For many Orange County small business owners, switching from traditional phone lines to VoIP makes a lot of sense. VoIP phone service costs considerably less than land lines, and you get a lot of additional features that would cost a small fortune to add to conventional phones. If you’ve never set up or used VoIP phone service before, the process might seem intimidating at first—so we’ve compiled this brief guide to help newcomers to VoIP handle the learning curve a bit better.
What is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. As the name suggests, it’s a technology that allows voice calls and similar forms of communication to be transmitted and received over the Internet. In its early days, VoIP service could be inconsistent in its quality due to data and speed limitations, but as the Internet has evolved and improved, most VoIP calls are now as clear or clearer than calls made over land lines. A growing number of small business owners in Orange County are replacing their standard telephone service with VoIP service.
Pros and Cons of VoIP
The two biggest advantages to VoIP are features and price. Most business owners save significant money by switching to VoIP because it costs less both per phone line and per call—even overseas. Internet phone service also offers a wide range of features like video calling, conference calling, call routing, call attendant and more, all for a fraction of the cost.
The primary disadvantage to VoIP is that it is dependent on both your Internet connection and your electricity, so you lose phone service if the power goes out. However, VoIP users in Orange County can compensate for this issue by having a backup source of power—or worst-case scenario, using the LTE service on their mobile phones during outages.
Considerations When Switching to VoIP
When switching to VoIP for the first time, you’ll want to work with a professional IT provider to help you make decisions based on the needs of your office. These include:
• How many Internet phone lines and phone numbers you’ll need.
• How much Internet speed and bandwidth you need. (If you have a fairly small Internet package, you may need to upgrade it to accommodate people using the phones.)
• What kind of hardware (e.g., handsets, headsets) you need.
• What kinds of features you need. (Features are cheap with VoIP, but you still might not need everything your provider offers.)
NetServ provides unmatched service and guidance to Orange County small businesses looking to switch to VoIP. For information on rates and answers to your questions, call us today at 1-877-NetServ.