The answer isn’t as straightforward as most people are led to believe.

 Calls are only free when you are calling another Internet phone. If your call is to a landline, mobile or premium service then the calls can end up being very costly.  

There are many advantages to VOIP however and as long as you are aware that not all calls are free then you can make the most of call plans with the correct advice.

The benefits of VOIP...

1. A truly portable phone system that will go with you anywhere. As long as you have Internet connectivity then you can use your phone with your own number so anyone can contact you.

2. Free calls in‐house. VOIP enables you to get completely free calls between your staff and your office using your company mobile phone contract.

3. Ease of use. You can use ‘click to dial’ directly from your contact

   management software.

4. Accurate records. You can see exactly who has called you and when.

5. Flexible. You can choose a desk phone as normal and a soft phone with a headset or even a mobile IP phone.

6. Advanced functionality. The system will allow you to have many functions that are usually only available on very expensive telephone exchanges such as call logging, voice mail, calling groups, call monitoring, video conferencing and much more.

7. Using broadband effectively. VOIP will make the best use of your

   broadband by using spare capacity for calls.

8. Save money. As your company grows the system will grow with you and save you the cost of additional phone lines.

9. Freedom to choose hardware. You get the freedom to use any compliant IP phone and not just the expensive phones that are supplied with telephone exchanges.

What are the disadvantages?

1. Potential low quality calls. Using a low quality standard ADSL service could mean crackly or intermittent quality of calls.
2. Relies on Internet access. If your broadband goes down, so does your telephone system.

What you will need to establish is the size of phone system you need to get the best solution.  

A small (1 – 5 phone) system could be handled with a simple rented online service which means no need to invest in equipment other than phones at all.

Larger systems (6 – 10 plus) become more cost effective with an Asterisk exchange system. The initial capital cost is generally lower than for comparable telephone systems, but the quality is superb. Also, the line rental cost is lower. By doing this you have much more direct control over your system and it can complement an existingPSTN or ISDN service (the traditional business phone service).  

To help with the cost of calls to mobiles you can even put in a device that will detect when the system is making a mobile call to make use of free call plans.

If you’re in doubt as to whether VOIP would be of use to your company then we would

be happy to guide you through and discuss all the options with you.

For further information or advice, please contact Better Support on 0800 8620296