General Question

TheBox193's avatar

Voice over IP (VoIP), what should I look at?

Asked by TheBox193 (997points) February 26th, 2009

Anyone use VoIP phones? What do you think of it and the quality of service?

We are looking at getting VoIP, who should I ask about it?
-Should I get it through my current telephone company, my ISP or someone else?
-What factors, or hidden things are there to concider?
-Should I look at getting a separate internet line for the phones?
-Will it save us money? What kind of costs are involved in the up front setup?

This is for a small business with 9 phone lines, 2 fax machines, and a small network (16 computers, 1 server)

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5 Answers

seekingwolf's avatar

Well I don’t have a Voip service, but I use T-Mobile’s UMA feature, which allows me to make calls over any Wi-Fi connection. The min I use over it come out of my monthly allotment, but if I paid 9.99, I could get unlimited min over Wi-Fi.

I know this isn’t probably what you’re looking for, but if you’re already with T-Mobile, it’s an awesome choice. It saves a lot of money.
Call quality is also great as well, and you won’t have to worry about “reception” like you would with a regular phone.

TheBox193's avatar

Sounds interesting I had no idea T-mobile offered anything like that. But, yeah doesn’t really answer my question… except for the connection quality because yes, that does use VoIP technology.

seekingwolf's avatar

@TheBox193

Yeah I know it didn’t…just thought I’d present a similar option and comment on the quality. Sorry I can’t do much more!

If I were you, I would check out Vonage, particularly in your area. You can get unlimited calls and unlimited calls to europe for like 25 a month or something. If you already have high-speed internet, you’re good to go, since that’s what it uses.

AlfredaPrufrock's avatar

@TheBox193, I found this article that speaks to VoIP for small and medium businesses that you might find helpful.

TheBox193's avatar

@AlfredaPrufrock Thank you, I had done some snooping on the internet, and this is the best artilcle I’ve seen online now. Thank you.

@seekingwolf I plan on checking out Vonage and my ISP speakeasy.net

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