VoIP, which often stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, is now one of the more affordable and powerful ways to provide your business with an efficient and robust telephone line. A VoIP phone system will generally be bundled with VoIP services, such as an Internet telephone, and a few additional call management features for your business. The majority of VoIP providers offer free or low cost services for their customers. These providers can provide enhanced call handling features, automated attendant assistance, and more.
One of the main advantages of using a VoIP phone service instead of a traditional phone line is that there are no long distance charges or connection fees involved. A subscriber is only charged for the actual minutes used, regardless of how many people use those minutes. Businesses that use a large amount of calls may find this a good option to save them money. Many providers also offer unlimited long distance calls at no additional cost to the subscriber.
Another advantage to using a VoIP phone service over traditional phone lines is that there are no toll charges involved. Traditional phone lines are charged based on the number of “calls” made each month. These charges are based on a certain number of seconds and can increase over time. With a VoIP phone service, calls are charged based on actual minutes used rather than the amount of time a customer has dialed. For example, if a customer only calls the office once per month and leaves several calls during the day, the cost will be different from a person who makes calls several times per day but uses only one call per minute. This type of billing structure is much more efficient and accurate for VoIP services.
Several companies offer voice services. These include AT&T, Wildblue, T-Mobile, Sireverse, and Windstream. Each company varies in features offered, pricing, and reliability. Before choosing a provider, it is important to do some comparison shopping. Some companies bundle their features, while others offer a limited selection of features like no phone lines required.
One of the most popular and useful features is SIP Trunking.
SIP refers to voice over IP, which simply means that the information transmitted is converted into digital data instead of analog. Most people have heard of internet telephony and its popular applications, like Skype. SIP is very similar to this technology. However, with the use of a VoIP phone service, many businesses can now eliminate the need for an expensive internet connection.
With SIP, users are able to make phone calls from any location through their broadband or cell phone network. There are two options available for VoIP users. First, there are true dial up service providers. These providers require that you have a modem installed at the service provider’s office so that all voice calls can be made. While this service does provide excellent value for the low cost associated with installation, it limits the number of long distance voice calls that can be made per month.
Second, many companies are switching their business phone service over to hosted PBX solutions.
Hosted PBX services offer hosted pbx solutions for all of your business phone needs. These solutions include hardware that is specifically designed for each individual business or branch. Hosted service providers also offer a variety of features and service plans. For example, they typically offer unlimited calling minutes, auto attendant assistance, call forwarding, call waiting, voicemail, and more.
- Both types of services are great solutions and both have their pros and cons.
- It is important to review all of your options before choosing which type of business phone service is best for you.
- Both types of solutions offer high quality services at affordable prices.
- To learn more about hosted PBX solutions and sip trunks, please visit Lightspeed PBX. Please follow us on Twitter.
