First there was the telephone. Then came such electronic wonders as fax machines and computer modems. Add to this family members who each seek equal time on the phone.
To provide for all these phone entities, a second phone line is quickly becoming commonplace in many homes.
Among the biggest customers for a second phone line have been the growing numbers of those who work at home: those who are in business for themselves or who work out of their homes for a company. Requests from such people have increased strongly in just the last six months, according to Geoff Potter, a spokesman for Illinois Bell.
”Probably our biggest market for a second phone line prior to the last year or so was the teenage market, families who wanted a second line for their children,” said Potter. ”But with the advent of the home office worker-and such devices as the home computer, fax machine, etc.-that has now become the lead market.”
For those interested in installing a second phone line for business or pleasure, there is a wide array of layouts, features and equipment. And the number of choices is growing.
The best plan is to sit down and map out what you would like the second phone line to do: Will it augment the first line for a business? Will it serve primarily as a business line? Or will it serve specifically as a data line for fax machines or computer modems?
Often, home office workers double up a line to save a few dollars. For example, in a typical two-line home, one line is dedicated to the business. The other is used as an occasional data line for faxes and modems and as the family phone line.
Installation
Many homeowners are finding that installing a second phone line on their own can also save a few dollars.
Such installations can be a relatively low-cost, low-effort operation.
For example, if your home is already wired with the correct phone cable, adding a second phone line can be as simple as connecting a few wires and plugging in a new telephone, fax, modem, etc.
Of course, everything depends on the phone system layout you choose. New wiring may be needed, and some of the equipment and features listed below may also be necessary or may greatly enhance your phone system.
Installing a second line is not unlike installing a single phone line. Here`s how it works:
Your local phone company (such as Illinois Bell) activates the second line by simply running a wire to your home from a nearby phone pole or the green utility terminal in the back yard. The line is connected to a phone system junction box, called the network interface, interface jack or net pop, which is usually in the basement, utility room or outside rear wall of a home. Connecting your home phones to the network interface is two-pair D-station wire, or station wire for short, the white phone cord now found in most homes (if you have an older type of phone wire, you`ll have to replace it with station wire). Fortunately, station wire is already set up to handle two lines. Each phone line requires two cords, and station wire contains four conducting cords, each coated in a color-coded sheath (red, green, yellow and black) for easy recognition.
Once the second line is installed from the telephone pole, the installer will identify for the homeowner which pair of colored wires is for each phone line (say red and green for the old line and yellow and black for the new line). The homeowner can then use the correct pair to hook up the second phone.
Installation of additional station wire and phone jacks will then depend on the new phone system layout the homeowner chooses. For example, if the second phone will sit on your desk right next to the old phone, the only installation needed will be splitting the station wire under the desk and running the two sets of line to separate jacks.
If you`re going to use a two-line phone (see equipment, below), you wouldn`t even have to split the line. You would simply need to make sure all four wires are hooked up correctly (red to red, etc.) in the wall jack and plug in the phone.
But if you are planning to run a separate and completely new phone line to one or more rooms, you`ll need to do a little wiring work.
Make sure you have plenty of station wire and enough modular phone jacks. Such equipment is available at places like the AT&T Phone Centers and Radio Shack as well as in local hardware stores and corner drug stores. Pliers, a crimping tool, a screwdriver and wire strippers will also be necessary.
To install a second line, work the station wire from the network interface or a nearby modular jack to the destination point. This may require fishing station wire through walls, dropped ceilings, under carpets or behind wall moulding to reach the new destination.
At the destination point, you`ll need to install a phone jack. They are available in a number of shapes and sizes, including the more common surface mounts and flush mounts.
To connect the station wire, open up the jack and match the colored wires with their appropriately labeled screw terminals. Make sure everything is tight, and that the different colored wires are not touching, and close up the jack. Then simply plug in the equipment.
One good source for more information on installation procedures is AT&T`s ”The Telephone Book,” a guide for the do-it-yourselfer. It sells for $5 at AT&T Phone Centers.
The cost of installation is relatively low. With Illinois Bell, there is no charge for the hookup (there is an account billing cost, however-see below).
If a homeowner prefers, he or she can have phone companies such as Illinois Bell run the wiring and install the jacks inside the home. Bell charges $35 for the first half-hour of work and $17.50 for each additional 15 minutes. The average time needed to install one new jack, according to Potter, is about 15 minutes.
In addition to Illinois Bell and other regional phone companies, many other private firms will install a second phone line (for a list of such firms, check the Yellow Pages under ”Telephone Equipment & Systems”).
There are other initial costs to a second phone line.
For example, to set up an account for a second phone line, Illinois Bell charges a one-time fee of $33 and then adds the second line`s charges in with the first line.
To establish a separate monthly billing statement for the second phone line, Bell charges a one-time fee of $55. The separate statement makes better sense for home office workers who need a detailed billing for tax purposes or for reimbursement from an employer.
Equipment
Depending on your new two-line phone system layout, new phone equipment-such as two-line telephones and answering machines-may also be necessary.
There is an abundance of hardware available for two-line homes.
For example, to keep two separate phones off your desk, you may want a two-line phone, available from an array of manufacturers. Low-end two-line phones are available for as little as $60. Start adding features such as intercoms, memory, etc., and the price goes up; it can go well into the hundreds of dollars.
If you like to roam, cordless two-line phones are also popular and can be purchased for as little as $160.
There are even answering machines geared to two-line systems. Radio Shack has a model that while answering the first line will ask a caller on the second line to call back. It sells for about $139.
There are ways of getting around purchasing new phone equipment.
For example, if two separate wall jacks are installed, the equipment installation may be as easy as plugging a separate phone into each jack.
But that again means two phones on one desk. And you would need two answering machines to cover both lines.
Some of the options are:
– A two-line adapter, available from Radio Shack for $21.95. This device automatically switches a call coming in off either phone line to one single-line answering device (a phone or answering machine).
For example, it would allow an answering machine to answer either Line 1 or 2. If a call came in on Line 2 while the machine was answering Line 1, however, Line 2 will continue ringing until the machine is no longer busy.
– A three-way jack, available from Radio Shack for about $7 and up, takes a single phone jack and splits it into three: a combination of Line 1 and 2 and separate lines for both.
You could put a phone machine on the combined line and separate phones on the separate lines.
– A two-line controller, also available from Radio Shack for $34.95.
This device will turn your single-line phone into a two-line phone, thanks to an A/B switch. It has a status indicator to let you know which line a call is coming in on, as well as a hold button to put callers on hold.
Features
There are also numerous phone company features that greatly enhance your two-line system.
A feature geared specifically to multiline homes is Illinois Bell`s StarLine service. For $5.52 per month, the service offers several features including Intercom Calling, which allows family members to communicate through a home`s phones; Call Hold, which allows you to put someone on hold; Call Transfer, in which calls can be transferred to another line in your home; Call Pick Up, in which you can answer a ringing line from another line elsewhere in the house; and Conference Calling, which allows the addition of a third party to any call.
Even the old standby Illinois Bell services can enhance a two-line phone system. Call Waiting can turn a two-line system into a three- or four-line system; and Call Forwarding is one way a home office worker can transfer incoming office calls down to the rec room or out to the pool.
