Plan PoE ports, power and voice bandwidth
Compare the phone quantity and maximum phone watts with available switch ports and PoE budget. Estimate voice bandwidth using peak concurrent calls and a per-call allowance in each direction.
Phone rollout capacity
Check switch ports and PoE load, plus a configurable call bandwidth estimate. Confirm codec, packet overhead, QoS and carrier limits.
Planning example & assumptions
Use the phone’s documented maximum consumption, including expansion modules. The example uses a configurable 100 kbps allowance per call per direction. Codec, packet interval, network overhead and encryption change actual bandwidth. Reserve capacity for other traffic and verify QoS and carrier call limits.
Common planning questions
Should I use average phone power or maximum power?
Use the documented maximum draw, including attached expansion modules, when checking switch PoE capacity. Verify the individual port’s supported PoE class separately.
Is voice bandwidth counted in both directions?
The result is the estimated bandwidth in each direction. Peak calls multiplied by your per-call allowance gives the required send capacity and the required receive capacity. Codec, packet interval, overhead and QoS affect actual needs.