Overview of Paging and Intercom

Paging and intercom let you push an announcement straight to the speakers of one or more phones, so recipients hear you without lifting the handset. This page explains the difference between the two modes and how scheduled broadcasts work.

Terms used on this page

• Broadcaster: the person (or the system, for a scheduled call) that starts the paging or intercom call.
• Group members: the extensions you add to a paging or intercom group. These are the phones that receive the broadcast.

How paging and intercom differ

Both features answer the target phones automatically into speakerphone mode, so the announcement begins the moment the call connects. The distinction is whether the recipients can talk back.

Paging delivers a one-way announcement. The broadcaster speaks and the group members listen through their phone speakers; the called phones do not ring, and members cannot reply during the call. Use paging when you only need to push information out. For setup steps, see Set up a One-way Paging Group.

Intercom opens a two-way conversation. As with paging, the members’ phones answer themselves into speakerphone mode, but here the broadcaster and every group member can speak with one another for the duration of the call. For setup steps, see Set up a Two-way Intercom Group.

	Paging	Intercom
Direction	One-way (broadcaster to members)	Two-way (everyone can talk)
Phones ring first?	No, they auto-answer	No, they auto-answer
Members’ microphones	Off	Live
Best for	Announcements, notices	Quick group conversations

Which one to pick

Choose paging when you just need to be heard (a store closing notice, a “call for backup” page). Choose intercom when you expect the other side to answer back (a hands-free check-in between rooms or desks).

Recipient phones answer on their own

Because group members’ phones auto-answer into speakerphone, the broadcast plays out loud wherever those phones sit, and no one has to accept the call. With intercom the microphone also opens, so anything spoken near a member’s phone can be heard by the group. Keep phones in private offices or sensitive areas out of your paging and intercom groups.

Scheduled paging and intercom

You are not limited to starting a broadcast on demand. Cloud Voice can trigger a paging or intercom call automatically at a date and time you define ahead of time. This is well suited to places that rely on routine announcements, such as schools, airports, and similar facilities, where the same notification needs to go out on a regular schedule.

When scheduling pays off

If the same message goes out at the same time each day or week (a shift-change bell, a daily reminder), set it once as a scheduled broadcast instead of paging manually every time.

To configure an automatic broadcast, see Schedule a Paging Call or an Intercom Call.