them on eBay?” I’d love to, but no-one wants to buy. We’ve tried. A decent new one is around ten pounds or less. It’s hardly worth bothering, unless you sell in bulk. Bulk buyers are usually businesses. And businesses tend to buy new. Some we don’t have the heart to throw away. And we do put them in our eBay shop. And they sit, and sit, and sit…
“Charity shops can sell them”. I don’t see many. Some decline to take them in the same way that they reject any electrical goods.
“Charities take them for free to support their work”. Yes, mobiles, which are sold into developing countries. Not used landline phones. For the record, we support charities such as North East Air Ambulance, Shelter, etc, by processing used landline phones that they have been given and can do nothing with. We give of our time and money for free. This writer is a former trustee of a charitable trust, and vice-chair of school board of governors, so would like to think that he’s in touch with charitable and voluntary organisations. Callers sometimes doubt this when I refuse to process their phones for free…
(Look, I’d better stop now. I’m depressing myself.)
So, some suggestions? Folks who call us often act as if they are trying to dispose of spent nuclear waste. I remind them that, as they pay council tax, their local authority are obliged to take their waste. What we used to call “the tip” will have a special area for electronic waste, and our current booming economy and wacky consumerism generates much of that, so any decent council will be geared up to handle it. In short, take it to your local recycling centre. You’ve already paid for their services.
And us? Yes, we take these in bulk from businesses, charge them for the collection, handling, transport and disposal. We work closely with a major trade-only telecommunications recycler who strips them down to extract circuit boards, copper, and plastic. All compliant with the WEEE Directive. And this costs.
So, if you wish to send your solitary old phone to us, you’d need to tape a two-pound coin to the base to cover our costs. We’re happy to take it, but need to pay to keep the lights on, staff fed, etc. Mail us for details.
If you are a business disposing of bulk phones, please be in touch. We have a free document to send which gives vital guidelines on handing (see the photo above…), FAQs, plus our tariff. If the devices are specific to a business phone system, that is, not the plain analogue ones described above, there may even be the remote chance of some value to be reclaimed.Meanwhile, if you find anyone who can transform old telephones into a 120ft yacht, please let us know. Thanks.
GPT/Siemens iSDX
Some inbound calls make me uncomfortable. No, let’s start again - these days, most calls make me feel decidedly ill-at-ease. Because we’re not buying. And lots of folks want to sell.
“Hello, we have a number of iSDX systems for disposal. We’ve found you on the ‘net, and wondered if you’d like to buy them.”
So, how do I “break it” to my caller, usually a communications manager from a large organisation, that I may have to charge his company to remove his mature, proven, well-maintained system? How can I couch what I say in the terms of a bereavement counsellor, rather than a second-hand car salesman?
iSDX used to be our staple trading product. The installed base was huge, hence turnover in used cards healthy. Then, around 2003, the market effectively collapsed, “Wall Street Crash”-style. We would have jumped from the 23rd floor, but we couldn’t get to the window for the boxes of used cards and terminals in the way.
The cause? Almost certainly the halt in investment by comms. manager who saw a new generation of VOIP systems on the horizon. And, of course, new VOIP, or VOIP-capable systems. Plus, traditional-style PABX manufacturers muscling in on the previously impenetrable local authority and large corporate iSDX accounts. Simply, supply outstripped demand. Lots of equipment coming out, a shrinking base into which they could be reinstalled.
”But….we used to pay a fortune for cards from our maintainer. We’ve spent so much…” bleats my caller.
I shuffle uncomfortably. I can’t see him, but I somehow lose eye contact.
“Yes, probably too much. So, if you know of anyone who wants to buy used iSDX hardware, let me know.” This is probably not the time for nervous humour. Too late.
I tell him that we will carefully unpick his used phone system from existing, unlabelled, live and vulnerable cabling. We will manoevre the large cabinets out to our vehicle without killing anyone, or cracking the marble floor in reception. And provide appropriate waste documentation, complying with the WEEE directive. We’ve done it before. Just a few times…
“Well, I’ve a number of options I still have to explore.” he says, abruptly, thinking that this will draw me into making a bid. It won’t.
Fine. I can’t offer him anything. I feel sorry. The fact that I don’t make even a tentative low offer surprises him as I end the call. Maybe he will be back. However, if he does manage to sell his phone system, I’ll be pleased for him. As long as he gets paid. Anyone buying used iSDX/Realitis hardware these days has either found an immediate, willing buyer, or is just misled or dumb and fraudulant.
iSDX is a wonderful system, and could plough on for many, many years. The Multiline 12b, and iSDT 300 handsets may seem to have been designed by the same architect that planned council flat blocks in new towns, but it is a supremely reliable PABX, and perfectly flexibile, in the hands of the right engineer. For the average organisation with hundreds of analogue phones and unsophisticated users, it’s just fine. It’s the classic big enterprise PABX. And it’s not really yet ready for recycling.
Sadly, recent “Realitis” versions have tight restrictions on what can be added, based around a “slot-based licensing” system. Are Siemens trying to kill it off? But that’s another story.
We love taking them out. But please don’t ask us to pay for them. They make expensive paperweights.
Oh, and counselling is available: Email Us
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